Boys Basketball: Carmel Catholic still hoping Jordan is ‘that guy’
By Derek Reinglass Contributor January 27, 2012 11:08PM
Connor Jordan of the Corsairs drives the lane and puts up a shot during Friday's game against visiting Marist. | Darrell Harmon~For Sun-Times Media
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Updated: March 3, 2012 8:19AM
Game by game, dribble by dribble, Carmel Catholic’s Connor Jordan inches closer to full strength.
The senior guard, who missed the Corsairs first 14 games due to mononucleosis, has since returned, and figures to play a major role down the stretch — both on and off the court.
“If you go back and look at the teams over the years that have been successful, they all have that one guy, that one leader who can rally the team together,” said Corsairs coach Tim Bowen. “Heading into the season, we were planning on Connor developing into that vocal leader for us, but with him missing so much time, he’s still working on getting his rhythm back. Once he starts getting more comfortable, I think he can be the leader in the locker room as we head into the regional tournament.”
With his ability to score on the perimeter, and at the rim, Jordan is a perfect complement to center Brandon Motzel.
“Connor has a really good feel for using screens to free himself, which makes him so effective in the motion offense we like to run,” Bowen said. “He does a nice job of attacking and getting to the basket. Right now, Connor is probably only around 60 to 70 percent of where I think he would be if he hadn’t been out. A lot of that is just because it takes time to get back into the swing of things. The next step for him is to learn from a mistake, not overreact or lose focus, and then make the adjustment.”
Playing in front of its home crowd, Carmel fell to East Suburban Catholic foe Marist 51-38 Friday night. Motzel led the Corsairs with 13 points.
Playing without Nickai Poyser, Jordan was forced to assume point guard duties. It was an extremely tall order against a swift and ferocious RedHawks team that employs a full-court press at every opportunity.
“With all things considered, I thought Connor did pretty well against the press, especially at beating the first wave of defenders,” Bowen said. “The problem for us was once we got to that second wave we weren’t strong with the ball — making the right decision and finishing. You have to give Marist credit — they did a really good of pressuring the ball, and then switching and trapping.”
With Poyser returning to action, Jordan will shift back to his more natural wing position. As Poyser and Jordan jell in the backcourt, the Corsairs should have an easier time establishing their offense. By having two guards who have the ability to put it on the floor and knock down perimeter shots, spacing and floor balance should improve. That should also help generate more room for Motzel to operate from the free-throw line and down.
Bowen said the loss provided his team with a good perspective of where they stand, and what they still need to improve upon over the course of the next few weeks in order to win in the postseason.
A healthy and vocal Jordan may be the answer, but only time will tell.
Recap: Marist’s smothering, full-court pressure overwhelmed Carmel from start to finish Friday night. The RedHawks’ up-tempo style of play led to Corsairs turnovers.
Rarely was Carmel (7-10, 1-3) able to establish its offense and generate a high-quality shot. Even when they successfully broke the Marist press, the Corsairs appeared flustered and out of sync.
“Carmel is a very good team, and Brandon Motzel is one of the best big men we’ve faced,” said Marist coach Gene Nolan. “We knew that in order to come in here and get a win, we had to speed them up. Generally, we don’t use a full-court press all that often, but (Friday night) the key was winning the middle third of the court, so we felt picking them up full-court gave us the best chance.”
On offense, Marist (17-5, 2-2) drove the lane on nearly every possession, resulting in high-percentage layups or open jumpers. Marist led 26-13 at halftime, and blew it open in the opening minutes of the third quarter. Heading into the fourth quarter the RedHawks led 45-25.
“We stress patience and unselfishness on the offensive end, and I thought we did a really nice job,” Nolan said. “When you have a team of guys who play together and aren’t greedy, everything flows better. I’m really proud of the kids’ effort. It’s never easy getting off the bus after an hour-and-a-half drive up, but they played with a lot of energy. Even in the final minutes, the guys were hustling to every loose ball.”
Nic Wishar led Marist with 12 points, while L.J. McIntosh and Matt O’Reilly added 10 points each. Motzel, the only Corsair in double figures, finished with 13 points.
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