Michael O’Brien’s notebook: Feb. 26, 2017

SHARE Michael O’Brien’s notebook: Feb. 26, 2017
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Alonzo Verge arrived in Harvey with a load of hype and dicey reputation. The regular season is in the books and it is safe to say the move to Thornton has gone well overall, for Verge and the Wildcats. Thornton is 20-5, won the Southwest Suburban Red conference and the Big Dipper Holiday Tournament. Verge has posted spectacular individual numbers along the way.

“It’s been good, jelling with the team,” Verge said. “It’s a great group of guys. I have a lot of fun with them and we’ve built relationships off the court.”

Verge is averaging 26 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals. Those are Player of the Year caliber numbers.

“I’m just focused on winning right now,” Verge said. “But I hope the Player of the Year comes with that.”

Verge has an undeniable chemistry with junior Orlando Allen on the court. He’s also made an impact on senior Christian Anderson

“He’s been really good for us,” Anderson said. “He helped me out a lot. I started the season off real slow and he kept my confidence up.”

Thornton fell short in its biggest test of the season, losing to Curie in January. But the Wildcats should be a major threat to win the Thornwood Sectional.

“I think we are ready to make a run,” Verge said.

LUTHER NORTH CLOSING

Luther North, which opened in 1909 as Luther Institute, informed students on Friday that it is closing. The basketball team found out at 3:30 and played a Class 1A regional final game against Waldorf just a few hours later.

“I had to explain it to them right before we left for the game,” Luther North coach Jason Tucker said. “It was tough but the kids really responded well to it. They came out a lot harder than they did all year. We would have been 27-0 if the played like that all season.”

Luther North won 70-40 and will play Hope in the sectional semifinals on Tuesday. The Wildcats are 20-8.

The school, which has 170 students, has hosted a holiday tournament for 52 years.

“After the school almost closed back in 2010 it has always in the back of my head, but honestly I didn’t know,” Tucker said. “I took it real tough, it has been like home to me for nine years. We did the best we could to build up the program and the Christmas tournament.”

Luther North’s two best players are juniors, point guard Tyrell Pettis and 6-6 James Owens.

“I was so excited about next year,” Tucker said. “We have a lot of good sophomores. I thought the sky was the limit next year.”

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