Stagg’s David Ortiz was named after the previous Boston Red Sox slugger, however baseball has by no means been his sport.
Ortiz is on the soccer, basketball and monitor groups for the Chargers. As a junior ahead, he’s beginning to make his mark this winter on the basketball courtroom.
“My parents are big Cubs fans, but they love David Ortiz,” he mentioned. “That’s the ironic half. I’m named after him, however I don’t play baseball.
“I love being around sports all the time, though. It keeps me busy and keeps me out of trouble.”
Ortiz induced some hassle Monday evening for host Shepard, scoring 12 factors off the bench to guide Stagg to a 61-44 nonconference victory in Palos Heights.
Connor Williams completed with 11 factors and 9 rebounds, Yousef Jarad had eight factors and 7 rebounds and Lebarion Gilmore added eight factors for the Chargers (5-2).
Jermell Lymon led Shepard (2-5) with 17 factors. Payton Crims chipped in with 10 factors and Robinson Hale had 10 rebounds.
With principally reserves within the recreation for Stagg, Ortiz scored 4 factors to spark a 15-0 run that closed the primary quarter with the Chargers forward 19-6.
They led by at the least eight factors the remainder of the best way.
“My mindset is just to come in and give some energy off the bench,” Ortiz mentioned. “I want to get some points, talk, play defense, rebound, do all that.”
Stagg coach Marty Strus appreciates how Ortiz has embraced coming off the bench to assist his crew.
“Only five guys can start, but we talk all the time about, ‘Don’t be the guy that wants to start. Be the guy who wants to finish,’” Strus mentioned. “David has been actually accepting of that function.
“He’s been our first guy off the bench in every game. He’s getting an idea of what we want to do defensively. He can obviously shoot the ball. He’s a great spark when he can come in and hit shots.”
Ortiz is beginning to play large like his namesake. In reality, the baseball star’s nickname, “Big Papi,” has been heard round Stagg.
“A couple teachers at my school call me ‘Big Papi,’” Ortiz mentioned. “It’s mostly the baseball coaches. It’s pretty cool, actually. I like it.”
Williams, a starter and one of many crew’s leaders, appreciates what Ortiz gives when he goes to the bench.
“Dave’s a good player,” Williams mentioned. “He does his role good. He’s that guy off the bench for us. He gives us a lot of momentum when he gets in the game and gets hot.”
Ortiz scored 10 of his factors within the first half as Stagg constructed a 33-18 lead.
In the third quarter, Jarad produced six factors whereas Williams and Gilmore every had 5 to assist the Chargers draw back.
“We just had to stay locked in and play our game, not try to get sped up by their defense,” Williams mentioned. “It’s just little things like that.”
Adding to the bench success, Domas Narcevicius scored seven factors and Raymond Ruiz recorded six for Stagg.
“We played Friday at Bolingbrook and I thought our bench guys gave us a really good look in practice Thursday to get ready for that game,” Strus mentioned. “You want to reward those guys at some point. You want to validate their hard work. We were able to get a lot of guys some minutes.”
Ortiz, in the meantime, continues to earn increasingly more enjoying time.
“My jump shot has improved, most importantly,” Ortiz mentioned. “I’m playing more consistently. I’m boxing out guys, playing better defense and just being more vocal. I’m taking on a leadership role.”
Steve Millar is a contract reporter for the Daily Southtown.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com