Charles Barnes Jr. heard about the Battle of Pulaski and watched some videos of past matchups.
Then on Jan. 20, the senior transfer from De La Salle got his first taste of one of Illinois’ greatest rivalries: the showdown between Mount Greenwood rivals Marist and Brother Rice.
“There’s nothing like it,” Barnes said after leading Marist to a 58-49 road win. “That was an awesome atmosphere I just played in. It feels surreal.”
Credit that to the high talent level on both sides, along with massive student sections that packed the Crusaders gym: Marist in the south balcony and Rice in the north half of the lower bleachers.
Rather than a nonconference game in January, “it feels almost like a state championship,” Barnes said. “And we (get to) carry around this huge (traveling) trophy that I didn’t know we had.”
Barnes kept his wits about him, though, amid all the hoopla. The 6-5 forward scored a game-high 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds for the RedHawks, who led almost the entire game.
Senior guard Adoni Vassilakis added 16 points for Marist, while North Carolina State football recruit Stephen Brown added six points and five rebounds off the bench.
Junior guard Aiden Henderson paced Rice with 15 points and six rebounds, senior guard Charlie Wizgird scored 12 and senior guard Zach Grabowski had nine points.
A year after Rice finished second in Class 3A, Marist is the team with state-title aspirations. The RedHawks are hoping the addition of Barnes to a veteran core back from last year’s 31-3 team could be the piece that puts them over the top.
“He’s an all-around player,” Brown said. “He can shoot, get to the rim and rebound hard. … I just love playing with him.”
Marist coach Brian Hynes has a similar take, saying Barnes has been “everything (expected) and more.
“Not only his scoring, but he can guard. He’s literally one of the nicest people I’ve ever met, such a high-character kid. In these days, (you) don’t find that too often.”
Barnes is capable of carrying a team by himself, and had a recent stretch where he averaged around 27 points a game. He had a less productive night the game before Rice, so Hynes expected a bounceback.
“I knew he was going to have a big night tonight,” Hynes said.
Barnes showed a willingness to adjust to the flow of the game.
“The 3-ball wasn’t falling, so I knew I could get to the basket,” he said. “My teammates were just looking for me all night.”
Despite his resume, Brown remains uncommitted and, in Hynes’ opinion, under-recruited.
“They want (an extra) 30 pounds on him and they don’t have time to develop these kids,” Hynes said of major-college programs. “… Ten years ago, he’d have 15 Division I offers.”
But Hynes and Barnes both expect a happy ending to that recruiting saga.
“You know he’s going to be fine wherever he ends up,” Hynes said.
“That all comes with time, I feel like, as I fill out my frame and just keep developing into a (better) player,” Barnes said.