Ultra-quick Trojans sixth man Malachi Ransom fitting in with new team and polishing considerable talent

Tom Keegan
onwardtrojans.com

Even at a time when athletes run faster and jump higher than ever, every now and then a high school basketball player will do something that makes spectators stop and wonder: “Did I just see that?”
One such moment occurred during visiting Lake Central’s 61-50 win over Chesterton.
It was neither Malachi Ransom’s nor the Trojans’ best game, but the sophomore guard did furnish the night’s most memorable moment.
Ransom drove the right baseline at a blink-and-you-missed-it pace that left witnesses picking their jaws off the floor and asking themselves: “Did I really see what I think I saw? Did he actually just do that? Is he really that fast?”
You did. He did. He is.
Getting Ransom to speed up never has been an issue since he moved with his family to Chesterton from Chicago shortly before the school year started.
Keeping Ransom, the quickest player on the team, from being so quick he gets ahead of even himself is the challenge. He has made progress in that area and has been rewarded with more playing time as the team’s sixth man. Trojans coach Marc Urban gives Ransom starting assignments when someone is out of the lineup.
Ransom had particularly strong efforts on back-to-back nights at home in the near upset of Crown Point and the win over Hobart.
“Where he was in the Elkhart game to where he is today, it’s night and day,” ninth-year Chesterton coach Marc Urban said that weekend. “He’s starting to figure out how to play the game of basketball in a system and still be productive. I think that’s a key piece to it. He just keeps working. He always has had a good energy and a good vibe around the guys, encouraging them.”
Playing time is a great motivator, and it’s common for coaches to withhold it from players until they learn how to stay within the system. Otherwise, the players never would have incentive to play any way but their own way. It’s also common for a player trying to fit in by settling his game down to become too conscious of that and play too passively, too conscious of not making a mistake. Ransom appeared to be doing that for a bit, but once he became more comfortable, his aggressiveness returned and he’s putting more pressure than ever on opposing defenses.
“My IQ got better,” Ransom said. “Urb’s doing a good job teaching me how to be a good point guard, so I’m making reads that I wouldn’t have made five months ago, so he’s doing a good job coaching me. So as a point guard, I’m getting way better while scoring, too.”
Ramsom scored 11 points in both the Crown Point and Hobart games. He gets to the rim at such a high speed that he’s still going too fast sometimes when he puts the shot up and the ball rolls off the rim. It’s an easier fix than trying to a slower, less springy player to the rim and then up close to the rim.
Clearly, Ransom believes Urban is making him a better basketball player and he welcomes his insights, regardless of the decibel level at which they might be delivered at times. Ransom said he didn’t know how to set a screen until coming to Chesterton and “didn’t have any court vision,” zeroing in on the rim until learning the nuances of point guard play on his new team.
Talking about the day after the Trojans’ loss at LaPorte, Ransom said, “That practice was hard. Really hard. It was tough. He’s really tough. He’s like that every day, though. That’s the sign of a good coach, though. Every practice is hard for me, for real. That’s how you get better. Man, that practice made us better.”
Ransom played on the freshman team at Chicago Simeon last season and was welcomed by teammates who instantly saw a high ceiling in the agile, fast guard whose touch at the free throw line portends well for his chances of eventually becoming an accurate 3-point shooter.
“He was really good the first day we saw him, but playing together as a team, he’s come such a long way,” junior Jaylon Watts said. “From our Elkhart game to now, it’s so much different. For a point guard to come in as late as he did, I can only imagine how hard it is, but he’s done a really good job, and it really helps us a lot.”
A 5-foot-10 lefty, Ransom’s turnovers are down and his assists are up slightly in recent games. He’s averaging 6.8 points per game in all games and 8.5 in DAC play.
“He’s picking it up and starting to understand, all right, yeah, this is probably a lot more fun way to play because you’re playing in a system, you’re playing together,” Urban said. “Sometimes it’s my turn to make plays, sometimes it’s your turn. He’s starting to use his quickness and is able to get to the paint and make the right decision, and that’s where the gold’s at.”
Anybody who doubts that Ransom is having more fun playing in a system than as one of five freelancers on the floor, need only ask this question: Is it more enjoyable watching pickup basketball or five players meshing together?
Ransom has the look of someone who’s enjoying himself trying to bring out the best in himself and his new teammates.
The Trojans (9-8 overall, 1-3 in the DAC) hit the road Thursday for a game at Michigan City (9-8, 2-2), a 7 p.m. tipoff.