An Introduction: Alonzo Verge Jr.

The hype around Alonzo Verge Jr. is growing in the Chicago area and the wiry sophomore certainly lived up to the billing on Tuesday night in front of a packed house. Just days after the Chicago Sun-Times did a glowing feature on the high-scoring guard, Verge went out and scored 41 points in a 96-94 win over conference foe Proviso East.

Last year Willowbrook won just two games on the season, but with their latest victory they now have reached the 20 win mark and have won 14 in a row. The turnaround is primarily due to the scoring exploits of one of the top sophomores in the state. Two years ago it was Jalen Brunson who slowly built a local buzz as a sophomore before exploding onto the national scene during the spring. Now it’s Alonzo Verge Jr. who is building the buzz. He came into the Proviso East contest averaging 22.5 points which included multiple 30 point and 40 point outbursts.

An Inside Look:

Scoring comes naturally to Verge Jr. His father was a standout scorer at Proviso West in the late 1980’s and finished on the All-State third team in 1987-88 (take a look at this list and see what names pop out). The 6’0” guard was famous for his own 30 point and 40 point performances as he won two straight scoring titles in the West Suburban Conference. His son, Alonzo Verge Jr. stands 6’3” with a lanky frame, long arms, and braids falling down below his eyes but likes to score just like his father.  

First Half Scoring:

Verge Jr. started the game in attack mode and after missing his first shot of the game hit a driving lay-up from the right side off of a steal to kick things off. The quick first step was evident as Proviso East was forced to put their smallest and quickest defender on Verge Jr when they weren't running double teams at him. He added in another driving lay-up in addition to a pull-up three from the right wing to finish with nine points in the first quarter. His scoring slowed down in the second quarter as he forced the issue at times but he still ended the half with 14 points.

14 points, 5-11 FG’s, 1-4 3PT, 3-4 FT’s

Second Half Scoring:

The second half began just like the first half did with Verge Jr. pushing the tempo and looking for cracks in the defense. He found a few as he made two driving lay-ups early on in addition to a deep three from the left wing. After an offensive put-back he ended the quarter missing his final three shots. Another nine point quarter gave the sophomore 23 points heading into the fourth quarter of a tightly contested game.

Without wasting words, Alonzo Verge simply dominated the fourth quarter. In a matter of possessions Verge Jr. hit a three off of a left to right cross, converted a driving lay-up, and added in another NBA range three from the right wing. He was perfect from the line down the stretch going 8-8 and also added in a highlight reel lay-up where he did his best Steph Curry dribbling impersonation on his way to the basket. He scored 18 points in the final stanza and did not miss a shot as Willowbrook held on for the win.

27 points, 8-12 FG’s, 3-4 3PT, 8-8 FT’s

Areas for Improvement:

Verge Jr. is both blessed and cursed with an innate ability to score and get a shot almost any time he wants. It’s easy for Alonzo to free himself of his defender and rise up for a shot, but this also leads to forced / difficult shots at times. When he caught the ball on the perimeter with his feet set, he knocked in both of his three point attempts that were well behind the line. When he was shooting off the dribble, his shots usually came off-balance while drifting to the right or the left (even though he still went 2-6 from three in these situations). His fancy ball-handling skills allow him to attack from both sides of the court while also single handedly breaking a man-to-man press; however he over-dribbled at times which led to a high turnover rate. Alonzo recorded seven steals, but he was also always on the lookout for an easy run-out or fast break situation which often left him in a compromised defensive position or resulted in an easy offensive rebound for his opponent.

Strengths:

Quickness and scoring ability. Despite being the focus of Proviso East’s defense, Verge Jr. still scored 41 points. At times he was a little out of control, but he took over in the fourth quarter and created for himself or his teammates at almost any time. His long and quick first step allows him to get by defenders where he utilized both hands in the paint to score. He has a quick triggered release which combined with his range makes him a threat starting with the NBA three-point line.  Not just a scorer, Verge Jr. dropped off several nice passes to teammates resulting in easy lay-ups and used his long arms to create steals. He likes to talk trash, but does so with a smile on his face at all times and might be the most jovial basketball player around. There’s no doubt that Alonzo Verge Jr. is one of the top sophomores in the state and he will most likely begin garnering national recognition when AAU play starts up in the spring.