As a sophomore final season, AJ Abrams had a powerful varsity debut for Eisenhower, however he knew there was one thing main to work on.
His outdoors shot was not ok to maintain defenders sincere and cease them from sagging off to forestall him from driving to the basket.
“I wasn’t really a shooter,” Abrams mentioned. “I used to be scared to shoot the ball final 12 months. This 12 months, everyone seems to be pushing me to shoot the ball extra. I obtained within the gymnasium over the offseason, labored on it so much.
“It makes it easier to get to the basket when they have to respect my shot.”
While he’s nonetheless most harmful when he’s driving to the basket, Abrams’ shot is respectable now and that makes him even harder to cease.
“His 3-point shooting still needs improvement but it’s gotten a lot better,” Eisenhower coach Neil Miguez mentioned. “He’s super athletic. He’s 5-foot-10 and he can get up and dunk. He really gave us a boost last year, and then he trained hard all offseason to get better.”
Abrams is main Eisenhower (9-13) in nearly each statistical class. He’s averaging 21 factors, 9.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists, 2.5 steals and 1.0 blocked shot.
“Nine rebounds a game is pretty impressive for a 5-foot-10 guard and he gets one block a game too, which is ridiculous,” Miguez mentioned. “He’s doing every part for us.
“Every team we play is face guarding him or doing a diamond-and-one against him, and he’s still putting up these numbers.”
Abrams had a plan to get harder going into his junior season so he may do a few of the soiled work for the Cardinals.
“I was working out, lifting weights, getting my legs right,” Abrams mentioned. “For my measurement, it’s fairly exhausting to get rebounds over tall defenders. It takes hustle, pace and dedication.
“Don’t underestimate me because of my size.”
Abrams began enjoying basketball when he was 5 years previous, along with his love for the sport unleashed after seeing an advert within the newspaper.
“I saw something about a rec league, and I asked my mom and dad if I could sign up,” Abrams mentioned. “The first time I woke them up on a Saturday and told them I had a game, they were surprised. They didn’t realize I had the basketball talent.”
Now, Abrams’ expertise is on full show. Miguez sees it day-after-day. In truth, Abrams makes him take into consideration a former NBA MVP from Chicago.
“I don’t want to say he’s like Derrick Rose, but he reminds me of that in just the way he plays,” Miguez mentioned. “He gets to the hole. He’s so explosive that he goes up and gets bumped and it doesn’t mess with his shot. He’s just super athletic.”
Overcoming adversity: Despite shedding main scorer Xavier Sulaiman to damage and struggling in late December, Oak Lawn (14-6) is on a six-game successful streak and has not misplaced in 2023.
Sulaiman, who had been out since mid-December with a knee damage, briefly returned for the Jan. 13 sport towards Lemont however reinjured the knee.
Oak Lawn coach Jason Rhodes confirmed Sulaiman could have surgical procedure quickly and is out for the season.
The Spartans, although, received that Lemont sport with out him and have stayed sizzling ever since.
“Our wins haven’t been the most pretty, but I’d rather win and learn than lose and learn,” Rhodes mentioned. “Our guys have done a good job pulling off some of these close games.”
Ayham Salah and Corey Lee have led Oak Lawn in scoring, whereas Rhodes credited Robert Wagner for being the crew’s “glue guy.”
Viking conquest: Homewood-Flossmoor’s 70-69 time beyond regulation upset of Bloom on Saturday marked the primary big win for brand new coach Jamere Dismukes.
Seniors Vincent Davis and Jahlil Birchette have emerged as key leaders for the Vikings (14-8), who’ve received 4 straight.
Steve Millar is a contract reporter for the Daily Southtown.
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Source: www.bostonherald.com