Henricksen: My weekly three-pointer

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De La Salle’s Stone Parker gets a fast break and dribbles up court over Orr. Worsom Robinson/for Sun-Times Media.

No. 1

If a fast start infuses confidence and carries teams to surprisingly successful seasons, then De La Salle is on the right path.

No one was talking about the Meteors when the season tipped off in November. Now coach Tom White’s team is 5-0 with impressive double-digit wins over St. Patrick and St. Joseph, one of the Catholic League favorites.

And no one talks about Stone Parker, an unheralded 5-9 senior point guard and four-year varsity performer. He’s the undisputed leader who takes care of his team on the floor and averages 13.8 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists a game.

Parker did help the Meteors to 22 wins last season but was the lone returning starter. White watched six of his top seven graduate but has leaned on “leaders from others sports” who are now a part of his team bring toughness and competitiveness.

Parker is one of four senior starters, including 6-7, 270-pound Javion Caldwell, 6-3 shooter Will Norman (13.8 ppg) and 6-3 wing Aeris Jackson (9.8 ppg, 8 rpg), who have the Meteors believing it can compete for a Catholic League championship.

“This group shares the ball, plays really hard, and they like to compete,” says White.

With winnable games coming up with Providence St. Mel and Well, the Meteors could head into a Dec. 16 showdown with Fenwick unbeaten at 7-0.

No. 2

Young’s Justin Boyd looked the part Saturday night in a tough two-point loss to Kenwood.

In a junior class that’s been dominated by talk about Morgan Park’s Ayo Dosunmu, Champaign Central’s Tim Finke, Simeon’s Talen Horton-Tucker and even Boyd’s teammate at Young, point guard Xavier Castaneda, the once-promising prospect may be ready to live up to some early expectations.

While he wasn’t a varsity producing freshman or sophomore the past two seasons, Boyd continued to be a promising prospect waiting to emerge. The 6-3 silky smooth shooter came out and buried a trio of three-pointers in the first quarter and finished with 16 points and four assists.

Boyd brings an element college coaches covet: natural shooting range from the perimeter. With the ability to space the floor as a shooter, along with some size and length, Boyd looks as if he’s ready to re-establish himself in the Class of 2018.

No. 3

There is some serious basketball bedlam taking place in Oak Park when Fenwick and Oak Park-River Forest meet. The annual matchup has emerged as arguably the best suburban rivalry in the Chicago area.

The two schools sit just one mile apart, both teams are ranked, have high-level talent and boast big expectations this season.

But the Chicago Elite Classic has helped intensify the rivalry in recent years. The event at the UIC Pavilion has provided a bigger audience and stage for these two programs. Last Friday night the atmosphere was pretty special as Fenwick took down OPRF in an overtime thriller in front of a large, raucous crowd.

Follow Joe Henricksen and the City/Suburban Hoops Report on Twitter @joehoopsreport

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