Lockport makes noise at hoops shootout
MORRIS -- For anyone who watched Lockport High School's basketball team in action at this week's 24th annual Morris Boys Shootout, the reaction is predictable.
"Lockport is going to be pretty good," more than one observer remarked.
(Michael R. Schmidt/Staff Photographer)
In fact, the Porters reached the championship game of the 32-team event, where they dropped a 63-51 decision to O'Fallon.
But veteran Lockport coach Lawrence Thompson Jr. prefers not to put too much stock in wins and losses when it comes to an event such as the summer shootout.
"I explained to the kids that only a few teams can get everyone together for this shootout," Thompson said after the Porters had gone 3-0 Tuesday, and moments before they were about to win a close decision over Schaumburg to begin their Wednesday run.
"We are fortunate in that regard that we have most of our guys here to continue doing the same things we do. But we still have the opportunity here to see if we are able to compete against good teams."
So far, so good in that regard.
Lockport returns seven seniors and a junior who saw quality minutes last winter, when the Porters finished 13-13. They averaged 44.8 points per game, which was last among large schools in the Joliet area. But they also led the area defensively, allowing 42.8 points per game.
The seniors who return include leading scorer Dmonte Hopkins. In his first season at Lockport after transferring from Bolingbrook, the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 10.6 points and 4.2 rebounds. He shot .344 from 3-point range and .771 from the free throw line.
Other familiar names include guards Eric Lantero and Greg Thornton, 6-5 center Landon Gamble and the Ward brothers, 6-5 senior Ed and 6-4 junior Karrington, plus Mo Atieh and Sidney Bradley.
Gamble has been with the varsity since he was a sophomore. Last year, he averaged 4.3 points and 3.2 rebounds, numbers that some observers expected to be higher.
"Gamble came up to the varsity as a sophomore because we felt he could help that senior group out," Thompson said. "Last year, expectations were placed on him, not by us but by everyone else, especially after Thanksgiving."
Gamble had games of 16 points against Plainfield Central and 13 against Plainfield South to open the WJOL Thanksgiving Classic, then never scored more than 10 points in a game the rest of the season.
"Everyone else was looking to him and to (guard) Ryan Callozzo as our focal points," Thompson continued. "Defenses were designed to take away a few things.
"In our mind, Gamble did well. I hope defensively he is able to do as good a job this year as he did last year."
Thompson said he has players capable of scoring points. But as fits his coaching philosophy, he emphasizes there is more to the game than offensive talent.
"We're fortunate that we have three guys back who started games last year and five others who saw significant minutes in a lot of games," he said.
"But what happened with that team was we did not have the trust in each other that we needed. We were able to have team play on the defensive end but not on the offensive end. That's something we have to try to instill this year."
Taking care of the ball is another must in the Lockport system.
"Everyone has to be able to handle it," Thompson said. "The point guard, the 2-guard and everyone else has to step up. You have to be able to do all that's needed. One thing we have to find out in the summer is whether we have a bunch of guys who can take care of the ball.
"We will be 7-8 deep, and hopefully all those guys can get out there and fit in and not be a broken cog in one area or another when they get on the floor."
From a scheduling standpoint, Thompson said the Porters have made a change. They have dropped a couple of nonconference opponents and instead will participate in the Plainfield North Tournament the week before Christmas. Lockport traditionally has played as few games as anyone heading into the Pontiac Holiday Tournament and has entered Pontiac off a two-week or so layoff.
Joliet also is in the Plainfield North round robin, so Southwest Suburban Blue and neighborhood rivals Lockport and JT will meet at least three times over the course of the season.
