Homewood-Flossmoor’s Gianni Cobb (1) controls the ball during the IHSA Class 4A state championship game.
Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times
CHAMPAIGN—Evanston, Aurora, Maywood, Joliet, Dolton, Harvey, Country Club Hills…the list of Illinois state basketball championships goes back to 1908 and nearly every hoops-crazed community in the area is represented.
Some towns only have one title, and some have dynasties. Homewood-Flossmoor had nothing until Saturday. The school opened in 1959 and its best chance at a title came in 2004 when the Julian Wright-led Vikings lost to Shaun Livingston and Peoria Central in the Class AA state championship game.
Expectations were high immediately this season after Gianni Cobb, Bryce Heard and Mac Hagemaster all transferred in from other schools to play for the Vikings. They teamed with senior Carson Brownfield and junior Jayden Tyler to create one of the state’s most talented teams.
For years, the best players in the H-F district wound up playing for other schools. Just a couple of seasons ago, the top players in the Chicago Public League had all played together in the Vikings United youth basketball program based in Homewood.
Coach Jamere Dismukes, in his second year at H-F, was tasked with finding a way to mold all the talent together. Many observers thought it would never happen: too many shooters, too many ball handlers and not enough basketballs.
Saturday in the Class 4A state championship it all came together beautifully in a 60-48 victory against Normal.
The Vikings’ rallied late to knock off then top-ranked Curie in the UIC supersectional on Monday. That was impressive, but the wire-to-wire win against the Ironmen was a state championship statement.
H-F (33-4) opened the game with two three-pointers from Tyler. The Vikings took the lead for good on a rebound and basket by Heard with 49 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Ironmen had a significant size advantage with 6-10 Jaheem Webber, 6-8 Noah Cleveland, 6-6 Nico Newsome and 6-10 Kobe Walker. H-F was shorter at every position but Hagemaster, a 6-8 senior, battled valiantly and clogged up Normal’s scoring opportunities in the post.
Heard led the Vikings with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Tyler scored 15 and Brownfield added 12 points.
Senior guard Braylon Roman led Normal (32-6) with 18 points and Cleveland scored 13.
The Ironmen lost the Class 4A title game in 2015 to Jalen Brunson’s Stevenson team.