Already available for online viewing is a YouTube video highlighting the basketball talents of Warren’s Jovan Jokic.
After last Friday night’s sixth annual Lake County Senior Shootout all-star boys basketball game, that video definitely needs to be updated.
The 6-foot-5 Jokic brought down the house with a spectacular off-the-side-of-the-backboard jam that won him the slam-dunk contest and was one of the highlights of the season-ending hoops event at the College of Lake County in Grayslake.
The East all-stars wound up beating the West 107-86 in an entertaining contest that included 66 3-point shots and 15 dunks that had fans standing and roaring throughout.
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But nothing topped Jokic’s jam, with an assist from Matt Moran who played with Jokic at Warren.
The dunk contest featured four contestants: Admiral Schofield (Zion-Benton), Cortez Dixon (North Chicago), Jachai Taylor (Waukegan) and Jokic.
After the first round of dunks eliminated two, Schofield and Jokic battled in the final, and Jokic’s last dunk was the show-stopper.
Coming from the corner of the court, Moran bounced the ball off the side of the backboard and Jovan followed him. He grabbed the ball with one hand and in one motion slammed it home as the crowd roared its approval.
“This was a great experience. I didn’t think I would be in the finals, let alone win the dunk contest,” Jokic said. “I had practiced a bit with Matt and knew I just had to jump as high as I could to finish the dunk. I was pretty pumped when I slammed it home.”
Even Schofield was happy to see Jovic win the dunk contest, “I like to win, but I was glad it was me and Jovan in the final,” he said. “We have been teammates and friends growing up playing AAU and I couldn’t be happier to see him win. This was a great experience with Lake County players as we were able to showcase our talent.”
As for the game, MVP honors went to Taylor of the winning East team. He finished with 18 points (five dunks) and six rebounds. Stevenson sharpshooter Matt Johnson added 17 points and connected on three 3-pointers.
For the West, Schofield scored 18 points (four dunks) and had 10 rebounds. North Chicago’s Cortez Dixon added 15 points (three dunks).
“It was a lot of fun playing one last high school game,” Taylor said. “Everyone shared the ball, and scoring over 100 points was a cool accomplishment. It was a really nice way to finish my career, going out with a bang.”
The winning team was coached by Stevenson head coach Pat Ambrose, who directed the Patriots to the Class 4A state title last month.
“This event is wonderful for the kids. It promotes the game and gives the kids a chance to enjoy one last time out on the court,” Ambrose said. “The kids get to keep their jersey for this one last game which means a lot to the players. I know I will miss seeing Matt Johnson shooting his shot for us next year, but this was a great event to go out on.”
Among those on hand was College of Lake County men’s basketball coach Chuck Ramsey. “This was a good event for Lake County and for the College of Lake County,” he said. “Any time you can get kids and families in the gym is a good thing. This event serves as a last hurrah for them.”
Dwayne Springs of sponsor HCT! Sports Performance and Fred Fleming were co-coordinators of the event, which also included a 3-point shooting contest with boys competing against girls.
Vernon Hills’ Robby Nardini was the winner, beating Sophia Way of Stevenson 11-4 as each took 15 shots.
Bonato is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.