Oak Lawn’s Jack Dempsey is not all that familiar with legendary boxer Jack Dempsey, who fought in the 1910s and 1920s.
But the sophomore guard knows he shares a famous name.
He hears it. Oh, does he hear it.
“It gets brought up a lot, especially with older people,” Dempsey said of the moniker. “People just say it just to say it. I don’t really know much about him.”
Well, Dempsey and his inside-outside talents helped the Spartans deliver a knockout blow to a three-game losing streak Tuesday night in a 49-43 South Suburban Red win over crosstown rival Richards.
Dempsey finished with 13 points for visiting Oak Lawn (11-5, 4-0). His first nine came on a trio of 3-pointers and the next four were on layups.
Junior guard Donte Montgomery led the Spartans with 19 points and Henry Martinez added 11. Sean Ryan had a rebound and steal in the last 14 seconds to help seal the victory.
Sophomore guard Marcus Jennings came off the bench to lead Richards (7-11, 0-4) with 12 points. The Bulldogs entered with a 3-2 record in their past five games.
Dempsey, meanwhile, said he picked up his name because his mother, Erin, just liked the name Jack. She’s also the person who got Jack involved in basketball.
“I’ve been playing probably since I was like 1,” he said. “My mom coached the Oak Lawn freshman girls. She would bring me to the gym, and I would just dribble the basketball.
“She taught me about shooting, obviously, and she taught me passing and dribbling and all of the basic stuff to play basketball.”
The 6-foot-2 Jack Dempsey figures to be a more important player for the Spartans after a finger injury to guard Corey Lee, whom coach Jason Rhodes said was an important leader on both offense and defense.
“You got to see a little of his ball handling, which he hasn’t had to use very much for our team,” Rhodes said of Dempsey. “Now with Corey out, he and Ali Farhan have to handle the basketball a little bit more.
“He’s always been a good passer, and he shoots the ball exceptionally well. He showed his all-around game, and the great thing is that he’s got even more in his bag.”
Montgomery is also impressed with Dempsey’s versatility.
“He helps with everything,” Montgomery said. “He’s a great shooter, rebounder, playmaker. He takes a lot of heat off me for sure.”
The Spartans opened the season 9-0 before suffering losses to Stagg and Sandburg.
In a wild 92-82 setback to Sandburg, Oak Lawn lost Lee to the injury before heading to the Effingham/Teutopolis Christmas Classic. The Spartans looked like they were back on the right track with a 57-43 win over Brooks.
But Oak Lawn then dropped three straight in the tournament to close out the 2023 portion of the schedule.
“We needed this game in the worst way,” Rhodes said of the win over Richards.
“I think we kind of needed that wake-up call,” said Montgomery, who has gained recruiting interest from Miami of Ohio. “Losing those games back-to-back-to-back was big for us. We needed to bounce and play together as a team.”
After coming off the bench last season as a freshman, Dempsey is also contributing more.
“In the offseason, I would work on stuff that I needed to improve on,” said Dempsey, who played AAU with Chicago LockDown. “It flowed into this year.”
“He’s stronger and his ball handling has improved,” Rhodes said of Dempsey. “Because he’s stronger, he’s finishing better around the basket and is a facilitator.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
