Kays run away with fifth consecutive KHT maroon crown

KANKAKEE — Heading into Saturday’s maroon bracket championship game of the Kankakee Holiday Tournament against Lindblom, Kankakee boys basketball coach Chris Pickett felt pretty good about the Kays' chances with the way they’d been playing, entering Friday on a seven-game winning streak and a combined 187-87 margin of victory in the tournament’s first two rounds.

But against an Eagles team that they’ve had a few close matchups with over recent years, not even Pickett could have expected quite how dominant the Kays (10-1) looked on the way to their fifth KHT title and eighth game in a row, finding their groove near the end of the first quarter and never looking back for a 76-34 win.

“I didn’t anticipate it to go as well as it went, but I go back to what I’ve said the last couple of days and earlier today: we’re starting to figure it out,” Pickett said. “I’m impressed, and coaches rarely say that. Just guys doing the little things right, defending, making effort plays. Offensively we have so many different ways we can hit you, it makes it tough for opponents.”

The Kays showed that offensive depth early on, as five players had between five and nine points at the half. One of them was 6-foot-6 junior guard Lincoln Williams, who was met with at least a pair of defenders on him almost every time he touched the ball in the first half. He was able to tally six points in the first half despite the pressure, and also found open teammates and dished out all five of his assists in the first half.

As the four-star recruit continues to see opposing defenses throw different schemes that are all themed around stopping him, Williams has shown his offensive skillset includes exceptional court vision as well.

“Every night, I kind of get a different defensive scheme thrown at me,” Williams said. “I have to be able to look for my teammates and pass the ball, so that just naturally comes for me.”

As the Kays pulled away in the third, turning a comfortable 38-22 halftime lead into a no-doubter at 64-32 through three, Williams kicked his scoring into gear as well. He tied fellow junior Myair Thompson with a game-high 16 points and hauled in 11 rebounds. After averaging 23.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game over the three-day tournament, Williams was named tournament MVP and also won the Riverside Rebounding Award.

And as decorated as he was Saturday night, it was the first-place medal that Williams was most proud of winning, especially in front of the Kays' heralded home crowd.

“We try not to lose here, so winning this thing is a big deal for us,” Williams said. “We’re from Kankakee. Our warmups say Exit 312 Tough, so we’re just looking to go out and put on a show.”

Thompson, the team’s point guard and an all-tournament selection, had his most productive scoring night of the tournament Saturday with his 16 points. After serving as now-graduated Damontae May’s backup at the point guard spot last year, Thompson and Pickett both credited May and assistant coach Alan Wills for teaching the talented lefty how to control the offense, knowing both how to set up his teammates and also when to be assertive in his own right.

“As a point guard, we don’t need you to come down and score the ball, this isn’t the NBA,” Pickett said. “Be a facilitator and pick and choose when you have the opportunity. He’s been smart with that, and he’s just a junior, so we’ll have him again next year.”

The Kays also shared the ball as a team, recording 17 assists on 29 field goals, with three more buckets coming off of putbacks and four more directly off of steals. With a core that’s spent several years playing together, Thompson said this group has grown up learning how to play with one another, as evidenced by their tight on-court chemistry.

“We’ve all been playing with each other since fourth, fifth grade,” Thompson said. “We’ve just stayed with each other, and shoutout to Jordan [Davis] for coming back. He left in eighth grade and came back, and he’s a big reason why the team is getting back to it.”

Davis, who added 12 points and six assists, earned his third All-KHT honor after being selected to the blue bracket’s all-tournament team twice in three seasons at St. Anne. After moving back to his native Kankakee this season, Thompson said the team has loved having their friend back in maroon and Columbia blue, and while outsiders may not have thought a senior could make the adjustment from Class 1A hoops to Class 3A ball, the Kays never had a doubt.

“It’s amazing,” Thompson said. “When Jordan first came back, everyone was thinking he wasn’t going to fit in because he came from a 1A school, but the team was like, ‘he can hoop.’”

As the Kays prepare to get into the thick of their Southland Athletic Conference schedule and a few high-profile shootouts as the calendar turns, their early-season assessment has been an obviously positive one at 10-1.

But for Pickett and the Kays, there are plenty of games to be played and adjustments to be made as they look to achieve their ultimate goal.

“This run that we’ve had is letting us know what we’re made of,” Pickett said. “We’re gonna look at what we haven’t been doing well and work on that so we can continue to build. I feel confident in what we’ll do down the road to position ourselves to make a run to Champaign [for the IHSA Class 3A State Finals].”

STAT BOOK

Williams finished the night with 16 points, 11 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks. Thompson added 16 points, eight boards, two dimes and two steals. Davis had 12 points, eight rebounds, six assists and a steal.

UP NEXT

The Kays will head to DePaul College Prep in Chicago to take on Curie in the Steve Pappas Shootout at 1:30 p.m. Saturday.

https://daily-journal.com/sports/boys-basketball-kays-run-away-with-fifth-consecutive-kht-maroon-crown/article_407a2f8a-c5a2-11ef-8978-472393673ab9.html