Amare Pryor picked up a few varsity minutes here and there last season as a freshman guard at Hyde Park.

He has been picking up a few varsity minutes here and there this season as a sophomore at Bloom.

“I’m working hard in practice and trying to earn my minutes,” Pryor said. “I’m trying to get a little bit of time.”

That time may be coming soon. Despite seeing scant varsity action, Pryor has taken unofficial visits to Northern Iowa and Illinois-Chicago.

He showed Thursday night why Division I schools are already after him with a 12-point performance in the Blazing Trojans’ 56-46 Southland Athletic Conference victory over Thornwood in Chicago Heights.

Santana Flowers paced Bloom (6-2, 2-0) with 14 points, while Elijah Allen pulled down 12 rebounds. Arden Eaves led Thornwood (3-5, 0-1) with 14 points.

Pryor’s eight-point outburst in the second quarter helped spark the Blazing Trojans, who had been in an offensive funk.

They scored just 45 points in 44 minutes in a 47-45 triple-overtime loss Dec. 9 to Brother Rice at the Team Rose Shootout and mustered just seven points in the first quarter against Thornwood.

“Amare is a pure bucket,” Flowers said of Pryor, who only played parts of three quarters. “You could see that he was out there scoring, and that’s what got us going offensively.

“Then everybody else brought that energy.”

Bloom coach Dante Maddox, who saw his team trail 11-0 to start Thursday’s game and 15-7 heading into the second quarter, is looking forward to the emergence of Pryor, a 6-foot guard.

“We’ve been waiting for him to arrive at the varsity level,” Maddox said. “He’s getting better every day. He’s starting to work hard and understand how hard work will help him get minutes.

“He’s maturing right before our eyes. He can score, and he’s showing he’s an important part of what he need coming off the bench right now.”

Despite Bloom’s 19-point effort in the second quarter, the Blazing Trojans still trailed 29-26 at halftime.

Enter Flowers.

The 6-5 senior guard/forward scored six points and had two rebounds and a steal during a 9-0 stretch to open the third, and the Blazing Trojans never trailed after that.

“As a senior, I had to take over,” Flowers said. “I had to show my leadership and get us going as a team.”

It’s something his coach has been anticipating.

“He’s playing good as of late,” Maddox said. “He hasn’t had that many Santana moments that we need him to have, but over the last couple of games, he’s been showing what he can do.

“If we can get the guys who have experience from last year to play well on a regular basis, we can be a really good team.”

Flowers said the team was “very sick” of the offensive slump and hopes Thursday’s game will produce better results.

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“We’re still putting the pieces together,” Flowers said. “We have the pieces, but we all need to get on the same page.”

And with Pryor stepping up, it’s an added piece the Blazing Trojans can use.

Coming off the bench and earning minutes is nothing new for him. He said he has been playing basketball since age 4 and faced a similar scenario.

“I wasn’t playing well and I had to come off the bench even then,” he said. “I wasn’t really that good and I had to start working hard.”

Eleven years later, he’s glad that he has put in the work.

“I enjoy working hard,” he said. “When everyone else is out partying, I’m in the gym working to try to show I could do something really important.”

Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.