Chesterton High School feeling like home for Chicago native Malachi Ransom, sixth man on the Trojans' basketball team

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

An outsider from Chicago when he moved in time for the first day of school as a sophomore a year-and-a-half ago, Chesterton sixth man Malachi Ransom feels very much a part of something now.
“Man, this means the world to me, creating bonds with my brothers,” Ransom said after walking out of the locker room to head home as a sectional champion Saturday night. “It’s good to win, and it’s not only good to win, but it’s good to win with this group because this group is special. And we’re connected. We’re connected. We’ve created a bond that’s amazing. So I’m glad to win with my brothers.”
The outgoing Ransom has the right personality to make friends quickly at a new school, and he did. But he had a lot to learn about playing basketball within a system. Early in his time here Ransom said that he didn’t know what a screen was when playing on the freshman basketball team at Simeon Career Academy.
“We were just ballin’,” he said.
Like nearly all high school basketball players, Ransom doesn’t receive straight A’s in the areas of shot selection and keeping the ball moving with a pass instead of freezing it by dribbling too much, but he has come a long way in both areas.
Ransom plays starter’s minutes and is the key to Chesterton coach Marc Urban having the luxury of shifting to a four-guard lineup when it makes sense matchup-wise and when he wants to work the clock with a four-corner offense, such as in the second half when the Trojans were having trouble slowing down skilled Merrillville scorer Charles Hardiman in the sectional semifinal.
Compared to a year ago, Ransom has improved his 3-point shooting percentage, reduced his turnover rate offensively and upped the turnovers he causes at the other end. He has learned the value of all five players adhering to a system that makes each player help the other four on the court get better opportunities.
“I always think about this: What if I would have stayed?” he said.
When he asks himself that question, he always has the same answer.
“I wouldn’t be as good as I am now,” Ransom said. “I’m being pushed, and that’s great. Every day in practice, I’m being pushed to reach a certain standard. And if I don’t reach that standard, he’s on my heels, and I feel like that’s great for me.”
He, of course, is 10th-year Chesterton coach Marc Urban, a direct communicator who doesn’t beat around the bush when letting players know they could have done something better.
Ransom said he believes playing for a new coach and with new teammates after the move has improved his game considerably.
“I think I’m better IQ-wise,” he said. “I think I’m a way better passer. I think I’ve come a long way in that aspect. And my defense, too, my defense is better.”
He said he has benefitted from the move in ways that have nothing to do with the 4,200 square feet of a high school basketball court.
“I like the school,” Ransom said. “I love the school, actually. It’s dope. It’s a safe environment from where I came from. You know, it’s peaceful and it’s a great education, so I love the school.”
Chesterton’s quickest player, Ransom has a trait in common with starting guards Logan Pokorney, Jaylon Watts and Tobias Ray, as well as reserve Cooper Huwig, in that he’s an accurate free throw shooter. That’s particularly meaningful for a player who attacks the hoop as aggressively as he does.
Ransom won’t hear his name called with the starters Saturday in a regional contest with Crown Point that tips off at 7 p.m., but there is a good chance he will be on the court at the end of the game.