Waubonsie Valley’s Treshawn Blissett just might be the ultimate wing man.
The 6-foot-5 senior does a little bit of everything on the basketball court, bouncing between guard and forward for the Warriors. And teammates know he has their back.
Junior guard Tyreek Coleman appreciates that aspect.
“We definitely look for a leadership role out of him,” Coleman said of Blissett. “He’s one of those guys you can go and look to. He’s definitely an energy player.
“He can make big plays and can get the team going if we start out slow or get slowed down at any point in the game. He’s the motor of the team.”
Vroom, vroom, vroom.
Blissett was revved up Friday night, leading undefeated Waubonsie to a 66-44 victory over Marmion in round-robin action of the Ken Peddy Windmill City Classic in Batavia.
It sets the stage for a 7:30 p.m. Saturday matchup against the host Bulldogs that serves as the tournament championship game. Both teams are 3-0 in the event.
Blissett matched Coleman with a team-high 15 points Friday while adding six rebounds, four steals and four assists.
“He’s such a disrupter with what he does on defense, leading their (1-2-2) zone press,” Marmion coach Joe Piekarz said. “He makes all the passes longer than you want to be making.”
Behind Blissett in the press are the 6-1 Coleman and 6-4 junior guard Moses Wilson.
“His length is definitely a great disruption,” Coleman said. “It’s hard for them to make those long passes past him. Moses and I can jump the passing lanes and get some steals.
“We’re lengthy guys. We’re looking to run.”
The pressure gave the young Cadets (2-2) trouble as they committed 16 turnovers through three quarters.
Marmion entered the game with just one player who could be termed an experienced varsity player. That’s 6-1 senior guard Evan Stumm, who was the sixth man on last season’s sectional championship team.
“Everyone else was getting their first varsity minutes here,” said Piekarz, whose team had lopsided wins over Raby and Streamwood but took big losses to Batavia and the Warriors. “We got what we wanted out of it, however.
“Especially playing Batavia and Waubonsie, two teams with very different styles. I didn’t mind the pressure — our guys need to face that. You can’t duplicate varsity experience.”
Matthew Stewart, a 6-0 senior guard, made a 3-pointer for Marmion at the 5:18 mark of the second quarter to force a 16-16 tie, a far cry from the 23-0 start Waubonsie had in a 89-29 win over Streamwood.
“Marmion came out stronger than we expected,” Blissett said. “We just blew out those teams by 30 points, so came into this game taking them a little bit lightly.
“In the second quarter, we took it to them.”
The Warriors outscored Marmion 20-2 following the first of Stewart’s four 3-pointers and closed the first half with a 36-20 lead.
Stewart finished with a game-high 18 points, but Waubonsie added 14 from Matthew Sessom.
“It’s only three games in, but we have a lot of guys who can score and are athletic,” Waubonsie coach Andrew Schweitzer said. “If we keep being unselfish, I think we can do some good things.”
Blissett, who recently received a scholarship offer from NCAA Division II Lewis, will no doubt be involved.
“That’s a kid who works his tail off,” Schweitzer said. “I don’t think anyone has been in the gym more than him. Defensively, what he does for us is make things tough for our opponents.
“His wingspan, activity and basketball IQ, he’s started to figure things out, and it makes a huge difference for us.”
Now, Blissett’s goal is to show his all-around pedigree.
“Our defense wins us games,” he said. “And I pride myself on how hard I work. Everyone sees me as a defensive player, but I want to showcase my ability to play offense, too.”
