Boys basketball notes: Sophomore TJ Williams making an impact for Glenbard West

Glenbard West sophomore point guard TJ Williams is playing at a high level in his first season on the varsity.

Williams said he anticipated playing on the varsity this year after working his way through the lower levels last season.

“As a freshman, I played really hard as a point guard to help our team and the coaches saw my hard work and moved me up to the sophomore (team),” Williams said. “I prepared for this season by playing high level AAU basketball, along with working with a strength and conditioning coach and a personal trainer.”

Glenbard West coach Jason Opoka said Williams is rapidly becoming a breakout player for his program.

“TJ Williams has the potential to be in the category with the all-time Glenbard West greats,” Opoka said. “Last year, he excelled early as a freshman and was moved up to play sophomore ball. This summer he joined varsity and never looked back. He might be the most athletic sophomore we have ever had. He’s making an impact scoring the basketball and creating tips that lead to transition opportunities.

“His consistent play is a combination of confidence and coachability. He’s implementing attention to detail and valuing team concepts and he’s learning leadership characteristics and understanding the importance of a team first approach.”

Before Tuesday’s 23-point career-high explosion against Wheaton North, Williams was averaging 10.4 points, 2.8 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 3.0 steals and 4.1 deflections per game. In his five previous games, he was averaging 14.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists, while shooting 64.5% on two-pointers and 34% from beyond the arc.

Williams said he’s excited about his early success on the varsity, which motivates him to push himself to become a consistent player for the rest of his career. He credited the Glenbard West coaching staff and the team for helping speed up his development. He scored 18 points in Saturday’s win over Oak Park-River Forest

“I’m the youngest on the team, but they embraced me and I’m looking forward to a strong winning season these next few years,” Williams said.

Benet update

Benet sophomore guard Gabe Sularski learned a valuable lesson last Saturday. Playing in one of the biggest games of his young career, the 6-foot-6 Sularski played a more passive role in the first half against Thornton in the fifth game of the “When Sides Collide” event at Benet.

Sularski, who has offers from Purdue, Illinois, Michigan State, Missouri, Wisconsin, UIC, Bryant and Eastern Illinois, scored 14 points in Benet’s 63-54 loss to Thornton. In a highly anticipated matchup with 6-10 Morez Johnson, the top senior in the state who committed to Illinois, Sularski said he should’ve been more aggressive in the first half.

“It was a good hard-fought game,” Sularski said. “I was kind of down, telling myself I have to get something going for us, so I started doing a little bit more in the second half, attacking the basket and creating for others and kind of got on a roll, but they kept scoring on our mistakes. The first half maybe I have to be more aggressive.”

Benet junior point guard Blake Fagbemi is starting to make a name for himself. Capable of playing both guards spots with a good perimeter jumper and shifty moves off the dribble, Fagbemi had quality games against highly ranked Mount Carmel and Thornton this month.

Benet, which played without Patrick Walsh for the final three-plus quarters against Thornton, plays at Carmel on Friday.

“That’s one of the top teams in the state,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said of Thornton. “Our kids competed hard, but we let it get away from us.”

Extras

With less than a month to play in the regular season, the conference races are heating up. York (18-4, 6-1) is leading the West Suburban Silver, but Downers Grove North (18-4, 4-1) is right on their heels, especially following a blowout win over the Dukes last Friday. Downers Grove South (15-7, 4-1) is tied with Proviso East (11-9, 5-1) in the West Suburban Gold, while Lemont (14-7, 7-1) still leads the South Suburban Blue. Riverside-Brookfield (19-3, 4-0) owns a comfortable lead in the Metro Suburban, and Benet (17-3, 9-0) remains in first in the East Suburban Catholic. St. Francis (12-9, 5-0) is tied for first with St. Laurence in the Catholic League White.