INDIANAPOLIS | The two Region Indiana All-Stars could've had flannel shirts, a plaid coffee thermos and a steel-toed boots on Saturday night inside Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
A time card and a lunch bucket would've worked nicely for Lake Central's Glenn Robinson III and Bowman Academy's DeJuan Marrero.
So as the two went back into the Indiana-Kentucky All-Star game with a couple of minutes remaining in Indiana's 83-73 win, it was reminiscent of all those distant sweaty hours spent inside the gym in Glen Park all those years ago.
The two teammates as lads were now champions on the state's largest stage.
“I hope people think I was the hardest worker in Indiana,” said Marrero, who graduates from Bowman today and leaves for DePaul on Monday. “That's what I wanted to be. This game was cool. I wanted to leave this building 2-1. And I did.
“And I got to do it with the Dream Team. What a great group of guys to end my high school career with.”
Marrero continued his garbage man role with this team, scoring three points and grabbing five rebounds.
“I was representing the 2-1-9,” Marrero said. “With me and my boy, Glenn.”
Robinson, who leaves for Michigan soon, scored the first basket of the game. But on a team with seven future Big Ten players and two Big East talents, the points did not come as easily as they did back in St. John.
Robinson scored three points and grabbed four rebounds in his final high school game.
“I hope people remember me as the kid who worked hard to get what he earned,” Robinson said. “I didn't get it for free or because who my dad was. I wasn't a very good player a few years ago and I worked to get to where I am now.
Indiana leads the series 88-42 and has won nine straight and 16 of the last 17 meetings.
Indiana Mr. Basketball Gary Harris was named the game's MVP as he scored 17 to go along with five picks in front of 5,938 fans. Broad Ripple's Ron Patterson scored 14 and Pike's R.J. Hunter chipped in 11.
Kentucky led 41-40 at halftime before the raw talent of Indiana's squad took over. A 16-2 second-half run opened up a close contest.
“We did not want that streak to end,” Robinson said. “It was pretty cool that (Marrero) and I were on the floor together at the end. We will all have great memories we can take with us for the rest of our lives.”
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