Waubonsie Valley point guard Tyreek Coleman is the real deal, and so are the Warriors.
Win a tournament at Thanksgiving by an average margin of 37.3 points over four games at Batavia, then follow it up with an average margin of 32 points for four games at Christmas in the Hinkle Classic at Jacobs, and whispers about strength of schedule are sure to follow.
Not to worry.
“I know there’s been some chatter about our strength of schedule, yada, yada, yada,” Waubonsie coach Andrew Schweitzer said. “But at the end of the day, when we’ve been challenged by good teams, and when there’s adversity, these kids have responded.
“I’ve been with teams, you have a second quarter like we did, the heads go down and you can feel the temperature in the room drop. I’ve never felt that with these kids.”
It’s not likely to happen with Coleman, the Kentucky kid, directing the show.
Coleman, a 5-foot-11 junior, seemed to be everywhere doing everything in the third quarter Friday night, rallying his team from a 32-23 halftime deficit to a 56-50 DuPage Valley Conference victory over district rival Neuqua Valley.
Coleman finished with a game-high 18 points and tied teammate Moses Wilson, a 6-5 junior guard, with a game-high nine rebounds as the Warriors (14-0, 4-0) won their 14th straight and took a one-game lead over the Wildcats in the conference.
“We’re playing the same way, good team or bad,” said Coleman, who moved here from Hopkinsville, Kentucky before starting high school. “Neuqua’s a good team. We’re just gonna go out there and play the same way every game.
“In a game like this, it’s adrenaline flowing throughout the game. There’s highs and lows but it’s all fun and part of the game. Sometimes things don’t go your way, but when you get it going, it feels amazing.”
That feeling came in the third quarter after Waubonsie started strong and took a 13-10 lead in the first quarter, only to get outscored 22-10 in the second quarter when Neuqua (13-3, 3-1) was sparked by 6-4 senior forward Nathan Fiore off the bench.
Fiore had nine of his team-high 15 points in that quarter.
“I was a little upset at halftime,” Coleman said. “We talked about what they were gonna do offensively and we wanted to take care of it on the defensive end because they were getting a lot of easy looks we knew we could have stopped them from getting.
“Overall, I know we’ve got a lot of guys that are good at dealing with adversity. All you have to do is get some stops and knock down some shots.”
That’s what the Warriors did as Schweitzer tweaked his 1-2-2 press and his team responded by forcing six turnovers in the decisive third.
Coleman had six rebounds in that quarter and scored nine points, capped by a buzzer-beating 3-pointer after he pulled down a defensive rebound and drove to the top of the key for the shot.
Treshawn Blissett added 12 points and Wilson had 10.
“He’s our floor general,” Schweitzer said of Coleman. “He can play like he’s been shot out of a cannon, but we’ve been talking to him about it — there are times you have to pick and choose, change your speed up and be calm. Then you can go fast again.
“I thought he did a really nice job in that quarter and throughout the second half of controlling the pace and getting us in what we wanted and just being a leader out there.”
Schweitzer marvels at his point guard’s rebounding.
“He has a unique ability, when a shot goes up, he just springs and gets it,” Schweitzer said. “He doesn’t look to check out. He does a great job.”
A far cry from the player Schweitzer said after the team’s opening game was flying under the radar.
Teams are well aware now.
