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Lincoln Road East Lilly Dockemeyer He likes to shoot. Simple.
Depending on practice, the senior guard can throw up to 75 shots.
It’s a lot, but he knows his goal: specifically to win the postseason.
“Every shot you take, you have to make sure it goes into the goal every time,” he said. “Even if you can’t take every shot, you should shoot when it’s open.”
Dockemeyer opened up Tuesday night, hitting two big 3-pointers early to lead the Griffins to a 60-39 victory over conference rival Sandburg in the Class 4A Joliet West Regional semifinals.
Those shots from Dockemeyer would help Lincoln-Way East (28-5), which beat Sandburg (19-15) for the fifth time this season, build a 14-point lead at the end of the first quarter.
senior forward Lana Kerley He led all scorers with 17 points, and the 6-foot-11 Dockemeyer added a pair of rebounds for the Griffins, who will play another conference foe (22-7) for the regional title Thursday at Homewood-Flossmoor at 6:30 p.m. The Vikings defeated Lincoln-Way Central 43-32.
The moment was easy for Dockemeyer, who finished with six points.
“I caught the ball and I was wide open,” Dockemeyer said of his 3-pointer, which was the first points of the game for the Griffins. “I believed you would enter”
senior forward Juliana Paddock and senior guard Nur Ali He made progress by scoring 15 points each against Sandburg. While Ali hit four three-pointers in the third quarter, the Eagles tried to stay close to each other.
It is difficult to beat a team three times or even five times in a season. And yes, Dockemeyer said the Griffins are playing like they have a chip on their shoulders, but that has little to do with the Eagles.
“I think this is pretty big for us,” he said. “I mean, Sandburg, of course. But we want to do it for ourselves and for our teammates.”
Illinois staff Hayven SmithThe senior center, who had 11 points and nine rebounds on Tuesday, agreed with Dockemeyer about the Griffins’ focus.
“That means playing more games with the group of girls and playing more basketball,” Smith said. “We’re doing this for ourselves.”
Dockemeyer, who started playing basketball in fourth grade, has become a top-tier shooter from long range in many ways, including taking extra shots in the gym.
Additionally, he took part in three club programs. And as a teenager, he got a lot of help from her too. Dave EsterkampFounder of The Ranch in Frankfort.
“When teams really try to beat Hayven inside, it opens up some shooters,” the Lincoln-Way East coach said. Jim Nair He mentioned Dockemeyer. “I wish we could get him to make some more shots because he’s one of the best shooters in the area.”
Nair confirmed that Dockemeyer was a natural candidate to lead the big six, with Kerley and Smith as captains. Dockemeyer’s style is based on picking up teammates.
“When someone has a bad shooting night, I tell them to keep going, they get it,” he said.
Does he need to tell himself this? Sure, but Taylor Swift has a twist here.
“My teammates tell me if I’m in my head, I need to get out of it,” he said.
It looks like no matter what happens on Thursday, Dockemeyer’s career is just getting started. He is committed to playing collegiately at Olivet Nazarene, which operates a unique system.
“They play a different style of play,” Dockemeyer said. “They go five in and five out, you push hard for two minutes and then you sit down.”
In other words, it looks like a change in hockey. Go broke, rest, and then go back in.
“They want to shoot every possession,” he said.
Gregg Voss is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.