Grayslake Central’s Jake Gibson is formidable down low. St. Viator learns quickly. ‘Everyone is scared of me.’

You can’t blame Grayslake Central’s Jake Gibson for enjoying himself.

The 6-foot-7 senior center usually has his way against smaller opponents in the paint.

But Gibson made such an impact on the Rams’ Class 3A Grayslake Central sectional semifinal against St. Viator on Wednesday that a smile spread across his face as he described his defensive dominance.

“What I see a lot is that no one drives the paint and everyone is scared of me,” he said. “They see me sitting down low, they come in and kick out right away.”

The kickouts started early in second-seeded Grayslake Central’s 46-34 win as Gibson recorded three of his five blocks in the first quarter. He altered several other shots, and there’s no way to quantify how many of seventh-seeded St. Viator’s possessions fell apart simply because Gibson was looming.

“He did a great job of setting the tone early,” Grayslake Central coach Brian Centella said. “Throughout the course of a game, you get your shot blocked a couple times, now you’re driving and thinking twice. Jake’s a special basketball player.”

Gibson has been playing that way all season and is a big reason the Rams (28-5) are one win away from their first-ever sectional championship. They will play top-seeded Lake Forest (23-10) on Friday, when Gibson will undoubtedly play a prominent role.

“I love making blocks,” he said. “It’s all a timing thing, and I know that I can sink off my dude when I see my teammate get beat. I’m there to bail my teammate out.”

Gibson also had nine points and 13 rebounds, the latter of which almost matched St. Viator (15-19).

“Because of my length, I can give a good push and go straight up,” he said. “I play a big box-out role. It’s about playing angles and making sure you have someone on your back at all times. Anyone on the team can go and snag one.”

There are times when Gibson finds him tasked with checking someone much smaller and quicker. He has a solution for that and put it to good use against St. Viator, which often had five guards on the floor.

“That means I have to give it a step so I can play his 3-point game with my length instead of being up and on him,” Gibson said. “I don’t have the quickness to do it, and my teammates are there to bail me. If we’re not locked in together, it’s game over.”

Gibson’s teammates know his presence down low also has the potential to put a charge into the Rams’ transition offense.

“You can tell that people don’t want to go in there, and you can see out of the corner of your eye that the ball might be coming back out, either with a rebound or a block,” senior guard Dennis Estepp said. “He changes the game in so many ways, and you saw a lot of that tonight.”

Gibson also showed an effective pick-and-roll game against the Lions, commanded back-to-the-basket entry passes and shook free for second-chance points. When defenses collapse on him, he has the court vision to find open teammates spotting up or cutting through the lane or baseline.

“He can make positive plays happen all over the floor, whether it’s finishing a layup, swatting an opponent’s shot or kicking it out to one of us,” senior guard Michael Monahan said. “We know he’s lurking down there, and that can ignite everybody in the gym.”

Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.