When he was growing up, Gianni Cobb noticed that one of his cousins dyed his hair blond.
Cobb liked the look and tried it himself. And it stuck.
“I’ve had this look since the fourth grade,” said Cobb, now a senior for Homewood-Flossmoor. “It’s my signature. Everybody knows me by my hair. They know it’s me.”
It gets a lot of notice, for sure.
But even if Cobb didn’t have bright hair, people would notice his game on the court.
The 6-foot guard scored 19 points and added five rebounds, four steals and a pair of assists Wednesday night to help H-F stay unbeaten with a 56-46 victory over Crete-Monee.
Jayden Tyler, a junior, added 11 points for the Vikings (5-0) as the two guards combined to shoot 8 of 16. Their teammates shot 9 of 23 in the nonconference road game.
Crete-Monee (4-2), which trailed by as much as 13 in the third quarter, spread the scoring around. Tay’Shun Russell led with nine points and Jayden Preston added eight.
Although the Warriors closed the gap to 38-32 heading into the fourth, that’s when Cobb started to do his best work. He scored 10 points in the final six minutes, had an offensive rebound and a defensive rebound, and turned a steal into a layup.
While H-F coach Jamere Dismukes was not in much of a mood to praise his team’s effort afterward, he was enthusiastic about Cobb’s play.
“He’s a winner,” Dismukes said of Cobb. “When everybody else is nervous or is a wreck, he’s still the same tough-minded player, and it showed. He scored. He had rebounds, assists and steals when he needed it.
“You talk about a winner, and that’s what a winner looks like.”
Cobb, who grew up in H-F’s district, began his high school career at Bloom and went last year to Perspectives-Leadership but said he moved back to live with his mother.
Gianni and his older brother, Kamarion, played together at Perspectives. When Kamarion graduated and left to play in college at Rock Valley, Gianni was ready to come home.
He said at the time of his decision he didn’t know the Vikings were also getting one of the top juniors in the country in Bryce Heard, who played at Kenwood and Montverde, Florida.
Cobb is embracing the pressure of being on a high-profile team with huge expectations.
“We have a target on our back,” Cobb said. “Everybody that we play are going to be coming at us and playing their hardest. We can’t take any game for granted.”
Tyler has seen some of the new faces help turn a team that finished with 18-14 record last season into an area and state power.
“It’s been great,” Tyler said. “These guys have been helping me get ready for the next level. They are great players.
“The first time I practiced against them, I was holding my own. I was competitive. I was guarding everybody. This is only going to make us better.”
Tyler also enjoys having Cobb on his side.
“He brings scoring and he brings creation,” Tyler said. “We play off each other.”
Cobb, who gave a verbal commitment to play in the Ivy League at Columbia in New York City, said he loves the fact that the campus is nice. The city reminds him of Chicago.
He hasn’t decided on a major but is kicking around the idea of studying business.
“I’m not there yet,” he said of his major. “I want to get my ring first.”
Cobb is referring to a ring that would come from winning a Class 4A state championship.
“We’re going to make a long run,” he said. “We didn’t play well against Crete, but it’s just the fifth game of the season.
“We’re going to get better every day.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
