Hillcrest’s Maximilian Carmicle is a rising star in two sports. He has picked up Division I offers in football and continues to garner more notice on the basketball court as a 6-foot-7 junior forward.
The tough Carmicle, though, is more likely to shy away from the attention than seek it out.
“I’m not really a fan of the fame and all of that,” he said. “I just want to play.”
Carmicle certainly is not shy on the court.
He showed off his leadership Friday night, producing a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds to help the Hawks pull away for an 88-58 win over host Evergreen Park in a South Suburban Conference crossover.
Jovi Ratliff poured in 30 points, including 26 in the second half, to lead Hillcrest (3-2, 1-0 SSC Blue). Gary Bradley added 13 points and Jamir Ratliff — Jovi’s brother — finished with 10 points and five rebounds.
Keshaun Vaval scored 24 points, Lonnie Mosley added 20 points and Camryn Dandridge contributed seven points and eight rebounds for Evergreen Park (3-2, 0-1 SSC Red), which trailed by just seven points early in the fourth quarter before the Hawks went on a 20-0 run.
Carmicle, meanwhile, came off the bench because he had been battling an illness all week and missed practices and school days.
He was still prepared, however.
“You have to stay mentally ready,” Carmicle said. “You take care of your school work when you’re not there. You’ll be all right.
“If I’m on the bench, I have to approach it the same way as if I’m starting. Come out fast and be ready.”
That’s exactly what Carmicle did as he quickly scored six points shortly after entering the game for the first time.
“He set the tone for us with his hustle and being loud on the court,” Jovi Ratliff said. “That helped us a lot.”
Carmicle is still adjusting to basketball after making the quick turnaround from football.
“The biggest thing is just keeping that winning mindset,” Carmicle said. “I’ve taken so many L’s in football, but you learn to win and you learn to win the right way.
“I like having the chance to play both sports. I’m always ready for basketball season, always ready for football season. It’s never ending.”
Jovi Ratliff answered Carmicle’s calls for a winning attitude, producing a huge second half to help the Hawks take control after the game was tied 30-30 at halftime.
Ratliff scored 17 points in the third quarter after only taking two shots and scoring four points in the first half.
“I needed to be a little more aggressive,” Ratliff said. “I want to take good shots. I just took what the defense gave me and the more shots I make, the more confidence I get.”
Ratliff missed just one shot all night, connecting on 10 of 11 shots from 2-point range along with making his only 3-pointer and all five free throws he took.
That was exactly what Hillcrest coach Don Houston was looking for.
“I told Jovi I didn’t want threes,” Houston said. “I wanted him to get to the basket. I think he’s used to shooting threes so he had to figure out a better way of scoring, and eventually he found it in the second half.”
Carmicle then put the exclamation point on the surge in the fourth quarter with a thunderous breakaway dunk.
But it was how Carmicle played early in the game, after he got off the bench, that got the Hawks going in the right direction.
“Max is a heck of a player,” Houston said. “He’s our workhorse. We need everybody on our team to match his energy because he brings it every single night.”
Hillcrest also got a bit of vengeance for a season-ending loss to Evergreen Park in a regional championship game in February.
“We were coming for them,” Carmicle said.
