St. Joseph coach Gene Pingatore changed his lineup for Saturday’s Class 3A boys basketball state title game against Belleville Althoff.
He returned sophomore Lavon Thomas to the starting lineup, replacing senior Jarviss Sutton. Thomas had started most of the season, but Sutton was in the starting five for both the supersectional and state semifinal.
Pingatore said Thomas’ frame — 6-foot-5 and 220 pounds — was the reason he got the nod over Sutton (6-2, 170).
“We decided to go with [Thomas] because of the big body. The game is a matter of adjustments and you just have to do that,” Pingatore said.
Thomas picked up two quick fouls and only played 15 minutes in the state final, which the Chargers won 67-63. Thomas grabbed four rebounds and did not attempt a shot. Sutton played 25 minutes, scoring six points.
Peoria redux
The IHSA announced Saturday that it will keep the Class 1A-4A boys basketball state tournament in Peoria for another five years. St. Joseph’s previous state title in 1999 also was won in Peoria.
Pingatore could not have been happier with the decision.
“It’s my favorite place to come to. To be able to walk, park the car and walk all over the place,” he said. “Hopefully we can get down one more time.”
Balanced attack
No other team in the Class 3A or 4A state tournament entered the state semifinals with as many double-digit scorers as St. Joseph. Led by Glynn Watson (15.0 ppg), the Chargers had four players who averaged double digits. The others were Jordan Ash (14.8), Nick Rakocevic (13.4) and Joffery Brown (10.1).
“We’ve got so many weapons on this team,” Ash said after the sectional semifinal win over Orr on March 10. “I don’t have to score. We’ve got so many other people that can score.”
Watson was St. Joseph’s only player with two 30-point games this season. He scored a career-high 38 points against Belleville Althoff on Feb. 7 at the O’Fallon Shootout. Ash’s season high was 29 points against St. Frances de Sales in the Catholic League tournament opener on Feb. 13.
What’s in a name?
Asha Wilks, the mother of brothers Joffery and Joffari Brown, doesn’t bother with nicknames around the house and admits she has no trouble pronouncing her sons’ names. But Wilks admits, “Announcers have an issue with it.”
Joffery, a senior, and Joffari, a freshman, played together at St. Joseph this season.
Joffery Brown finished 6-for-9 from the field and scored 15 points, which was good for third on the team. He added six rebounds and a steal in 32 minutes. Joffari Brown played less than a minute.
The Brown brothers have an older brother named Godfrey Brown. Wilks wanted to name her sons after variations of their father’s name, Jeffery Brown.
3-point shooter
St. Joseph’s Max Ramos is the team’s shortest player at 5-7, but the senior guard made some big time shots in the Class 3A 3-point Showdown on Thursday with 11 3-pointers in the preliminary round. Ramos advanced to Friday’s Class 3A final, but Montini junior Jack Westerkamp won that round to advance to the King of the Hill competition Saturday.
The surprising thing is that Ramos made only 1-of-3 3-point attempts during the regular season. He scored only seven points during the regular season.
When St. Joseph had the victory in hand in the semifinals, Ramos was the first substitute outside of coach Gene Pingatore’s usual seven players to enter the game. He walked onto the floor with 1:56 remaining against Rockford Lutheran. St. Joseph led 55-36. Ramos didn’t take a shot, but was the first of three reserves seniors to get a minute or two of playing time. The other seniors were Jesse Wilson and Lance Anderson. Those three players played in a combined 29 games this season.
Next class of Chargers
St. Joseph’s is a senior-heavy team. Two core players — Rakocevic, a junior center, and Thomas — are expected to return in 2015-16.
Rakocevic said this year’s senior class pushed him on the court and off, and he expects to follow their example next season.
“If that means being in your face, tap you on the butt and say, ‘Let’s go play’ or screaming at you, it doesn’t matter. They taught me how to be a leader,” he said. “I think that next year I’ll have that role next year with the younger kids and hopefully we can be back in the same place.”
Jon Kerr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter: @prepspioneer
