As the only returning starter for Homewood-Flossmoor, senior forward Christian Meeks knows everyone is looking at him to guide the Vikings this season.
It’s a role he’s ready for.
“There’s a lot of pressure, but it’s fun,” Meeks said. “I enjoy being the leader. Just being a vocal leader on the court, on the bench, in practice. Making sure my voice is the loudest, being aggressive in practice and making sure everyone is up for the challenge.
“We have a pretty tough schedule and I want to make sure everyone is ready for it.”
Meeks earned all-tournament honors last week at the Chicago Heights Classic, hitting double digits in scoring in all four games for H-F (2-2), including an 18-point effort in a loss to Hyde Park.
“Christian is the only guy who’s played a lot of varsity basketball for us,” H-F coach Marc Condotti said. “So, we’ll lean on him a lot, especially early in the season. He’s carried us well. He does a good job leading by example.”
Meeks said he learned a lot when he was a sophomore on varsity and RJ Ogom, then a senior who is now playing at Purdue Fort Wayne, took Meeks under his wing.
“RJ was a great mentor for me, so I’m just trying to step into that role,” Meeks said. “We’re starting a very talented sophomore (Lee Marks), so I’m trying to be his mentor now. We have a lot of young talent on this team.”
Meeks is working on his own game too, trying to attract additional attention from colleges. He has one Division I offer from Tennessee at Martin as well as an offer from Missouri-St. Louis, an NCAA Division II program.
“They’re both good schools,” he said. “I’m just going take my time with it. I’ll see what happens during the school year and see where things are after that. Right now, being a leader on this team is preparing me for the next level.”
The 6-foot-6 Meeks has primarily played in the post for H-F, but at his height, he expects to be a guard in college. He has worked on tailoring his game for that transition.
“My jump shot is something a lot of people don’t know has improved a lot from last year,” he said. “Now, I’m working on my ballhandling, getting those guard skills ready for the next level.”
Meeks is ready to surprise opponents with an outside shot but can fall back on his post game when needed.
“It helps me to be versatile,” he said. “If you back off on me, I’m going to shoot it. If you step up, I’ll go to the basket or post you up. There’s a lot of different things I can do.”
Day of champions: Lockport did not win its school’s biggest trophy Saturday, but the Porters did take home the WJOL Thanksgiving Tournament title before heading up to DeKalb to watch the football team win the Class 8A state championship.
“It was awesome,” Lockport coach Brett Hespell said. “It was so much fun. We weren’t going to miss it. We hopped on the bus right away and drove straight up there. It was great.”
The Porters (3-0) rolled to a 61-38 win over Bradley-Bourbonnais in the WJOL championship game. Senior Alex Vassilakis led the way with 14 points, nine rebounds and six steals.
Lockport’s fast start is more impressive considering the team was missing a couple players from football, including an expected starter in Ethan Gallagher.
Strong start: In its first week under new coach Tanner Mitchell, Lincoln-Way West won the championship of the Spartan-Ram Classic.
Senior forward Jason Harris was named the tournament’s MVP as the Warriors went 3-1, matching their win total from a 3-11 spring season.
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“Jason and Justin Harris are twin brothers coming back for their senior season after both had great football seasons,” Mitchell said. “They’re great athletes.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.