Libertyville’s John Graham doesn’t have the size and strength of frontcourt teammates Chase and Cole Bonder.
Graham also doesn’t have a shooting touch as deft as Wildcats guard Jack Huber.
However, the 6-foot-2 senior forward played nearly all of Libertyville’s North Suburban Conference game against Warren on Tuesday.
“When someone extends plays with offensive rebounds like John did, and when he does a good job with his defensive assignments like John did, it is hard to take him off the court,” Libertyville coach Brian Zyrkowski said.
Graham finished with a team-high nine rebounds and four points in the Wildcats’ 59-42 win in Gurnee.
“It’s always fun to play Warren,” he said. “It’s an easy game to get up for.”
Led by Graham, Libertyville (22-7, 10-2) dominated the Blue Devils (10-11, 7-5) on the glass to remain one game behind first-place Lake Forest with two conference games remaining. The Wildcats had a 36-21 rebounding advantage.
“We’ve been a pretty good rebounding team all season, but to do it in Warren’s gym really means something,” Zyrkowski said. “This is a tough place to play.”
Senior forward Chase Bonder, who had 15 points and seven rebounds, and junior forward Cole Bonder, who had nine points and five rebounds, provided bulk inside for Libertyville. Graham did his job on the boards with solid positioning.
“Chase and Cole draw a lot of attention inside, so I try to sneak in there and help out,” Graham said.
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Although Graham has not grabbed many headlines for the Wildcats this season, his coach and teammates know the importance of his contributions.
“John understands what he needs to do to help us be successful,” Zyrkowski said. “He’s also usually chasing around our opponents’ top players like he did against Cooper Stacey, and Stacey is a really good player. I thought he did a pretty good job against him.”
Despite giving up 3 inches to Stacey, Graham held the senior forward to four second-half points to help prevent the Blue Devils from mounting a comeback. Stacey and senior guard Drew Dolan each finished with 15 points.
Libertyville led 27-20 at halftime before putting Warren away with a solid third quarter behind six points from Chase Bonder and four points off the bench by junior forward Aidyn Boone.
The Wildcats made 9 of 12 free throws in the fourth quarter to seal their victory.
“It’s getting to the point in the season where every game matters,” Zyrkowski said. “You can’t look ahead. You just have to worry about the next game.”
Regardless of how many games Libertyville has left to play this season, Graham knows his organized basketball career will be coming to an end soon.
“I’ve really enjoyed high school basketball, especially in big games against teams like Warren, but I think I’m going to tap out,” he joked.
Darren Day is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.