Latest news with #Crete-Monee
Chicago Tribune
4 days ago
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Crete-Monee's Bren Milburn breaks IHSA record for stolen bases and leads nation. His method? ‘It's the adrenaline.'
Crete-Monee's Bren Milburn loves the feeling he gets when he takes off to steal a base. The senior utility man really gets excited when he's not sure whether or not he's going to make it. 'It's the adrenaline,' Milburn said. 'It's kind of just a fight-or-flight type of thing. It's an opportunity to put your team in a better spot. The adrenaline really gets going when it looks like it's going to be close and you know you have to beat the tag or slide around it. 'When it's close like that, I think that's the most fun part.' This spring, however, it was rarely close. And the stolen bases were almost never in doubt for Milburn, a Morton College recruit. He piled up an Illinois High School Association record 93 for the season and was caught stealing just twice. Crete-Monee coach Brad Meyer remembers one of those two well. 'Against Eisenhower, he tried to slide around the shortstop and he had the base stolen but he slid too far, went past the bag and the kid still had the tag on,' Meyer said. Aside from that miscue, it was pretty much an automatic thing when Milburn took off. Those 93 steals also led the nation this season, according to statistics on MaxPreps. 'Catcher's indifference is a thing, but with Bren, he has the base stolen before you can decide if it was catcher's indifference or not,' Meyer said. 'By the time the ball crosses the plate, he's already standing on the base. 'We knew Bren was going to do whatever he could to get on base. Then he was going to steal second and he was going to steal third.' Milburn did that so often that he shattered the previous IHSA record for stolen bases in a season. Odin's Jeff Burton in 1988 and Lane Tech's Joe Perez in 2001 both finished with 73 steals. Milburn, who stole 48 bases last year, could never have imagined nearly doubling that number this spring. 'Honestly, the goal was to get to 60 stolen bases, so 93 is crazy,' Milburn said. 'But my team gave me a lot of opportunities. I wanted to get on base as much as I could. I took my walks. 'That gave me a lot of chances to steal.' Milburn is more than just a one-trick pony, though. He hit .439 with 53 runs and 32 RBIs and went 7-2 on the mound with a 1.37 ERA. He was named both the player of the year and the pitcher of the year in the Southland Conference. 'Before the year, he was going to pitch in relief and his goal was to get seven saves,' Meyer said. 'Then I told him I needed him to be our No. 1 starter, and he just went out and got seven wins instead.' Milburn is part of a big baseball family. His dad, Bryan, is an assistant coach at Crete-Monee and a hitting instructor at All Aspects Baseball and Softball Academy in Schererville, Indiana. Bren's older brother, Blake, played baseball at Aurora University after starring at Crete-Monee. 'Seeing my older brother play in college and seeing what it takes to get there, I feel like I've always taken baseball seriously since a young age,' Milburn said. 'I've always had that drive to get better.' He will continue to put that drive to use at Morton. And he has big future goals. 'I want to get to Division I baseball and get drafted eventually,' Milburn said. 'I felt like going the juco route was the best for me, the best way to play right away.' As for high school, Milburn finished with 188 career steals, which puts him third in IHSA history. That record is held by Waltonville's Tim Dressler, who stole 210 from 1981 to 1984. Milburn has still not gotten used to seeing his name all over the record books. 'It's awesome,' he said. 'I don't think it's really set in yet. I think it will take a couple years.'
Chicago Tribune
27-02-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Moving into the starting lineup, Jaydon Watts scores for Crete-Monee. But there's more. ‘That isn't everything.'
As the youngest of five basketball-playing brothers, Crete-Monee's Jaydon Watts has a chip on his shoulder. It comes from years of being the little guy getting beat up on the court. It all made Watts, a senior guard, even stronger. And he sure learned a lot. 'I'm always battling and I'm always fighting because I'm used to doing that,' Watts said. 'You've just got to live and learn. From my brothers, I learned how to be a leader, how to do the right thing and be a better person.' Watts' leadership has been vital for the Warriors. He often comes off the bench as the team's sixth man, but he got the start Wednesday night and scored 11 points to spark Crete-Monee to a 77-38 win over Evergreen Park in a Class 3A Hillcrest Regional semifinal in Country Club Hills. Watts added eight rebounds and Jaylen Blakes scored 21 points to lead the fifth-seeded Warriors (19-12). Zyheir Gardner and Jayden Preston added nine points apiece, while Uriel Chapman chipped in with six. Crete-Monee will take on fourth-seeded Hillcrest (20-10), which beat Oak Forest 63-50, at 6 p.m. Friday in the regional final. Lenear Bolden scored 12 points, Keshaun Vaval added 11 points and Camryn Dandridge finished with eight points and 10 rebounds for 12th-seeded Evergreen Park (14-17). All of Jaydon's brothers, including Enos, Nick and Emmanuel along with Joel, graduated from Homewood-Flossmoor, although Joel started his career at St. Rita. 'It was just meant to be for me,' Jaydon said of ending up at Crete-Monee. 'I watched all my brothers play at H-F and I started playing basketball when I was 3 years old. 