Kirk, Tigers show who’s boss
Some players are hyped out of elementary school before entering big- time programs with massive reputations. That wasn’t the case for Joliet West’s Teyvion Kirk. He has steadily improved every season. His junior year was a success, and he played well enough over the summer to earn a scholarship to Drake.
Kirk showed the city what he looks like as a finished product in the Chicago Elite Classic on Saturday at UIC. The 6- 4 senior was tremendous. He scored 27 points and grabbed nine rebounds to lead No. 5 Joliet West to a 77- 62 win against No. 7 North Lawndale.
“I’m very proud,” Joliet West center Tabyous Casterberry said. “We are best friends. I’ve watched him progress since freshman year. Back then he was a pass- first guard. Now he is a do- it- all guard. It’s very fun seeing that.”
Kirk shot 10- for- 11 from the field. He was the dominant, calm, steadying point guard whom many suburban teams have lacked over the last two decades against high- level RedWest and Red- South teams.
“Before the game, we were in the locker room, and everyone was talking about how much this game meant to us and to the city of Joliet and the south suburbs,” Tigers senior Trevian Bell said. “It was something we knew we had to do.”
Bell scored 21 points, and Casterberry added 16 points and eight rebounds. All five starters played well for Joliet West ( 6- 0).
Elijah Ward had five points, 12 rebounds and four assists. He also did a solid job containing North Lawndale star Carlos Hines.
Hines scored 16 points, and senior Martrell Barnes led North Lawndale ( 4- 1) with 20 points.
“[ Hines] has game, that’s my buddy,” Kirk said. “I was looking forward to talking to him and playing against him. I told him we were going to win.”
Joliet West led 34- 26 at the half. The Tigers played a good stretch of the second quarter without Kirk, who headed to the bench after picking up his third foul.
“I didn’t want [ North Lawndale] to think it was going to be sweet,” Kirk said. “We wanted to show them that we were here to be tough and physical. We knew they would be.”
Joliet West had several players in foul trouble, but that physicality was also a key factor in the win.
“We started a group chat back at the beginning of the season,” Casterberry said. “We talk a lot about being physical. If we want to accomplish all these goals, we have to be the most physical team when we step on the court.”
North Lawndale cut Joliet’s lead to three points at the start of the fourth quarter, but Kirk scored 11 points in the quarter to seal the win.
“We are going to use this as a stepping- stone,” Kirk said. “This was a very important win. We wanted to show that we can compete with anyone in Illinois, whether it is in the suburbs or Chicago, and that is what we did.”
Follow me on Twitter @ michaelsobrien.