Michael O’Brien’s high school basketball notebook

What a start to the season. It’s generally not a great idea to take too much away from the first week, teams are just finding their footing and there is obviously a really, really long way to go.

But tonight’s Young vs. Kenwood showdown wasn’t the normal half empty Thanksgiving tournament game. There are a couple things worth mentioning that didn’t make the game story.

Kenwood freshman Noah Mister is going to contribute right away this season. He’s composed and ready and can shoot it. He scored five points in the third quarter.

“Noah Mister is big time,” Broncos coach Mike Irvin said. “He came in and made his presence felt. He’s the best freshman in the state.”

Young’s not going to have an issue rebounding. The Dolphins are smaller than most of the elite teams in the area but 6-7 Daniel Johnson, who spent most of the last two seasons on the wing, stepped in and made an immediate impact on the boards. Young’s entire team rebounded well, especially junior Sean Brown, who was force in many phases of the game.

Young coach Tyrone Slaughter has been the driving force behind these major season opener matchups the past few years. It’s a terrific idea that has changed the feel of Thanksgiving week basketball. McGrath-Phillips arena was loaded with students, which provided a fantastic atmosphere. Well done.

Monday’s top games

Hyde Park 64, Lincoln Park 57: This was the first game at DePaul. Cam Williford had 20 points, Damarion Morris scored 16 and Jurrell Baldwin added 11 for the Thunderbirds.

Curie 84, Farragut 67: Chikasi Ofoma scored 20 and Carlos Harris filled up the stat sheet with 14 points, seven rebounds and three assists.

Romeoville 83, Plainfield Central 55: The ranked Spartans open strong. Troy Cicero had 13 points, four assists and five rebounds and Meyoh Swansey added 12 points.

Oak Lawn 74, Bremen 57: This is a team that hasn’t received much preseason attention that I’m interested in. Ayham Salah scored 18 and Marist transfer Xavier Sulaiman added 16.

Crystal Lake South 54, Marian Central 51: Cooper LePage, a Northern Michigan recruit, is a player that hasn’t been receiving enough attention in the notebooks. That will change this season. LePage had 26 points and 11 rebounds for the Gators.

Lemont 66, Minooka 39: Don’t expect Lemont to go away just because Nojus Indrusaitis left. The Castillo twins are dangerous. Matas had 20 points, seven steals and four assists and Rokas added eight points.

Homewood-Flossmoor 63, Rich 57 OT: Oh my it went to overtime. New H-F coach Jamere Dismukes squeaks by his old school and Lou Adams. Carson Brownfield led the Vikings with 18 and Vincent Davis scored 15. Samar Bures had 17 for the Raptors.

Lindblom 62, Stagg 55: JeShawn Stevenson is another player we will be closely watching throughout the year. The junior led the way with 24 points, six rebounds, four assists and three blocks. Quentin McCoy added 15 points and seven assists. Both are juniors.

Momence 54, Grant Park 43: Underrated point guard James Stevenson Jr. finished with 24 points, eight rebounds and four blocks and Kudde Bertram added 17 points.

Perspectives-Leadership 78, Shepard 29: The transfers didn’t all play. I’ll have to check on that later this week. But the Cobb brothers led the way to the win.. Gianni scored 23 and KJ added 15.

Glenbard West 53, Glenbard South: I didn’t see any stats from this one, but we should probably keep tracking the Hilltoppers until they eventually lose to an in-state team. It’s been a long while.

West Aurora 73, Oswego 66: The Panthers show some spark. The Southwest Prairie should be one of the most interesting conferences in the area this season.

Marist 51, Andrew 40: Solid win for a really young squad. Romeoville transfer Keshaun Vaval scored 23 and freshman big Stephen Brown had nine.

Hinsdale Central 50, Naperville North 48: Ben Oosterbaan scored 19 in one of the closest games of the night.