Tyler Cook drove the lane. He slammed the ball into the Mizzou Arena basket.
Before the Chaminade senior could celebrate, St. Louis University High School’s Brandon McKissic inbounded the ball. Unfortunately for McKissic and the rest of the Junior Billikens, it landed straight into the hands of Chaminade’s Reggie Crawford.
Crawford passed the ball to 6-foot-9 Jayson Tatum, who dunked for another Red Devil basket. Chaminade 66, SLUH 37. Early in the fourth quarter, the high school state semifinal was a blowout.
Tatum and Cook leapt into the air for a chest bump. The Red Army, Chaminade’s student section, was ecstatic. The dejected SLUH players watched as their hopes for a state championship grew further and further out of reach.
ESPN ranked Tatum the No. 2 recruit in the high school class of 2016, and the St. Louis native is headed to Duke next season to play for Hall of Fame coach Mike Krzyzewski.
Against SLUH, Tatum scored 28 points and grabbed six rebounds en route to a 75–49 win. The game was so out of reach that he didn’t even play for the last half of the fourth quarter.
Fittingly, he passed Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal for Chaminade’s career scoring record in the game against the Junior Billikens.
Tatum and the Red Devils will play Kickapoo on Saturday for the state championship. It will almost certainly be the last time Tatum plays in Mizzou Arena before heading off to Duke. He will end his prep career as one of the greatest players in St. Louis high school basketball history.
It’s easy to sensationalize a figure like Tatum. The scouts are right: He’s a star in the making, and that showed on Thursday night.
Tatum is not perfect by any means. He was not dominant early in the matchup and has elements of his game that need to be improved.
Still, watching the 18-year-old play was an eye-opening experience. He showed that he has what it takes to succeed in a long career. He can drive and defend, shoot and dribble. He seemed to be a leader on the court, encouraging and celebrating with teammates.
And, most importantly, Jayson Tatum had fun playing the game.