'My parents just put the ball in my hand and I had to figure out what to do with it.' Watts, meanwhile, wasn't the only member of his family playing in the postseason Wednesday. Joel, the second-youngest of the Watts brothers, scored 11 points for Concordia Chicago in an 82-68 loss to Concordia Wisconsin in a Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference Tournament game. Jaydon is hoping to follow Joel's path to college basketball, but his high school journey has been different. On Wednesday night, Watts scored eight quick points in the first quarter. It was the kind of spark he typically provides off the bench and was exactly what Crete-Monee coach Jawan Nelson was looking for. 'Jaydon is one of our best scorers,' Nelson said. 'That's why I've been having him come off the bench, but I had to start him this game because we've been struggling getting those points. 'We scored the most points we've scored all year and he was a big part of it.' Watts, though, has been focused on doing more to help his team than just make 3-pointers. His eight rebounds were a major source of pride. 'It's senior year,' Watts said. 'Shooting and scoring the ball, that isn't everything. We all have to contribute across the court.' Blakes, who transferred to Crete-Monee from T.F. North, has spent just one season with Watts. But he has certainly felt his impact. 'I've seen Watts grow a lot as more than a basketball player,' Blakes said. 'I've seen him grow as a person, as a captain and especially as a team leader. He's a person that we really lean on.' Up 36-24 at halftime, the Warriors dominated the second half, holding Evergreen Park to 14 points, including just three in the fourth quarter. Now, they get their rematch with Hillcrest, which beat Crete-Monee 55-50 in a Big Dipper quarterfinal on Dec. 27. Watts is ready. And he's hungrier than ever. 'You have to get uncomfortable with your weaknesses,' Watts said. 'That's always going to help you get better in the long run. I felt like my weakness in the past was just the want to win. 'I feel like I've really got that now.'
Chicago Tribune
15-02-2025
- Sport
- Chicago Tribune
Al Brooks Jr. continues to make statement for Rich Township. As in Mr. Basketball candidate. ‘He's a top talent.'
When Al Brooks Jr. transferred from Hansberry to Rich Township, one school of thought was that he could become a legitimate Mr. Basketball candidate in the state. The Raptors have played a high-profile schedule this season and a deep run in the postseason would help his chances greatly, although junior guard Jayden Williams thinks he's already there. 'He is Mr. Basketball,' Williams said of Brooks. 'There is no possibility — he is. 'He brings energy, defense, scoring … but mostly defense.' Brooks put on a Mr. Basketball-worthy performance Friday night, stockpiling 26 points, 13 rebounds, five blocked shots and four steals as the host Raptors rolled to a 56-38 Southland Athletic Conference win over Crete-Monee in Richton Park. Williams added nine points for Rich Township (20-7, 10-1). Nyshawn Turner had five rebounds. Uriel Chapman came up with 13 points and seven rebounds off the bench for Crete-Monee (18-11, 6-5), which trailed 21-10 at halftime. Rich Township scored the first eight points in the third quarter. Warriors coach Jawan Nelson then pulled his starters and played the bench the rest of the way. Raptors coach Lou Adams, though, was pleased with how Brooks continues to make all the plays. 'He's a top talent,' Adams said. 'He's unmatched. And his best basketball is ahead of him.' The Raptors are guaranteed at least a share of the conference title, which would be the program's first since Rich East, Rich Central and Rich South merged for the 2020-21 season. The Raptors host Bloom on Tuesday for a chance to win the conference title outright. Since Jan. 26, Bloom is the only team to beat the Raptors by virtue of a 58-47 decision in Chicago Heights. 'This feels good,' Brooks said. 'This would be Rich Township's first championship. This year has been everything I thought it would be and some more.' Brooks consistently stuffs the stat sheet, but perhaps his best play against Crete-Monee came with 30 seconds left in the first half and went beyond the numbers. He saved a ball that was heading out of bounds, with his momentum sending him six rows up into the bleachers. Without breaking stride or running into any spectators, he ran several feet in the bleachers before joining his teammates while the play was still going on. 'I was trying to keep the ball in bounds — that's it,' Brooks said. 'Those are the types of plays that win games.' The Raptors, who are seeded third in a Class 4A sectional they host behind reigning state champion Homewood-Flossmoor and second-seeded Marist, hope their best is still to come. Playing a stacked schedule with a few national powers sprinkled in for good measure, Rich Township sputtered in opening the season with a 3-4 record but then downed Kenwood and H-F to win the Big Dipper Classic during the holidays. Despite back-to-back nonconference losses to Benet and Fenwick and a conference loss to Bloom since the Big Dipper, recent wins over Kankakee, Hillcrest and Thornton have put the Raptors back on track. And Brooks has been a big part of it. The 6-foot-7 Brooks said when he started high school he wasn't even 6-0 and played more of a guard role. He credited his father, Al Sr., for his success. The older Brooks coached Al Jr. and twin brother Ikee at Hansberry. 'Growing up, we were always in the gym with our pops,' Al Jr. said. 'He taught me a lot.' Brooks has offers from Illinois and Eastern Michigan but said his future can be defined as 'TBD. To be determined.' Still, he's determined to keep playing the sport he loves. 'I love everything about basketball,' Brooks said. 'It's my safe place.' Originally Published: February 15, 2025 at 12:07 AM CST
