Hillcrest’s Jaylen Ingram felt an electric burst and spring in his step Tuesday night.
From the start, even during warmups, the 6-foot-7 senior forward realized a perfect emotional and physical backdrop that would end up foreshadowing a momentous performance.
“I’m an energy guy,” Ingram said. “I know right away how I feel and how I’m going to play if I have my energy. If I have low energy, I usually have a bad game.
“(Tuesday night), even going through the stretching or moving through the layup line, I felt really good. I knew I’d have a great game.”
Ingram definitely did, posting a double-double with 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks in a 71-51 South Suburban Blue victory over host Bremen in Midlothian.
Junior guard Jamir Ratliff added 10 points for Hillcrest (16-8, 9-1). His older brother Jovi, a senior guard, contributed seven points as 11 different players scored for the Hawks.
Senior guard Davion Thomas connected on three 3-pointers and finished with 15 points for Bremen (19-17, 4-7). Senior forward Nathan Lagace also had 15 points.
Ingram, meanwhile, came up with three blocked shots and formed a wall at the rim with junior forward Maximilian Carmicle, who chipped in with six points and seven rebounds.
Like Ingram, Carmicle is 6-7 and offers up sturdy resistance in the lane. Bremen managed just six baskets during the first half, firing away almost exclusively from the perimeter.
“We’re like the twin towers out there,” Carmicle said of Ingram. “Nobody is going to beat us when we play like that. It’s taken some time for us to develop, to get comfortable playing off each other.
“I know what he’s going to do or he tells me. He’s very approachable and easy to play with.”
Ingram, a four-year varsity player, is committed to play next year at Southwestern Michigan, a junior college. His game has progressed at a steady rate.
In the past, he would let the game develop organically. But now, he feels the urgency.
“My first two years, I was just learning and playing a role,” he said. “The last two years, I learned how to put the ball in the basket, get rebounds, bring energy and be a factor for the whole team.
“It’s all about finding my place and knowing this is my last year. I have to turn up my performance.”
Hillcrest coach Don Houston confirmed the key to Ingram’s increased offensive role and excellent two-way play is a greater authority and purpose on the floor.
“His whole thing has been about confidence,” Houston said. “Once he started playing with confidence, he started doing great things out there — finishing at the rim, getting boards and even stepping out and hitting the midrange shot.
“He is really learning what he is capable of doing. At the start of the season, we could never get him and Max to play well together at the same time. Now, Jaylen is doing his part.”
Ingram’s has an open, composed personality. His favorite activity is watching cartoons.
“My growth happened about the time I got to high school, but I’ve always loved the game,” he said. “My cousins and my father, all the positive role models in my life, they influenced me.
“I’m pretty quiet off the court, but on the court I like to be active.”
His confidence is just part of a natural wave of comfort and relaxation with who he has become.
“The thing I’ve always learned, no matter what happened out there, is you can’t pout or get down on yourself,” he said. “You have to trust the results, and basketball is about brotherhood.
“Everybody on the team is happy when I do well out there. I feel the same way when they do.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
