Entering his final high school season, with his college signing now in the rear-view mirror, senior guard Tyreek Coleman is calmly at the controls for Waubonsie Valley.
And before he heads to Illinois State, he wants to finish what he started.
“We want to go out with a bang,” Coleman said. “It’s my last season. I know where I’m going for my future. I’m just enjoying the moments at Waubonsie and we want to go as far as we can.”
Coleman and the Warriors kept the good times rolling Friday night, having it all working on both ends of the court in a 75-43 win over host Metea Valley in a DuPage Valley Conference opener.
Moses Wilson led all scorers with 25 points for Waubonsie (5-0, 1-0), including five acrobatic dunks. Coleman followed with 21 points and sophomore forward Kris Mporokoso added 14.
Khalil Jones led Metea (4-2, 0-1) with 16 points. Tyler Miller added 12 points, all on 3-pointers.
Coleman, meanwhile is the maestro of the show. Alley-oops and getting to the basket offensively provide highlight-reel offerings, but the Warriors also are stingy on the back end while playing great on-ball defense and swatting away shots.
“It’s the greatest,” Coleman said. “The team is amazing. The team is special. We have a lot of talent. Moses is my dog, my right-hand man. We just had our first 20 and 20 game together, so that’s something we will remember.
“It’s just a great group. We’re excited to get out there and play with each other. We have good camaraderie. We’re going to go far this year.”
It’s that unselfishness that stands out to Waubonsie coach Andrew Schweitzer as much as talent.
“He’s a special young man, special player,” Schweitzer said of Coleman. “It’s truly his team. He puts a lot of pressure on the opposing defense. What I love about him is (Friday) was more of a scoring night for him, but there are times when the defense collapses that he’s more than willing to get others involved.
“For him to take the next step and play at the D-I level, he’s going to have to distribute more. Credit to him. He’s gotten better.”
An 11-0 run in the first quarter, featuring back-to-back alley-oop dunks from Wilson, set the tone. Waubonsie began the second quarter with an 11-2 run — plus two more dunks by Wilson — for a 30-9 lead.
“It will be a breakout season for him for sure,” Coleman said of Wilson. “I know he’s still under a lot of people’s radars.”
Metea made a small comeback in the third quarter when Miller hit three 3-pointers, but it was too little too late.
“They did a good job, but we came out kind of flat,” Metea coach Isaiah Davis said. “We just didn’t have good energy, and when you play a team as good as them, you have to have energy and fight and tenacity.
“We struggled with that, dug a big hole.”
Coleman is able to play free and easy this season after signing last month with Illinois State.
“It was a dream come true for sure, something I’ve been working for all my life,” Coleman said. “To finally get it done and out of the way was honestly a blessing.
“Getting it out of the way before the season definitely helped too, not having to worry about it going through the season. Making that decision makes things steadier for me.”
Schweitzer knows he has a group on his hands that can make history at Waubonsie. Having Coleman leading the group is a coach’s dream.
“I’m a lucky guy,” Schweitzer said. “I don’t try to mask it. I have a bunch of special kids that are not only great players. They’re great kids.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
