Trio of area boys hoopers set school scoring records

As the boys basketball season wraps up with the State Finals this weekend, seniors across Illinois have begun reflecting on the accomplishments of their high school basketball careers. For three area seniors, the chapters of their athletic journey that just wrapped up are some of the best basketball chapters in the local history books.

Nick Allen (Bradley-Bourbonnais), Blake Brown (Grant Park) and Ray Lee (Manteno) each became the all-time boys basketball scoring leaders at their respective schools this season, forever attaching their names to greatness.

Boilers' Allen wraps up all-time great career

After a breakout junior season, Allen was a walking double-double for the Boilers as a senior, posting an average of 23 points and 12 rebounds per game. During the team’s 67-44 win at Sandburg on Feb. 4, Allen passed 2016 graduate Micah Bradford atop the school’s scoring list (1,470).

After a complimentary role as a freshman, Allen was the starting center for three years, developing from a raw prospect to the state’s consensus top-ranked center in the senior class.

The reigning Daily Journal Player of the Year and consensus All-Stater last year [coaches first team, media second team], Allen’s already been named the SouthWest Suburban Conference Red Division Player of the Year for the second straight year, cementing a four-year career that will go down as one of the best in area.

“It’s definitely a big honor,” Allen said. “There have been a lot of really good basketball players to come through Kankakee, Bourbonnais, Manteno, all the areas around here. To have one of the better careers, it’s an honor.”

Not only did Allen have a standout career, but the Boilers reached rare air as a team. Their 86-41 record during his four years is the best four-year stretch the program has had in 30 years. They won the SWSC red his first two years and scored perhaps the biggest upset in school history his junior year, when they took down top-ranked and eventual Class 4A State champion Homewood-Flossmoor at home.

Additionally, he started his career as a teammate of his older brother, Matt Allen, and spent his senior season sharing the front court with his cousin, junior Liam Martin. When considering all the team success and family fortunes he’s gotten to enjoy, Allen knows that not only is he a great player, but a blessed one.

“Super fortunate,” Allen said. “I wouldn’t rather be anywhere else than Bradley-Bourbonnais. A lot of good people.”

Grant Park’s Brown obliterates old mark

The first of the three to make his way to the top of the leaderboard, Brown accomplished his feat when he passed 1990 graduate Dan Junker (1,290) during the Dragons’ 45-39 homecoming win over Grace Christian. After his three older brothers – Brock Brown, Brett Ader and Drew Ader – all graduated from Grant Park, Brown’s proud his family name will always be attached to Grant Park hoops.

“It really means a lot,” Brown said. “All of my brothers graduated from Grant Park. When I moved away when I was younger, I never thought I’d be back here and representing my family. We take pride in basketball, and they’ll know that when they know I have these records.”

The Browns moved away from Grant Park when Blake was in first grade, moving back ahead of his sophomore year. After leading the team with 16 points per game during his all-area and All-River Valley Conference campaign, Brown knew if he just maintained that pace, he would be able to claim the school scoring record.

But he didn’t just keep up that scoring standard, he elevated it. He added media and coaches Class 1A All-State honors to repeat all-area and All-RVC teams after leading the area with 23.9 points per game as a junior. This season, he put up 23.3 points per game and made 79 3-pointers for the Dragons (10-20).

Not long after transferring from Chicago Christian, Brown formed a bond with Grant Park boys basketball coach and 2009 Wilmington graduate Matt Russell, a former all-state standout and four-year starter. It’s that relationship that Brown credits for his game elevating to the next level.

“If he wasn’t our coach, I probably wouldn’t have these 1,800 points, just because he knows my game better than anyone and he trusts my game,” Brown said. “He told me, ‘You have the biggest green light,’ and he knows I know what it means to be smart, and he trusts me with the ball and putting it in the hoop. Without him, I probably wouldn’t have this many points.”

Manteno’s Lee part of individual, team history

Like Brown, Lee was thrust into his school’s starting lineup when he moved to town as a sophomore from Joliet, and the Panther guard never left. After sharing the spotlight with fellow program luminaries such as Nicky Johnson, Kyle McCullough and Porter Chandler, Lee became the go-to guy for the program as a senior. He passed 1987 graduate Scott Wenzel (1,178) when he hit a pair of late free throws to preserve a 62-58 win over rival Peotone on Feb. 12.

“It’s amazing,” Lee said of being at the top of the leaderboard. “I’ve put in so much work over the summer, and I’m just glad it’s paid off.”

After earning all-area special mention honors during his sophomore season, Lee had a coming out party as a junior, earning all-area and All-Illinois Central Eight Conference recognition after averaging 15 points per game while hitting 80 3-pointers. With a loaded backcourt of Lee, Johnson and McCullough, the Panthers won their first Kankakee Holiday Tournament championship when they took the blue division. They went on to win the program’s first regional since 2007 and won the Illinois Central Eight Conference for the first time since its 2019 inception

“Junior year, I think I had a breakout year,” Lee said. “I was playing well with Nicky and Kyle and felt I could be much better.”

He saw another big increase this year as a senior, where his scoring average increased to 19.2 points per game and he had 101 3-pointers. The Panthers made it back-to-back KHT Blue titles, with Lee being named the tournament’s Most Outstanding Player, and made it back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in 19 years, finishing 20-12.

“I’m very proud of [myself] and my teammates,” Lee said. “We stuck together. It wasn’t always bright, but we stuck together and trusted in each other, and we got it done.”