Nothing meek about Meeks
Junior forward goes 11 of 15 from the free-throw line
If he wants to go to a Division I college, Homewood-Flossmoor’s Christian Meeks is savvy enough to know he’s going to have to work on his outside game.
The 6-foot-6 junior forward didn’t get a chance to show what he could do on the perimeter Friday night, taking just one short pullup jumper.
That’s because the host Vikings needed his presence inside. Meeks was a huge factor in a 75-60 SouthWest Suburban Blue victory over Lincoln-Way East.
After the Griffins (0-3, 0-2) took an 8-0 lead, Meeks scored two quick baskets inside following a timeout to break the ice. He finished with 17 points, including shooting 11 of 15 from the free-throw line.
“A lot of college coaches want to see me develop a perimeter game,” Meeks said. “I’ve been working on my jump shot. But in a game like this, I had to go to the basket.
“I thought they would back off a little bit once I started dominating inside, but they kept coming. I just took it to them and got to the line.”
Meeks, who plays for the Illinois HoopStars during the offseason, said he has no college offers yet but has heard from mid-major Division I schools, including Tulsa.
Tai Walters led H-F (2-0, 2-0) with 22 points, including 10 in a third quarter that saw the Vikings erupt for 27 points en route to grabbing a 60-45 lead.
In the third, Lincoln-Way East led 39-33 with 7 minutes, 16 seconds left when Meeks sank a pair of free throws. That sparked H-F on a dominant 25-6 burst the rest of the quarter.
In the past 10 seasons, the SouthWest Suburban Blue title has gone to either H-F or Bolingbrook. In the past two seasons, both teams tied for the league championship.
Given that this is a short regular season and the postseason has been eliminated by the Illinois High School Association, the endgame for most teams is a conference title.
“We’re all prepared to see everybody’s best,” Meeks said. “We know everybody is going to try to come after us and give us their best shot. They all know that Bolingbrook and us kind of share conference titles a lot.”
Daniel Reed and Chad Readey each added 13 points for H-F.
“I thought our guys showed a lot of guts,” H-F coach Marc Condotti said. “They really stepped up and I’m proud of them.
“Christian is big and strong and he’s committed. He’s a true basketball player. He eats, sleeps and lives basketball.”
The Griffins have hopes of making noise in the conference but ran into two buzz saws right off the bat.
Before facing H-F, Lincoln-Way East lost 73-67 on Tuesday to Bolingbrook. The Griffins opened the season Feb. 5 with a 64-55 crossover loss to LincolnWay Central.
“Whatever happened to starting the season with softies?” Lincoln-Way East coach Rich Kolimas said. “You have to face them eventually.”
Three sophomores led the Griffins against H-F. Khalil Ross scored 14 points, while Tylon Tolliver added 13 and George Bellevue had 12.
Free-throw shooting hurt the Griffins, who went 15 of 28 from the line and missed nine in the first half, when they held a 36-33 lead.
Two-year starter JR Jones, who injured his ACL in August, is due back Wednesday, however. He was taking a few jump shots in his street clothes minutes after the H-F loss.
“Honestly, that is what we are missing,” Kolimas said. “The guys we have in there are doing a great job, but he is a senior that runs the show. If you don’t have him, it hurts.”