Boys Basketball: Durrett a major force in Lake Forest’s win streak

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Lake Forest's Thomas Durrett has been on a tear recently. The Scouts are on a five-game winning streak. | Joel Lerner~Sun-Times Media

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Updated: February 27, 2012 8:13AM

Lake Forest’s boys basketball team has made a major turnaround. And the play of 6-foot-4 senior shooting guard Thomas Durrett has been instrumental.

The veteran is playing his best basketball of the season for the Scouts, who defeated St. Viator 59-48 on Tuesday to extend their winning streak to five games.

Durrett has been so impressive that he seems a lock to be named an all-conference selection in the North Suburban Conference Lake Division for a second straight season.  

He was also an all-conference honorable mention selection on the varsity squad as a sophomore. 

A look at his numbers paints a clearer picture of why he’s become one of the area’s best. Durrett is shooting 52 percent from the field in 2011-12, and leads the Scouts in scoring, at 15 points per game — up from his 12.8 average as a junior.  

Remarkably, Durrett shot 91 percent from the free-throw line as a junior, too. According to the Lake Forest High School athletics website, that’s the best percentage by a LF boys player from the foul line, for an entire season — at least during the last decade. This season, he’s shooting 85 percent from the stripe.

Durrett scored 22 points on Jan. 17 in a win over Libertyville, 25 against Wauconda and 21 in an impressive comeback win over Lake Zurich. Previously, he tallied 15 points in an upset win over Stevenson, including 13 in the second half. 

“I think the reason I’ve been scoring as much as I have lately has everything to do with our overall team aggression, and how well we’ve all been getting to the rim,” Durrett said. “It’s not just me, everyone is attacking the basket, and it’s also freeing me and others up for a lot of open shots.” 

Perhaps it’s no coincidence that Durrett says his favorite basketball player is Boston Celtics star shooting guard Ray Allen, who has an NBA title and gold medal on his resumé. While one is an elite, world class player, and the other is just in high school, there are striking similarities between their games. Allen, who’s also the NBA’s all-time leader in three-point field goals made, has a lightning-quick release when he shoots the ball, as does Durrett. 

“Thomas is able to get his shot off really, really quick,” said LF coach Phil LaScala. “And guys — even ones who are a lot bigger than him — aren’t expecting it. When you consider how difficult it can be to get a jumper off in our league, and watch how good he’s become at it, it just shows how hard he’s worked on it over the last few years.” 

And again, much like Allen, Durrett is extremely dangerous from downtown. He’s shooting 36 percent from behind the three-point arc, and led the team in threes made each of the last two seasons. That will likely be the case again.  

“He’s a very smart player, too,” LaScala said. “He knows how to get open, and uses the screens that are set for him extremely well.” 

As good as he’s been on offense, his defense may be equally strong. The Scouts typically play a man-to-man defense, with few exceptions. And when that happens, Durrett’s offensive efforts only look that much more impressive — for one simple reason. 

“That’s the best thing,” LaScala said. “Usually, we have him guarding the other team’s best guard most of the time, and he’s done an excellent job lately — as has the rest of the team — on that side of the ball. Our play on defense is going to be the biggest key to our success if we want to make a postseason run. And Thomas has led by example.” 

As a result, Durrett is being heavily recruited by a number of NCAA Division III schools. Among those he’s visited are Hope College in Michigan, Augustana and St. Ambrose. St. Norbert, from which his older brother graduated, is a possibility as well. 

And although he hasn’t gotten any Division I looks — or offers — at least one person thinks Durrett may be a steal for any scout that signs him.  

“The Division IIIs are hard after him,” said LaScala, who’s coached and seen his share of D-I players (most recently, Michigan’s Matt Vogrich). “But I think whatever level he plays at, he’ll become a really nice college player. His biggest strength is his outside shot. He’s one of the premier shooters in the entire county when he gets space. He needs to get just a little stronger physically (Durrett is legitimately 180-185 pounds) at the next level, but when he gets a little more size on his body, he’ll be just fine.”   

Durrett says he’s motivated even more because he plays in such a strong conference, and because he wants to try to win another all-conference honor. But his two biggest remaining goals are ones that may be realistic ones, especially if the Scouts (10-7 overall, 3-3 NSC Lake), who will host Mundelein on Thursday night and travel to Zion-Benton on Saturday night (7:30 p.m.), keep playing the way they’ve been lately.  

“We lost to Fremd in the regional final on their court last year, so I’d like to win a regional championship,” Durrett said. “But right now, our biggest goal, and mine, is just to keep getting better every day. Coach (LaScala) talks about it all the time.”

Recap: In Tuesday’s win over St. Viator (16-3), Durrett tallied a team-high 16 points. George Quall added 11 points, including nine in the fourth quarter.