Cale Cosme is listed as 5-foot-8 on the Brother Rice roster but admits that might be a bit generous.
The junior guard is used to being underestimated because of his lack of size, but he has been playing big off the bench for the Crusaders.
“Usually, people look at me at 5-foot-6 or 5-foot-7 and think I can’t play basketball,” Cosme said. “That fuels me.
“The guys find me and I hit shots. I find them and they hit shots. We play well together.”
Cosme continued to show why he deserves opponents’ respect Tuesday night, scoring 12 points off the bench as the host Crusaders rolled to an 81-47 win over Morgan Park.
Niagara recruit Ahmad Henderson led Brother Rice (5-0) with 18 points. Zavier Fitch added 11 points and seven rebounds, Tre Dowdell scored 10 points and Khalil Ross contributed nine points and eight rebounds.
Dillon Fountain scored 16 points and Orlando James added 15 for Morgan Park (4-1).
Cosme hit all four of his shots from the field, including two 3-pointers, and both his free throws.
Last season, Cosme was on the junior varsity team but would often pull double duty and dress for varsity games. His playing time on varsity was sparse, but the experience helped.
“I didn’t go in a ton, so when I did, everybody would be hyped up,” Cosme said. “It was exciting playing in front of everybody. Last year, I was even smaller. I was a 5-foot-2 kid getting in the game, so people would get excited.”
Cosme has benefited from a lot of practice time with Henderson, a fellow smaller point guard who also relies on his quickness at 5-10.
“I definitely learned a lot last year sitting behind Ahmad and guarding him every day in practice,” Cosme said. “Now, I’m applying what I learned to the game. The game seems a lot slower now. When I was coming in at the end last year, it’d be fast.”
Henderson has been thrilled watching Cosme surprise people.
“He might be small, but don’t be fooled,” Henderson said. “He can shoot it really well. He can pass. When we’re on the court together, we play off each other well. I don’t think there’s a lot of people who can stop that.
“I kill him in practice every day, so he’s been learning.”
Cosme disagreed about practice but praised Henderson for teaching him plenty.
“That’s false,” Cosme said. “He doesn’t kill me. He can’t guard me and I defend him.
“But he’s a Division I point guard so he’s really hard to guard. He taught me how to play defense. I wasn’t a really good defender last year, but he forced me to be a good defender.”
The Crusaders came out clicking Tuesday, racing to a 23-7 lead in the first quarter behind nine points from Henderson.
Morgan Park fought back within 40-28 at halftime, but Brother Rice pulled away for good with a 22-7 edge in the third.
The Crusaders also won the Bill VandeMerkt Thanksgiving Classic at Riverside-Brookfield to open their first season under coach Conte Stamas, who took over after Bobby Frasor resigned.
“The first five games, for the most part, we’ve played unselfishly and we’ve played well defensively,” Stamas said. “We go 10 deep, so it’s a nice thing to have that flexibility with our team.”
Cosme, who Stamas called a “spark plug,” is proud to add to that depth.
“I try to give us a spark of energy, try to get us back in the game if we’re down or build that lead up if we’re ahead,” Cosme said. “I try to get the crowd into the game and get us going.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
