As an aspiring firefighter, Argo forward Jayvon King understands the importance of teamwork.
Whether it’s grabbing an offensive rebound on a gritty play inside, guarding an opponent’s center in the post while giving up six inches in height or offering in-game advice to a teammate, almost everything King does is on an Argonauts-first basis.
“I consider myself a leader,” King said after a 48-40 South Suburban crossover loss to visiting Oak Forest on Dec. 13. “I just want to do whatever it takes to get a win.
“I try to go out there and be a dog. That’s my role on this team.”
King finished with eight points and five rebounds, while Yusuf Saleh led the Argonauts (3-5, 0-3) with nine points. Syncere Westbrook and Kassam Saleh chipped in six points apiece.
“Jayvon is a glue guy and just a great kid,” Argo coach Pat Maietta said. “He’s the hardest worker on the team.
“He practices his butt off and he does anything you want. He just wants to be part of the team in any way possible. Jayvon’s our Swiss Army knife because he does everything well. He’s been our leading rebounder sometimes at 5-foot-11, 6-foot.”
Listed at 5-11 and 175 pounds, King also started at safety and wide receiver for Argo’s football team, earning All-South Suburban Conference honors this fall. He also excels in the classroom, maintaining a 3.9 grade-point average.
“In football, you have nine games and you value those games,” King said. “In basketball, these are my guys.
“It’s a family and we value the family in this. This means everything. We always talk together, we do things together and that’s how we win games. It’s like a brotherhood and these guys mean everything.”
Leading 32-28 after three quarters, the Bengals (4-3, 2-1) widened their advantage to 40-32. The Argonauts pulled to within 40-37 with 1:55 to play on a driving layup by Yusuf Saleh.
Oak Forest went on an 8-0 run before Kassam Saleh’s 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Trailing 9-7 after the first quarter, Argo used an aggressive 1-2-2 three-quarter court press and strong halfcourt man-to-man defense as the foundation of a 14-4 run that became a 21-11 lead that was culminated by King’s baseline floater at the 3:20 mark of the second quarter.
Oak Forest responded with a spurt of its own, outscoring the hosts 14-1 at the end of the second quarter and beginning of the third.
“It’s not the first game that’s happened where we had the lead and it evaporated quickly,” Maietta said. “It comes down to the offensive end and our shot selection.
“When we need to grind out a good offensive possession, we don’t have the patience to do it. The kids play hard, but we gambled on a steal, we gave up a layup and we didn’t chase on an out-of-bounds (play). It’s all about understanding the scouting report. Ultimately, that’s on me.”