Senior guard Meyoh Swansey is enjoying the spotlight at Thornton.
Swansey felt he was a bit under the radar while starring at Romeoville, but after transferring in the offseason and then teaming up with Illinois recruit Morez Johnson, he knows there will be plenty of eyes upon him.
And he’s ready to impress.
“It’s definitely a bigger platform, playing on ESPN, playing a big game against Metamora and things like that,” Swansey said. “It’s just a bigger experience, especially with my talent level.
“It’s fun playing with these guys and winning.”
Swansey showcased his talent again Monday, scoring 10 points as the Wildcats shook off a halftime deficit and topped Niles North 67-60 in the Martin Luther King Jr. Suburban Classic at Homewood-Flossmoor.
Johnson poured in a career-high 30 points, pulled in 17 rebounds and blocked five shots to lead Thornton (15-2). Malik Holton scored 10 points and Isaiah Green chipped in with six.
Yaris Irby scored 20 points and Reid Olson had 17 for Niles North (14-5).
Swansey has settled into his role at Thornton, where he can partner with fellow guards Green and Holton. Of course, with Johnson inside, Swansey knows he doesn’t have to carry the Wildcats.
“I definitely want to be a big defense guy,” Swansey said. “There’s scoring and doing what I do, but I also want to rebound and help Morez because he can’t get every rebound.
“Morez gets all the attention, so that lets all the other guards work. It makes us hard to guard. Morez can kick it out to us, and that makes us hard to stop.”
Johnson is also enjoying the opportunity to play with Swansey as the new teammates continue to work on building their connection.
“Meyoh is a threat all over the court,” Johnson said. “He can hit the three. He can hit the midrange shot. He can take you all the way to the basket.
“I think Meyoh’s biggest problem right now is knowing when to score and when to pass. He’s not used to playing with other great players, but we’re going to get that down pat.”
Thornton trailed 34-33 at halftime, but Johnson ultimately was too much for Niles North to handle. His eight points in the third quarter helped the Wildcats build a 53-48 lead.
“Early in the game, coach (Tai) Streets was yelling, ‘Morez, stop playing soft,'” Johnson said. “In the first few minutes of the game, I was playing passive, and after that I was like, ‘OK, let me get him quiet.'”
Streets doesn’t ever really get quiet, but he was certainly satisfied with Johnson’s performance.
“I know he’s going to get double and triple teams and he was a bit passive early on, but after that he just started destroying like Morez does,” Streets said. “He’s been playing the right way all year. When he gets doubled and tripled, he passes the ball out. He doesn’t force it.
“So, it was good to see him go off for 30 points.”
Meanwhile, Streets has also seen what Swansey is capable of doing. He’s also pushing his new guard for more.
“Meyoh can score,” Streets said. “He has a lot of athleticism. I still want to see him be more aggressive getting to the basket. We know he can do that, but he hasn’t shown it a lot.
“We know he can shoot, but we’d like to see him attack more, too.”
Overall, Swansey is enjoying the ride.
“I was a great player at Romeoville and we were a good team, but we just didn’t have the platform,” Swansey said. “Now, I have great players around me, coach Streets gives us a bigger platform, and we’re looking good.”
