Kerkman becomes 14th Illinois coach to win 700 games

West Aurora had a party planned Friday night that Naperville North nearly crashed.

The Blackhawks didn't lead until midway through the fourth quarter, then held their breath on several Huskies shots that didn't fall in the closing minutes to notch a 46-41 victory, the 700th in Hall of Fame coach Gordie Kerkman's career.

Kerkman, who came to West Aurora in 1962 and took over as varsity coach in 1976, became the 14th coach in Illinois history to reach the milestone. He's now 700-276 in his 35 years as a varsity coach, all at West Aurora.

After the final buzzer sounded and the players shook hands, West Aurora held a ceremony for Kerkman that included about 15 of his former players, a congratulatory letter from Illinois coach Bruce Weber, a proclamation by Aurora Mayor Tom Weisner and finally a presentation of a huge framed West Aurora white home jersey with the No. 700 on it.

His current players presented the framed jersey to Kerkman, all wearing shirts that said “700 wins Coach K, the legend continues.”

Kerkman then took the microphone and addressed the near sellout crowd.

“You are looking at the major reason there are 700 wins except they are not all here,” Kerkman started, looking at his former players.

“I'd also like to thank the fans, the adult fans, the student fans, the administration. It's never a one-man job. There's a lot of people involved. These guys here are the main reason we have the 700 on the T-shirts. Thanks again, thank you very much.”

One of those former players on hand was Kenny Battle, who led the 1984 Blackhawks to third in state before playing in the Final Four for Illinois and in the NBA. Battle's son Kenny Jr. was the first West Aurora player off the bench Friday.

“I'm thrilled to death not only to have played for him but to have my son playing for him now,” Battle said.

“You have a young man in Coach Kerkman who worked his butt off all those years. Nothing but hard work. And he's still doing it today. Who's more deserving than someone who has the patience, the care for the kids who come through the program.”

In all the previous milestone wins for Kerkman, West Aurora (4-2, 2-0) always was on the road. The players seemed nervous Friday, turning the ball over 11 times in the first half to fall behind by 7 points.

“I think we got a little jittery because all the pressure of coach's 700th win,” West Aurora junior Juwan Starks said. “It means a lot because we made history. Especially at home with all our fans, parents, former teammates here.”

Naperville North (2-5, 1-1) nearly ruined the celebration. Senior guard Jovonn Griffin opened the game with three straight 3-pointers for a 9-0 lead midway through the first quarter.

West Aurora freshman point guard Jontrel Walker finally got West Aurora on the board with an 18-foot jumper four minutes into the game.

In his first home game, Walker drove for another basket, hit a pull-up jumper and a 3-pointer to score all West Aurora's first-quarter points. Antonio Owens' stickback gave Naperville North an 11-9 lead after one.

A 7-0 run by the Huskies in the final minute of the second quarter gave them a 26-19 halftime lead. Chris McGee capped the surge with a 3-pointer just before the buzzer.

Naperville North took its biggest lead midway through the third quarter 33-22 on a second-chance basket by Griffin.

“I thought for the most of the ballgame we outplayed them,” Huskies coach Jeff Powers said.

Brandon Hayes' steal and layup in the closing seconds of the third quarter brought the Blackhawks within 34-30. A 3-pointer from Starks from the right baseline with 6:56 left in the game tied the score at 38.

West Aurora took its first lead 40-38 on a pair of Starks free throws at the 4:17 mark. Naperville North regained the lead on a 3-point play by McGee.

After Jonathan Dennison fell hard into the West Aurora bench to save a long rebound from going out of bounds, Walker rewarded the hustle by drawing a foul and converting 2 free throws for a 42-41 lead.

The Huskies missed shots on two possessions that would have put them ahead. Hayes sank 2 free throws for a 44-41 lead, then McGee's 3-pointer went halfway down before popping out.

Naperville North had one more chance to tie with 19 seconds to go but threw the ball away, and Walker capped 13-of-15 free-throw shooting by West Aurora with 2 free throws for the final margin.

“We didn't have any answer on Starks there,” Powers said. “We didn't execute at the end and they did. We didn't knock down some shots.”

Starks led all scorers with 20 points. Walker added 13 and Marcel Neil chipped in 6 off the bench. Griffin (18 points) and McGee (12) led the Huskies.

Back at his office after the game, Kerkman relaxed in his chair and told reporters, “this is the easy part.”

“When you are only four games away from it (before the season) you know it's going to happen,” Kerkman said of the 700th win. “It's just when. I think maybe the kids, fans got wrapped up in it more than I did. I'm a little more concerned about being 2-0 in the DVC.

“It hasn't really hit me because I'm involved in it right now. Maybe some years from now I will look upon it as a milestone. It hasn't sunk in yet.”