Max Christie Sr., the father of Rolling Meadows stars Max and Cameron Christie, told Foster Ogbonna to go out and play like Dennis Rodman against St. Rita on Saturday.
Few high school players could have done a better impression. The 6-3 sophomore grabbed 17 rebounds off the bench to help No. 14 Rolling Meadows beat No. 23 St. Rita 66-53.
“I was just trying to play hard,,” Ogbonna said. “[Christie] said my role on this team should be like [Rodman], hustling and defense.”
Michigan State recruit Max Christie sat the entire second quarter after picking up a pair of fouls early. It turned into a showcase moment for his teammates.
Daniel Sobkowicz (18 points, nine rebounds), Ryan Stubitsch, Orlando Thomas, Cameron Christie (11 points), Aidan Hosler and Ogbonna stepped up and held on to Rolling Meadows’ lead.
“[Ogbonna] just keeps continuing to get better and better,” Rolling Meadows coach Kevin Katovich said. “The fact that he went out there and against 6-8 guys, had 17 rebounds. That’s a man’s game right there. The guys love Foster. He’s a great kid. I was so happy for him.”
St. Rita is extremely young, starting three freshman, a sophomore and a senior. But all five will be college basketball players, so Rolling Meadows’ performance with Max Christie on the bench should permanently end any idea that the Mustangs (4-0) are a one-man show.
“It clearly shows that we are a team with a lot of personnel and it is not just me,” Christie said. “I’ve always been confident in these guys and I knew what they could do.”
Christie finished with 18 points. He drained a 35-footer at the first quarter buzzer to become the leading scorer in school history, topping Rob Garnes’ mark of 1,858 set in 1999.
“That felt really good,” Christie said. “That was one of the goals that I really wanted to get as soon as I came here as a freshman. It felt good to get that, even in a COVID season.”
Senior Christian Henry scored 12 for St. Rita (1-1). James Brown, a 6-8 center, showcased why he is widely-considered the best prospect in the freshman class. He finished with 15 points and eight rebounds in just his second high school game.
St. Rita coach Roshawn Russell was upbeat after the loss. His team is extremely talented, but is almost a sophomore team competing at the varsity level. At least age wise.
“I’m proud of the guys,” Russell said. “They fought the entire game and they grew, just from this one game tonight I saw progress.”
Watch the final minute of St. Rita at Rolling Meadows:
— Michael O'Brien (@michaelsobrien) February 14, 2021
