Goss: An eye-opener for Joliet West

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Joliet West coach Luke Yaklich. | File photo

Updated: January 31, 2012 8:17AM

With respect to other Christmas tournaments our area boys basketball teams frequent, there is nothing that says “we belong” like inclusion in the championship bracket at Pontiac.

After Day 1 of the 81st annual Pontiac Holiday Tournament, Joliet West was our only entry in Thursday’s quarterfinals. Lockport and Plainfield North dropped their tournament openers Wednesday and were in the consolation bracket.

But the Tigers were there, prepared to carry the area banner. Yes, second-seeded Warren boasts basically the same cast from the team that finished second to Simeon in the Class 4A state tournament a year ago. However, unbiased observers were anticipating Thursday morning’s match-up, feeling there was a chance West could pull an upset.

But if there was anyone feeling upset, it was the Tigers. They trailed 13-0 off the get-go, having attempted one field goal to that point. It never got much better as Warren breezed 60-29.

West (9-3), which returned for a 9 p.m. elimination game Thursday against West Aurora, arrived at Pontiac as the No. 2-ranked team in the Joliet area behind Plainfield East, and there is no reason to believe the Tigers will not be among our best when the postseason arrives. After what transpired Thursday morning, however, the question lingers about how necessary improvement will be accomplished.

“If we’re going to be able to beat all the good teams that will be in our sectional, we have to compete harder at the start of games than we did today,” West coach Luke Yaklich said. “They let some air out of our balloon at the beginning, and I hadn’t seen that with this group.

“To get dominated like we did was an eye-opener for all our guys. Our guys know they have to get better, and our coaching staff knows we have to prepare better.”

Warren’s quickness at the point (Jameris Smith) disrupted Tigers guards Carl Terrell and Morris Dunnigan, who had numerous passes deflected if not stolen. Getting post production from 6-foot-9 senior Marlon Johnson didn’t happen.

The Tigers went from a first quarter when they managed to launch only four shots to 20-percent accuracy for the game (10-of-50). And as Yaklich noted, they attempted only five three-pointers, 45 shots from two-point range. That illustrates how effective Warren’s length was in frustrating West.

While Yaklich is pointing to February as the time the Tigers will be where they want to be, Johnson does need to get involved consistently in the post.

“It’s a fine balance,” Yaklich said. “Marlon is good attacking teams from away from the basket. But at times we have to have him down on the block. We have to shoot some threes and spread the floor a little bit for Marlon to do well down low.”

One hand washes the other. Yet against Warren, there was no inside game to free outside shooters and no outside game to get Johnson going around the bucket. There was precious little offense.

Warren (9-1) features 6-9 Nathan Boothe, who will play at Toledo, and 6-8 Darius Paul, who is headed to Western Michigan and is the brother of Illinois’ Brandon Paul. But that isn’t all in their arsenal. “Their size at the one, two and three slots impacted the game,” Yaklich said.

This might have been an occasion where you credit the opponent and move on. Or was it more than that?

“This was a good lesson our guys learned,” Yaklich said.

It will be interesting to see where the Tigers are six weeks from now.