Sophomores Cooper Huwig and Tommy Kostbade team, on a monster alley-oop in lopsided win over Hammond Central, an exciting glimpse into the future

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

Tommy Kostbade showed his impressive flight skills during the dunk competition with fellow sophomore Bradly Basila in front of a big crowd on Maroon & Gold night, and he’s dunked in JV games, but what happened Saturday night in an 86-39 victory against visiting Hammond Central was different.
“It was my first varsity dunk,” Kostbade said with a grin that for an instant seemed as long as his wingspan. “So that was really big for me.”
And it wasn’t just any slam. It was an alley-oop served by his shadow, sophomore varsity reserve Cooper Huwig.
“I just want to keep getting better and I’ve got to give tons of credit to Coop for throwing me a perfect lob,” Kostbade said.
The big man showed another skill, a soft shooting touch beyond the 3-point arc, which has so many brimming with excitement about his future. A monster slam and a 3-point swish, a pair of glimpses into the future.
Kostbade has played enough for the varsity to put up 10 3-point shots and has made half of them. He looks like an athlete when he runs the court and has the appearance of someone who can pack a lot of muscle onto his slender 6-foot-6 frame.
Kostbade sweats potential, but that doesn’t necessarily mean there won’t be a game or two in the postseason where he is needed today, not tomorrow, for a significant contribution. Same for Huwig. Something always happens at any level of basketball that forces a coach to go a little deeper into his bench to give a player extensive time on the court and a young talent delivers a big game. An NBA rookie, a college freshman, a high school player who splits time between JV and varsity, it happens all the time.
Kostbade and Huwig are two eager candidates for that possibility.
Foul trouble created an opportunity for Kostbade to get extensive playing time in an early season road game vs. Elkhart and here responded with eight second-half points.
Having Huwig on the serving end of his aerial bucket made it all the more rewarding for Kostbade.
“I love playing with Coop,” he said. “We started becoming friends in seventh grade and he’s been there throughout all my years (playing basketball), like through the hard times and the good times. He’s one of my closest friends.”
Kostbade didn’t take up the game until seventh grade, giving up swimming. In contrast, Huwig, the son of a basketball coach, has played the game from a young age and has a feel for the game beyond his years, which makes him a good running mate for a relative basketball novice.
“Yeah, I’ve got to give a ton of credit to Cooper,” Kostbade said. “He’s always looking to make other people better and he’s always playing with higher energy, super consistent throughout practice and is just a great all-around person.”
Huwig, who has deep range on his lefty jumper, is usually the second perimeter player off the bench, but with Tobias Ray sidelined by the flu for Friday’s 65-55 win at Portage, Huwig moved up a spot and was inserted into the game early. Coach Marc Urban trusted him to play some point guard.
“Coop, I always trust him. It’s just hard sometimes to get him in. He’s a super smart basketball player, he’s smart, he passes the ball with sharpness,” Urban said after the game. “He’s a good passer. Everyone who stepped in and played tonight did a good job.”
Including Kostbade, who had a steal and deflected a couple of passes.
“We need that,” Urban said. “It’s just hard sometimes to get guys minutes, but to their credit they’ve stayed ready and we have full confidence in those guys. It feels good as a coach to throw in guys who you’re confident in.”
In Basila, Huwig and Kostbade, Chesterton has a strong sophomore class.
“This year it’s about me gaining improvement playing with teammates, getting everyone involved, getting more rebounds,” Kostbade said. “Next year I want to take another big step and see how good I can get, but this year is all about confidence. I want to play as much as I can.”
Kostbade took the blame for the first lob failing, saying he mistimed his jump. He briefly grabbed hold of the rim on his way back down to earth to break his fall and was called for “hanging on the rim,” to the surprise of most in the audience. Kostbade laughed about it then and again after the game, in too good a mood from the successful jam to let anything wipe the small off his face.
Chesterton travels to Lowell (5-15) tonight, a game that could present extensive playing time for both sophomores.