Jaxson Davis’ arrival at Warren guaranteed this would be a special basketball season in Gurnee. The freshman sensation is one of the state’s most exciting players.
Davis has more than lived up to the expectations hoisted on him over the summer and in the preseason. As a point guard, his game naturally elevates his teammates. But it turns out the Blue Devils are a lot more than just one promising freshman.
No. 8 Warren beat visiting Joliet West 71-60 on Saturday for its eighth consecutive win. The Blue Devils have knocked off New Trier, Deerfield, Bolingbrook and Stevenson since losing to Mount Carmel on the third day of the season.
Davis had 20 points, six assists, six rebounds, four steals and a block. He was 7 for 19 shooting, with several of the misses coming on layups.
“They started off very physical with me and that altered my shot,” Davis said. “That’s what I need to get better at. If I finished more layups we would have won by more.”
Davis is 14 years old. When he’s older and stronger those takes to the rim where he was bullied and missed the shot will become easy baskets. A game with the pace of Saturday’s will be a 40-point performance for Davis with the same amount of shot attempts.
“I’ve learned a lot his first month,” Davis said. “I’ve grown in the adversity aspect. It’s a long game. I have to play all four quarters. People are coming out to watch and they are going to judge me every game. I have to be as focused as I can.”
Immanuel Brown, a 6-4 senior, led Warren (10-1) with 23 points and nine rebounds. Junior Javerion Banks added 11 points. Alex Daniels, a 6-6 senior, scored six but has posted big scoring numbers in other games.
The Blue Devils defended with energy and their length gave Joliet West (8-4) issues. Warren led by seven at halftime and built a double-digit lead several times.
“Our guys are committed to defending and they play so hard,” Blue Devils coach Zack Ryan said. “It makes them easy to coach. They would run through a wall for each other.”
Valparaiso recruit Justus McNair led the Tigers with 14 points and nine rebounds. Junior Zion Gross added 14 points and 6-10 senior Drew King finished with eight points, seven rebounds and four blocks.
“[Warren’s] activity on and off the ball is really good,” Joliet West coach Jeremy Kreiger said. “They force a lot of deflections and turnovers. But we also had a lot of unforced turnovers and just didn’t value the basketball.”
Joliet West and Warren have both been in the Pontiac Holiday Tournament field for several decades, so never played in the regular season. The Blue Devils are at the Proviso West Holiday Tournament this season after Pontiac replaced them with St. Rita. This was the first trip up to Lake County for a Joliet public school in recent memory.
Kenwood, Young and Lincoln Park are the other top teams at Proviso West.
“Yes, we are going [to Proviso West] to win it,” Ryan said. “And Pontiac kicked us out. There are some good teams at Proviso, we got the bracket today. But we can compete with all of them. These guys are a blast to coach.”
