A foot injury cost Saquan Commings his senior football season, but nothing is stopping him this winter.
Commings played sticky defense against Warren’s Jaxson Davis, the state’s No. 1 junior, and scored 17 points as Curie stormed back for a 65-60 win on Dec. 6 in the Chicago Elite Classic at Credit Union 1 Arena.
Justin Oliver had game highs of 24 points, nine rebounds and five steals for the Condors (2-0), who trailed 52-38 after Davis hit a 3-pointer early in the fourth quarter. Mike Oliver Jr. added 11 points and four assists for Curie, while Kendall Holliday contributed six points and six rebounds.
While the Olivers were mainstays for Curie’s Public League runner-up team last season, Commings was farther down in the rotation. But now he’s a bigger part of the mix.
“I was just getting prepared for this role since, like, the season ended last year,” he said. “So I knew my expectations and I was just playing, working out every day and getting better and sticking to that role.”
Missing a chance to play for the Condors’ Public League White North champion football team was tough. But Commings saw the big picture.
“Yeah, it was hard,” Commings said. “But this is my main sport so I had to focus on this sport.”
His work hasn’t gone unnoticed.
“Just handling the ball, being able to make the right read, guarding their best player,” Justin Oliver said, listing Commings’ contributions. “He was guarding Jaxson probably the best we could have been guarding him.”
Davis fouled out on an offensive foul in the final minute, finishing with 15 points on 3-for-9 shooting with five assists, five rebounds and five turnovers for the returning Class 4A state runner-up.
Commings had a lot to do with that line, according to Curie coach Mike Oliver.
“His job is probably to guard the best guy on the other team, take some of the pressure off Justin (who is) trying to defend and score for us,” Mike Oliver said. “But Saquan has been doing that for four years. People just don’t know because (there were) other guys before him. But he’s been a solid player in our program for four years.”
And Commings helped rally the Condors when the situation was looking bleak in the fourth quarter.
“I had to uplift my team,” Commings said. “I saw a lot of heads down. … So (I was) just being a big leader, bringing the energy.”
Curie struggled shooting from the floor and from the line for the first three quarters, going 13-for-38 and 8-for-19, respectively. But fueled by some steals and fast breaks, they made 7-for-11 from the floor and 12-for-14 from the line in the final eight minutes.
Justin Oliver made two free throws with 1:20 remaining to put Curie ahead to stay at 50-59. Commings hit two free throws with 7.9 seconds left for the final margin.
“Any time you get a win against a quality team like that, it means a whole lot,” Mike Oliver said, “Not just for today, but for the program going forward. Like we told the guys, games like this are showcase games. You go out there and you try to showcase (yourself) for a chance to go to (college).”