Michael O’Brien’s notebook: Feb. 26, 2016

SHARE Michael O’Brien’s notebook: Feb. 26, 2016
BBKOB_CST_022716_12_59601443_630x420.jpg

The final night of the regular season. I’ve wiped the tears away long enough to finally get another notebook done.

Bloom looked very good tonight in a win over Kankakee, senior Jamal Parks was fabulous.

It’s been a rough season for Kankakee. The Kays are 4-23. But the future is bright. Their best player is a sophomore, athletic guard Braijon Thomas. He scored 12 points tonight, you’ll probably hear more about him in the future.

Freshman TJ Wicks was kind of a revelation. Figures that I would do a big feature on freshmen and maybe manage to miss the player that winds up being the best in the class.

Wicks is still figuring stuff out, but he’s 6-7 and very long. He scored eight points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked a shot. Also flashed some really impressive passing instincts. Definitely one to watch the next few years.

***

Tonight’s top games

Crete-Monee 52, Rich South 48: The Warriors have been tough to figure out this season, but they are going to enter the playoffs on a high.

Dwayne Rose Jr. scored 16 points.

Orr 67, Providence-St. Mel 52: Spartans win the regional, but that’s a really nice season-ending performance from an extremely young St. Mel squad.

DePaul Prep 37, Northridge 27: The Rams win the regional. FreshaPerry Cowan scored 13 points.

Joliet West 72, Joliet Central 63: Probably a bigger margin of victory than I would have predicted.

Riverside-Brookfield 75, Lyons 62: Closer than expected for most of the way according to what I saw on Twitter. Jalen Clanton led the way with 19 points.

Thornwood 86, Bradley-Bourbonnais 78: Massive performance from Marcus Hussey with 40 points.

Lincoln-Way Central 52, Lincoln-Way West 47: Nice win for the Knights, they really held Marco Pettinato in check. Isaiah Malone scored 18 points for Central.

U-High 56, Seton 55: Surprise here. U-High wins the regional. They played really well at the Big Dipper and then everyone forgot about them. This was it for the Sting, the school is closing. Now we wait and see where Javon Freeman winds up next year.

The Latest
The acquisition of Tamarack Farms makes Hackmatack National Wildlife Refuge a more impactful designation and creates within Hackmatack a major macrosite for conservation.
The man was found unresponsive in an alley in the 10700 block of South Lowe Avenue, police said.
The man suffered head trauma and was pronounced dead at University of Chicago Medical Center, police said.
Another federal judge in Chicago who also has dismissed gun cases based on the same Supreme Court ruling says the high court’s decision in what’s known as the Bruen case will “inevitably lead to more gun violence, more dead citizens and more devastated communities.”
Women make up just 10% of those in careers such as green infrastructure and clean and renewable energy, a leader from Openlands writes. Apprenticeships and other training opportunities are some of the ways to get more women into this growing job sector.