Minooka basketball team wins three on first day of Morris Shootout

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Minooka coach Scott Tanaka talks to his team outside the District 101 Recreation Center following the Indians' last game of Tuesday's action at the 24th Annual Morris Boys Basketball Shootout. (Herald Photo by T.G. Smith)

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How long has it been since the Minooka Indians went undefeated on the initial day of a Morris Boys Shootout?

No one knows.

So apparently, the answer is "never."

"All I know is we are in the Gold Tournament (the championship bracket) on the final day and that is great," pointed out Minooka second-year coach Scott Tanaka, wrapping up an interview after the Indians went 3-0 in the opening session of the 24th Annual Morris Shootout.

"And the big thing is we will be getting better and better," Tanaka added. "This is a good group and we are looking forward to next season. From what I have seen, I will be able to put in a lot of offensive and defensive schemes. We only have in about 10 percent of what I want to be able to use right now."

But the 10 percent was good enough Tuesday for the Indians to claim wins of 49-35 over Wilmington, 55-49 against Bolingbrook and 58-40 versus Burlington Central in Pool D action.

"We were able to run our offense very well against Wilmington," said Tanaka. "And Jake Butler had a standout game against Bolingbrook. He probably had 30 (points). And we had a sophomore, Ben Heide, who made some key shots down the stretch. And against Burlington Central, we were just able to close the game out, which has been one of our problems. We just have not been able to close out games."

Butler, who averaged 14.3 points for Minooka as a junior last year, said he was not shocked by the 3-0 showing on the day.

"We have been practicing a lot," said Butler. "We have been playing very well. I thought we played very well as a team on offense and we also played good defense. We just did not make a lot of stupid mistakes."

Although his highlight of the day was the Bolingbrook contest, Butler said he thought he did well in all three games.

"I thought I was pretty consistent," Butler said. "I was able to make a lot of shots. I made a lot of good decisions and did not turn the ball over too much."

Of course, Butler had some help.

"The funny thing is, we were a very young team last year and it looks like we might be even younger this winter," Tanaka added. "At some point, you would think we would be getting older. Craig Carter and Butler, as seniors, will be our leaders. But we have some sophomores, like Lavelle Dean (a center), Malik Thompson (a point guard) and Heide (an off guard), who I think will play a lot. They all played on the freshmen team and I think they will be able to help us on the varsity level."

Carter did not see as much action as Butler as Minooka went 10-16 last season.

"I had some injuries," explained Carter. "I had a pulled groin early and then I had a stress fracture after I came back. I missed a lot of time. It was a rough year and very frustrating."

Carter was happy with the showing of the Indians on Tuesday.

"Being Minooka, what we did today probably surprised a lot of people," said Carter. "But we have been practicing a lot lately. We have some seniors and a few juniors plus some younger kids. We have got some talent. I look for us to be good. We are getting more consistent and want to get even better. I thought offensively, we pushed the ball very well. And we had good play both from our inside people and out. We had a good mix."

"We have played about 20 games this summer," said Tanaka. "We were at the U. of I. (University of Illinois) tournament and the West Aurora Shootout. Plus we played in the Romeoville Summer League."

Tanaka said the players he is carrying on the current roster want to play.

"We have had a very good commitment from the kids we have and I really feel we have a junior class that has a lot of talent," said Tanaka. "And I think we should be able to bring out a lot of it this winter."

The Indians began play at noon on Wednesday, facing off against Wheaton North.
 

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