Homewood-Flossmoor boys basketball plays hard, just like it prepared to do.
“This is a year where we don’t have as many names, really, so we’re going to have to do it collectively,” first-year coach Brandin Brown said. “They buy into everything we try to get them to do and playing hard is definitely No. 1. Once we’re playing hard, we can figure everything else out.”
The groundwork for the type of effort Brown wants to see out of his team started in the fall, when the Vikings were conditioning four days a week. A young team questioned why it was on the track instead of the hardwood so often.
They now understand.
“Coach B, we got straight to work the second he came in. The first day of the summer we got into the gym and worked hard,” junior Danny Ruffin said. “We used to spend hours just running, lifting, getting our body moving. It’s working. We’re 7-0 right now.”
H-F pressured full court for almost the duration of its home opener against Stagg Dec. 12. At times, it almost seemed like the Vikings had an extra player on the floor. The Chargers (6-1, 1-1 SouthWest Suburban Conference) struggled to even cross the halfcourt line early.
A running clock was triggered in the second half and H-F cruised to a 63-21 win.
When the Vikings weren’t getting steals and fast breaks, they were patiently working the ball around the Stagg zone defense to find shots. Ethan Jackson and Jayden McDonald each hit three 3-pointers.
“We want to play fast, run and share the ball, get stops. That’s ideal for us,” Brown said. “But in order for us to be good, something that we preach is we have to be good in the halfcourt. We have to execute.”
Ruffin played a role in that fast offense but was also on the boards when shots didn’t fall. He scored eight and finished with seven rebounds, five of which came in the first quarter.
“Danny, as a person, speaks to everything we want to be as a program,” Brown said. “He just does it based on hard work. What he does for us doesn’t always show up on the stat sheet but he has a way of impacting the game in many ways.”
Ruffin’s role the last two seasons was minimal. He was a JV player and bench guy but is now starting and playing important minutes. He lit up when asked about the new opportunity.
“I’ve been here just working, waiting for this moment to get my name called on varsity as a starter,” he said. “It’s been a long journey but the brotherhood we have here, it makes me feel love and it makes me feel at home.”
The Vikings say that bond is what has them out to an unblemished start to the season and sitting at 3-0 atop the conference race.
