Grant's youth - and promise- show against Waukegan
Two sophomores in the starting lineup isn't the only thing that makes the Grant boys basketball team inexperienced.
The Bulldogs' most experienced player is also, well, inexperienced.
Junior forward James Mobley has started on varsity in the past. Just at a different school.
Grant's versatile go-to scorer grew up in the Grant district but then transferred to Round Lake for his freshman year. He started for the Panthers the entire season. But then last year, he transferred to Libertyville.
Now, Mobley is back at Grant.
His varsity experience shows, but he's still not quite comfortable with his third new system in three years. It will take time for him to settle in, just like it will for all the new and inexperienced players at Grant, which returned less than 2 points per game from last year and starts sophomores Logan Lewis and Andy Kaye.
Winning close games seems to be a work in progress, too. Despite 21 points from Mobley, the young Bulldogs just couldn't get over the hump Friday night in a 61-57 loss to Waukegan in the Grant Thanksgiving tournament.
"Our guards are new. We're an inexperienced bunch. There are only a couple of us who understand the varsity game," Mobley said. "And I'm on my third system. But everyone has been great, and we'll come around. Once we get our system going, we'll be fine, I think. The experience will come."
The Bulldogs are hoping the wins will eventually come, too. They are now 0-4 to start the season, and have lost decisively to Urban Prep West, North Lawndale and Lake Zurich.
"We've seen progress (in each game) and we need to keep taking steps forward," Grant coach Wayne Bosworth said. "But at the same time, how long can you keep saying, 'We're taking steps forward.' We've got to get on the fast track as fast as we can."
Grant chased Waukegan (2-2) most of the night, nipping from closely behind. Waukegan got up by 11 points with about 4 minutes left to play, but the scrappy Bulldogs closed to within 3 points with about a minute left.
"We should have closed out the game nice and comfortably," Waukegan coach Mike Wasielewski said. "But it didn't happen that way because we had some immature play at the end.
"Overall, I'm looking for more consistency and maturity from the guys. We have a lot of athletic ability, but can we harness that?"
Waukegan could have salted away the victory in the final moments with an easy layup off a Grant turnover, but instead, Carson Newsome went for a dramatic dunk and missed. That gave Grant a chance to make the game a one-possession game again.
The Bulldogs eventually got a layup from Andy Kaye and were down 60-57 with 3.4 seconds left. But then Tremayne Gwinn iced the win for Waukegan with a free throw.
"That (going for the dunk) was a very immature decision I made," said Newsome, who scored 15 points and hit a couple of 3-pointers. "We all need to work on our decisions and play more consistently."
Waukegan also got a game-high 22 points out of Jachai Taylor. Meanwhile, Andy Kaye also finished in double-figures for Grant with 13 points. His brother Jason Kaye, a senior, had 8 points for the Bulldogs.