Thornton sophomore Jeremy Blanco-Rios arrived in the United States from Venezuela about two years ago. His teammates enjoy watching him try things for the first time—Popeye’s chicken is a recent highlight.
Blanco-Rios put his team on his back Saturday at Young, leading Thornton to a 41-36 win against Payton in the Ronald “Chops” Billinger Memorial Classic at Young.
“He’s a great kid,” Streets said. “Once he gets a jump shot he’s going to be something special. He saved us today.”
Billinger was a beloved Chicago basketball scout who died in 2004. He specialized in finding college spots for under-recruited, unknown players. Billinger would have loved watching a Venezuelan sophomore put his name on the radar by scoring 20 points against a Public League team.
Thornton (8-13) trailed by ten points early and rallied to tie the game at 28 after three quarters. Blanco-Rios scored the Wildcats’ first three baskets of the fourth quarter to give Thornton a 36-31 lead. Then his fastbreak layup with 14 seconds left secured the win.
“I was playing with all the energy I had to get the win,” Blanco-Rios said through translator Eli Lopez. “I’m so honored and thankful to be on this team. They put in so much effort to help me.”
Blanco-Rios, a 5-11 guard, has played basketball since he was 12.
“Everything is very different [in the US],” Blanco said. “The basketball is definitely better. I just feel so happy to be here.”
Blanco is one of Thornton’s three best players this season. Highly-regarded freshman Deandre Higgs finished with six points and five rebounds against Payton (13-10). He’s the Wildcats’ leading scorer this season.
“I’ve never had a freshman and sophomore as my top guys before,” Streets said. “They’ve all been learning. We have Jordan Maple back who is a solid senior leader.”
Thornton is unlikely to make a deep playoff run this season. But close losses to Crete-Monee, Bloom and Kankakee in January showed that the team is steadily improving.
“They are growing up a little bit,” Streets said. “This game was ugly but earlier in the season we would have lost. They are maturing. It’s fun watching them improve.”
Patrick Irvin Jr., a 6-6 forward, led Payton with 13 points. The junior has posted solid numbers all season for the Grizzlies. Freshman point guard CJ Pittman added nine points.
Payton is the No. 17 seed in the city playoffs, which start Tuesday. The Grizzlies are at No. 14 seed Westinghouse in the first round.
Kenwood is the top seed in the tournament. The top four finishers in the Shield (Kenwood, Lincoln Park, Simeon, Young) and the top four finishers in the Star (Dyett, Crane, Perspectives-Leadership, Ag. Science) received first-round byes.
Second-round games are on Thursday and the championship is on Feb. 15 at UIC’s Credit Union 1 Arena.