MAX-IMUM POTENTIAL
Sophomore Maximilian Carmicle growing by leaps and bounds as Hawks down Titans
Hillcrest’s Maximilian Carmicle didn’t start playing basketball until he was in eighth grade.
He didn’t start playing football until this past fall.
Yet, the 6-foot-6, 215-pound sophomore center — who played defensive end in football — has made a difference in back-toback seasons for the Hawks.
“He’s going to be getting college interest in both sports,” Hillcrest coach Don Houston predicted. “He has size. He’s going to grow more. He’s physical, and he works on his game.
“You are only going to see him get better.”
For example, take Thursday night. Carmicle scored eight points and hauled in eight rebounds for Hillcrest in a 70-59 South Suburban Blue victory over host Tinley Park.
Jovohn Ratliff led the Hawks (13-9, 7-2), who are 9-1 in the last 10 games, with 19 points. Adam Page added nine.
Jamal Williams, DJ Jervier and Nolan Maciejewski scored 11 points apiece for Tinley Park (4-16, 2-7).
Carmicle said he was always tall but didn’t get into sports until eight grade at Prairie-Hills Junior High School in Markham. The coaches finally snagged him.
“You know how it goes,” Carmicle said. “I was a tall guy and they wanted me to play on the team. I had to work toward it. I had to develop my body over the years with working out and all of that.”
Since he was new to sports, he was also rookie as far as tough workouts and the disappointment that athletics could bring.
Fortunately for Carmicle, he had his mother, Latrice, keeping his head on straight whenever things were getting tough.
“She didn’t let me quit,” Maximilian said. “Once I got into sports, she wouldn’t let me give up. She forced me to go to things like workouts and lit the fuel for my sports career.
“I feel like every athlete is going to go through that time when they want to quit. But she didn’t let me, and I had to get to it.”
Carmicle missed some of the basketball season because of a turf toe injury from football, but he has become an inside force for the Hawks.
Houston calls him “raw” but getting better. His teammates like his talents — raw or not.
“He brings a lot to the table,” Page said of Carmicle. “He brings rebounds, toughness, heart. He has a motor — he has a great motor.
“He’s a great teammate and just an all-around
great player.”
At one point, the Hawks had a 3-9 record, but they’re now one of the hottest teams in the area. They graduated a ton of talent from a team that won 29 games last season.
“This was a new team and we were learning how to come together,” Page said. “We started to figure it out. It’s just a matter of more experience playing with each other.”
Tinley Park, meanwhile, entered having won two of its past three games. The Titans kept close with the Hawks
for three quarters but were outscored 22-16 in the fourth.
“Things are trending upward,” Tinley coach D.J. Brown said. “Were trending in the right direction. We’re playing better basketball and potentially peaking at the right time.
“I know our record doesn’t look like it, but we’re playing better all-around basketball.” As is Hillcrest. During this winning run, which started Dec. 28 with a 61-60 win over Thornwood in the Big Dipper Classic, the Hawks have won five of the nine games by more than 10 points and four by less than 10. The loss was 49-45 setback at Batavia.
Carmicle said he prefers close shaves.
“I like the intensity of the game,” he said. “I like close games. Blowouts aren’t much fun to me. But close, intense games and toughness really brings it out for me.”