Grayslake North junior forward Uros Mitrovic has learned how to take advantage of his 6-5, 220-pound frame this season.
That’s bad news for the Knights’ opponents.
“Last year, I wasn’t as strong,” Mitrovic said. “But in the offseason, I really worked on my body. I’ve gotten faster. I’ve gotten smarter and become a better passer.
“But since this season started, we had plays for me to post up, and that’s become a big part of my game.”
That happened repeatedly Wednesday night, when Mitrovic scored 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds in the 10th-seeded Knights’ 44-40 upset win against fifth-seeded Grayslake Central in a Class 3A Grayslake North Regional semifinal between crosstown rivals.
Senior guard Jayden Hunt scored a game-high 16 points as the Knights (17-14), who will play fourth-seeded St. Viator (23-9) in the regional championship game at 6 p.m. Friday, led wire to wire with the exception of one third-quarter possession.
Senior guard Brady Ballentine added seven points, including a clutch 3-pointer off a pass from Mitrovic with 3 ½ minutes left that stopped a 7-1 run by the Northern Lake County Conference co-champion Rams (21-10) and pushed the lead to 37-33.
“The pass was good, and our coach drew up a really good play,” Ballentine said. “I was fortunate enough to knock down the shot, and it helped us keep momentum.”
Grayslake Central senior guard Aayan Siddiqui had team highs with 15 points and eight rebounds, and junior guard/forward Cole Halverson added 13 points. Senior center Chris Jaimes, the Rams’ leading scorer, got into early foul trouble and was limited to five points.
Mitrovic, who is averaging 14.1 points and needs 21 to reach 1,000 in his career, often has free rein in the paint. But his perimeter game is still there. He hit a 3-pointer at the end of the first half, the kind of shot that harks back to his previous two seasons.
“He’s a completely different player,” Hunt said. “I’ve seen so much progress from where he started to where he is now. Freshman year, he was a spot-up shooter. But now no one can stop him without fouling him. Now he can get you a bucket in any way. It makes it easy to play with.”
Mitrovic has made it easier on himself, too, with a better understanding of the game.
“Every time they double me in the post, as soon as I see it, as soon as I feel it, I turn around and I look for the open guy,” he said. “Last year, I wouldn’t realize what I was doing when the ball came down to me. Now, if it’s not there, it’s a team sport, and you have to pass the ball.”
Grayslake North coach Josh Feinzimer has seen every version of Mitrovic in three seasons.
“I‘ve seen Uros mature,” Feinzimer said. “When things got tough early in his career and early this season, he’d react sometimes. We talk about responding and not reacting. Tonight, with all that went on, all the adversity, he responded to those plays and moved on to the next play and showed what a tough kid he is.”
It always seems to come back to that for Mitrovic, who is already eyeing another busy offseason to refine things even further.
But the Knights have unfinished business. They’ll try to win their first-ever regional title on the heels of an emotional victory.
“It got crazy, especially down the stretch,” Mitrovic said. “It means everything. We had to step up with high intensity. This was a team effort.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter.
