Oak Lawn’s Donte Montgomery grew up watching the end of Kobe Bryant’s career.
When Bryant died, Montgomery confirmed that he shed some tears. Two summers ago, he got a large tattoo on his lower left leg with the words “Mamba Mentality” and Bryant’s snake logo.
Montgomery appreciated Bryant’s passion for the game, competitive nature and all-around play.
“Really, after I got to understand the concept of what basketball was, he was a player I used to watch all of the time,” Montgomery said. “He was getting older, but he was still good.”
Montgomery, meanwhile, is getting better with age for the Spartans.
The senior guard, who opened play this week by scoring his 1,000th career point, played a big role Friday night to help Oak Lawn hand T.F. South its first conference loss of the season.
He scored 23 points, added five rebounds and grabbed a pair of steals in a 56-47 win over the Red Wolves in a South Suburban Conference crossover game in Oak Lawn.
Jack Dempsey added 11 points for the host Spartans (23-6, 5-1 SSC Red), including a five-point spurt during the fourth quarter that put Oak Lawn on top by a 46-36 margin.
T.F. South (9-9, 5-1 SSC Blue) played without sophomore guard/forward Amari Dukes, who was at a funeral, according to Red Wolves coach Todd Gillespie. Dukes is averaging 16.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.3 assists.
Eion Ikner picked up the slack, leading T.F. South with 12 points, 11 rebounds and two blocked shots. Montgomery, however, scored 16 points in the final 11:21 of the game for the Spartans.
“He came in from Marist after his freshman year,” Oak Lawn coach Jason Rhodes said of Montgomery. “Played here and there his sophomore year, was our leading scorer last year and is our leading scorer this year.
“He’s the eighth kid at the school score 1,000 points and has a chance to get into the top 5 before it’s all said and done.”
That said, the 6-foot-3 Montgomery is dangerous in other areas as well.
“He’s very skilled and could probably take a shot almost every possession,” Rhodes said. “But the thing with him is that he’s become a much better playmaker, and he’s averaging over three steals a game, which is not easy to do because we don’t press a lot.”
Dempsey said he played basketball with Montgomery before the two attended high school, and Dempsey is definitely happy to have him as a teammate again.
“He’s developed and become that primary person that we go to all the time to get a point,” Dempsey said. “He can play defense or any facet of the game.”
Montgomery said he was surprised at practice Wednesday when Rhodes told him about the 1,000-point career milestone.
“I knew I was in the area, but I thought I was still 50 points away,” Montgomery said. “It’s a big accomplishment.”
Montgomery, who said he has been starting to pick up some college interest, has dreams of becoming an NBA player. And he wants to use that tattoo of Bryant on his left leg for inspiration.
Some parents may not approve of tattoos, but that wasn’t the case with his father, Donte Sr.
“He took me to the tattoo parlor and paid for it,” Montgomery said. “He actually does not like Kobe like that, but that’s the craziest part about it. But he knew I loved him.”
His father also did more for Montgomery than spring for that body art.
“He trained me as a kid and taught me all of the basics,” Montgomery said. “He got me started, for sure, and has been a big part of my success.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
