Rayshaun Aaron ‘shows his heart’ — and versatility — once again as Waukegan picks up another win in turnaround season

Waukegan’s Rayshaun Aaron was told by coach Ron Ashlaw that he needed to be versatile this season.

For the Bulldogs to be successful, the senior forward had to use his size, length and athleticism to do various things on the court, Ashlaw said.

“I told (Ashlaw) that I will do whatever it takes to help us win,” Aaron said. “If I have to shoot better, take the ball to the basket, rebound or play defense, I want to do everything to be the best player I can be.”

Aaron’s skills were really put to the test Monday, when Waukegan played without its top inside players — senior Lawrence Harris and freshman Simereon Carter — against Grayslake North in the consolation championship game of the Martin Luther King Classic at Lakes. Both were sidelined with injuries.

After a slow start, Aaron responded with 20 points and 12 rebounds as the Bulldogs rallied for a 66-64 win.

“It was a good game for us to win because we never gave up,” Aaron said. “We knew if we played good defense, we would get back in the game and have a chance to win it at the end.”

Aaron has followed Ashlaw’s preseason instructions by doing the little things that have helped Waukegan (10-10) during a turnaround season. The Bulldogs won a total of five games in the previous three years.

“We don’t always need him to score, but we need him most games on the boards and playing good defense,” Ashlaw said. “Rayshaun’s body type reminds me most of Bryant Brown (Waukegan’s all-time leading scorer) because he has the length and quickness to get to the basket, plus can pull up and hit a perimeter shot when open.

“He also shows his heart by working hard under the basket and on the glass.”

Aaron also knows he must provide senior leadership on a team filled with talented underclassmen.

“I hope the younger guys look up to me, especially doing the things we need to do to win,” he said. “We have a lot of different-age guys on this team, but everybody seems to be pulling in the right direction to help us win.”

Ashlaw agreed that the Bulldogs are moving forward.

“This team is a resilient bunch, and I think that showed against Grayslake North,” he said. “I think the ethos of what we want this team to become has really shined through in the last month. So when we do get everyone healthy and back into the lineup, we can be a pretty good team.”

One unexpected but welcome addition for the Bulldogs has been junior forward Nehemiah Dunn, a Waukegan native who recently transferred from Texas.

Dunn scored a team-high 22 points — including a runner off the glass with 3.9 seconds left for the game-winner — against Grayslake North (8-11). He scored 19 of his 22 points in the decisive second half.

“Nehemiah is a good player who is definitely going to help us,” Aaron said.

Freshman guard Carter Newsome, who has had injury problems of his own recently, came off the bench to score seven of his 11 points in the fourth quarter as the Bulldogs erased a nine-point deficit.

Senior guard Dominic Jankowski, who scored a game-high 24 points, and sophomore guard Jayden Hunt, who added 19 points, were unstoppable at times for Grayslake North. But Waukegan put the clamps down.

“We got the defensive stops we needed at the end of the game, and that was the key,” Ashlaw said.

Darren Day is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.