Latham turns page for H-F
One of her dreams in fifth grade was to play for Coach Smith; now sophomore is his leader
When you wish upon a star … The other day, Homewood-Flossmoor sophomore Alyssa Latham told me about one of her favorite wishes that came true. It involved playing basketball in high school.
“I made this book when I was in fifth grade,” Latham said. “I had a page in it where I put down all of my dreams.
“I typed it up, and in the back I put, ‘I want to play for Tony Smith.’ ”
I have to say, she was a smart little girl.
And her wish is turning into a sparkling reality.
The 6-foot-1 forward saw quality time last season as a freshman, and today is looking very much like a team leader for the Vikings.
In Thursday’s 56-43 SouthWest Suburban Blue win over LincolnWay East, Latham played through serious foul trouble to score 16 points and grab nine rebounds.
It came on the heels of 10 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots in a 46-36 victory over Lockport.
She’s living large.
“I’m really glad that dream came true,” Latham said. “Tony Smith is a really good coach. He’s encouraging. He does not give up on you.
“A lot of people put a lot of doubt in him. I don’t even understand that. I can trust him with everything.”
As for grabbing those leadership reins, Latham has had to grow up in a hurry.
She had some solid senior role models last season in Naya Haymon, Tia Morgan, Isis Fitch and Imani Mitchell. And most of the way, she — and everybody else on the team — also could lean on junior standout Grace Hall.
It allowed Latham to gradually develop her skills, which Smith reminded me on a few occasions were going to be pretty spectacular.
But shortly before the state playoffs, Hall went down with a season-ending knee injury. Suddenly, someone with explosive talent needed to pick up the slack.
Smith asked Latham to be strong.
“Once Grace went down, Alyssa didn’t have that comfort of, ‘OK, well, Grace is going to do it,’ ” Smith said. “She didn’t have anyone else to do it.
“She had to go guard the best player from Marist. She had to guard the best player from Mother McAuley.”
Latham welcomed the challenge.
“At first, I knew I had to step up but I really didn’t think that he would put his trust and confidence in me like he did,” Latham said. “There was a lot of pressure on me because we lost our best player, and I had to step up.”
Latham was an overtime hero against Marist in the Class 4A Stagg Sectional championship game. She hit two free throws to break a tie with 12.4 seconds remaining as H-F won 45-42.
She didn’t lie to me when I asked her then if she was nervous. She didn’t lie when I asked her this time, either.
“My heart was pounding so hard,” Latham said. “But when I got to the line, I knew I had to calm myself and get the right form down so I could hit those free throws.”
The trust that Smith put in her at the end of last season has evolved into something even more challenging. Hall won’t play again until college. Latham is starting the season as the team leader.
Smith laughed when he told me about some of their conversations at practice.
“She thinks I’m crazy sometimes,” Smith said. “I tell her she needs to do A, B, and C, and she needs to score more and hook up her teammates. And she looks at me like, ‘Which one do you want me to do?’
“I’m like, ‘I need you to do it all.’ She is our best option right now, and she’s going to learn that phase where she can force things without forcing things. She’s going to be special.”
The new wish list, meanwhile, had to be modified when the Illinois High School Association announced there would be no state tournament this season.
Latham has big plans for her junior and senior years.
“When I came here I promised coach I would get him four,” Latham said. “Now we can only get two. So I’ll do my best to bring those two home.”