Leo’s Karon Shavers experienced a twinge of excitement throughout the entire day Monday.
The 5-foot-10 junior guard turned that energy into the greatest moment of his high school career.
“I just felt it the whole day,” Shavers said amidst the celebration afterward. “I knew that I had to come out and bring my best effort in everything I did. I felt the momentum.
“My only mindset was I had to step up my game and not let the team down.”
Instead, he sparked the Lions downstate.
Shavers made 9 of 11 shots Monday night in scoring 22 points to lead the Lions to a 54-33 victory over Hyde Park in the Class 3A UIC Supersectional at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago.
Junior guard Jeremiah Echols added 14 points and two steals for the Lions (28-6), who won their seventh straight game and avenged a 50-35 defeat to the Thunderbirds (25-10) on Jan. 4.
Shavers also had a team-best six rebounds and four steals while adding three assists for Leo, which advanced to play at 11:45 a.m. Friday against East St. Louis (31-4) in a state semifinal at the State Farm Center in Champaign.
Shavers shot 5 of 5 from the floor in first half and made his first seven shots. He scored nine straight points to spark an 11-0 run in the first quarter and scored 14 points in a big 21-2 burst.
“Karon has been here since freshman year, and he really had to step into this moment,” Leo coach Jimalle Ridley said. “It took difficult days, a lot of days where he didn’t perform up to his standards.
“But it built to this moment. He finally bought in and showed his best qualities.”
Junior guard Asa Harris chipped in with seven points and four steals for the Lions, who recorded a staggering 16 steals in forcing 18 turnovers. And Harris helped Shavers find his rhythm.
“He’s a great player and he did what great players do,” Harris said of Shavers. “They take your team over the hump. He got each of us to play better out there and to play together.
“He took us to the promised land.”
Shavers also performed like a heavyweight boxer, delivering the basketball equivalent of an uppercut with a 27-footer from the right wing after Hyde Park pulled within 10 with six minutes left.
Ridley was standing adjacent to him, yelling at Shavers to pull the ball out.
The moment was too good to pass up.
“That’s what this game is all about,” Shavers said. “You have to live for plays like that and not be afraid of the moment. I didn’t think about it that much. I just let it go, let it ride, and it felt great.”
Football was his first love, and the sport that he showed the most promise in growing up. It brought toughness and a physical edge to his style of play on the basketball court.
By the time he arrived at Leo, Shavers felt an even stronger pull to play basketball.
“I come from a basketball dynasty in my family,” he said. “My dad, uncles, cousins, they all played the game. That legacy was important for me and gave me the chance to make my own name.”
Shavers did more than just score Monday. He set up both of Echols’ 3-pointers with his passing.
“When Karon had that nine-point run in the first quarter, that just made me want to get going,” Echols said. “He put the team on his back in that moment and I had to feed off that energy.”
Leo will be seeking its first appearance in the state championship game since finishing as the Class 1A runner-up in 2016.
“I didn’t know a whole lot about Leo before I got here,” Shavers said. “I’ve had great support here, from players and the coaches. They understand me.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
