Daniel Barnes took the Monday-Wednesday-Saturday shift last week (22 points against Taft, 21 versus Lane Tech, and 22 and a game-winning three-pointer against Evanston). Iman Shumpert went Tuesday-Friday (26 versus Brooks and 24 against Zion-Benton).
The OPRF juniors might not be quite in synch yet, but they were good enough to lead the Huskies to a 4-1 record and a share of the title at the Lane Tech Thanksgiving Tournament in Chicago.
“Basically it’s one’s hot and one’s not right now,” Barnes said Saturday after sinking a three with 3.2 seconds left to lift the Huskies to a 62-59 win over Evanston. “Whoever’s hot, get him the ball.”
Against the Wildkits, the sizzling one was Barnes, the lefty scoring 10 of his game-high 22 points on three 3s and a free throw in the final 2:24.
The final dagger came after Barnes tied the score on a 3-pointer with 59 seconds left. An Evanston turnover gave the Huskies the ball back, and after a chaotic possession in which it appeared OPRF might not get a shot off, Barnes connected again from the right wing. Shumpert (six points, 2-for-9 shooting) blocked an Evanston three at the buzzer.
“With the hot-and-cold stuff, neither one needs to be like that,” OPRF head coach Al Allen said. “It really needs to be more like 15 points each.”
After saying earlier in the week that Shumpert could score 25 or 30 points every night but that he “would rather win than score,” Allen admitted Saturday that Shumpert should have been a little more aggressive offensively against Evanston. But in addition to the closing block, Shumpert chipped in eight rebounds against the Wildkits.
He expended more offensive energy Friday in the Huskies’ 60-56, double-overtime loss to Zion-Benton, leading OPRF with 24 points while Barnes added 10. Z-B, which joined the Huskies and Evanston in going 4-1 on the week, led just 57-56 with 10 seconds left in the second OT, but a free throw and putback of a miss sealed the win. Evanston was the official winner of the tournament because its point differential (plus-14) against the tied teams was better than OPRF’s (minus-1) and Z-B’s (minus-13).
OPRF cruised in its first three games of the tournament, dispatching Taft, Brooks, and Lane Tech by 36, 37, and 33 points, respectively. The Huskies led Lane by just six at halftime before outscoring the Indians 42-15 in the second half.
The Huskies opened the season without Lamont Sanders, the returning starter (15 points per game last year) who was suspended for violating a team rule and then severely sprained his ankle in practice. He was scheduled to begin practicing Monday in hopes of starting his season Friday at Glenbard West.
“We need Lamont now more than ever,” Barnes said.
Barnes averaged 18.2 points in the tournament while Shumpert averaged 16. Phil Gary had 12 against Lane Tech and 11 against Evanston, shooting 17-of-21 from the free throw line in those games.
Shumpert, Barnes, Gary, and Clarke Cuthbert were named to the All-Tournament team, with Shumpert taking tournament MVP honors.