H-F senior Walters makes up for time lost
Senior point guard stands out with team-high 17 points to power H-F past Lockport
With senior guards eating up the big minutes last season, Homewood-Flossmoor’s Tai Walters was forced to play the waiting game. The 6-foot-2 senior point guard made up for lost time Tuesday night. Walters scored 10 of his team-high 17 points in the first half as the host Vikings cruised to a 75-46 SouthWest Suburban Blue win over Lockport in Flossmoor.
With senior guards Joel Watts and Josiah Palmer eating up the big minutes last season, Homewood-Flossmoor’s Tai Walters was forced to play the waiting game.
The 6-foot-2 senior point guard made up for lost time Tuesday night.
Walters scored 10 of his team-high 17 points in the first half and added five assists as the host Vikings cruised to a 75-46 SouthWest Suburban Blue win over Lockport in Flossmoor.
Walters didn’t just put the ball in the basket. He set up teammates, became a nuisance on defense and crashed the boards.
“I like to do everything,” Walters said. “I like to distribute the ball and get everyone involved.”
That’s precisely what he did. Senior guard Daniel Reed scored 13 points for H-F (1-0, 1-0), while junior forward Christian Meeks and sophomore forward Miles Rubin each had 10 points and senior forward Chad Readey added nine.
For Lockport (0-1, 0-1), senior guard Anthony Munson finished with 12 points and senior guard Evangelos Vassilakis had nine.
Meeks was a recipient of a few passes from Walters that led to baskets.
“That’s my point guard,” Meeks said. “He can do it all. Score, pass, defend. He gets everyone involved.”
While Walters wasn’t involved in games as much as he would have liked, he didn’t sulk last season.
Sitting and watching offered some benefits.
“Those guys had a lot of intensity and were very vocal,” Walters said of Watts and Palmer. “During practice, they put a beating on us and showed us what it’s like to play on the varsity. I definitely learned some things.
“I spent a lot of time since the summer working on my game and getting stronger. I had to give it my all.”
What Walters lacks in flash, according to H-F coach Marc Condotti, he more than makes up for in execution.
“He’s one of those guys you think he’s going to go right and he goes left,” Condotti said. “He looks like he’s going slow, but he’s really going fast. He’s very crafty. He knows all the tricks of the trade.
“This is his time and he wants to show what he can do.”
Walters definitely showed the Porters he can shoot.
He knocked down a 3-pointer late in the first quarter, giving H-F a 19-17 lead. He drained another three to open the second quarter, widening the lead to 25-17.
H-F was off to the races from that point on. But even while enjoying a 31-point lead, the Vikings retained a businesslike approach.
It’s one of the characteristics Condotti admires about this team.
“They want to work together,” he said. “They’re very unselfish. They’re not worried about who gets points. They enjoy the game and being around each other.”
Lockport coach Brett Hespell is confident his team will improve, but he agreed H-F is at a different level.
“That’s a tough team to play your first game against,” Hespell said. “H-F is very organized and they know where they need to be on the floor.
“When a team challenges you like H-F did (Tuesday), you have to step up. We’ll learn from this.”
Meeks, meanwhile, nodded about having to play with a mask and without fans in the bleachers. Even so, he appreciated being back on the court.
He also believes H-F is one of the top teams in the Southland.
“It’s been a long wait and it was nice to be out here,” he said. “I think people see the players we lost to graduation and think it’s going to be a down year for us.
“But that doesn’t happen in this program. There’s always somebody ready to step up.”