Hersey's Rogowski drains another winner
Every fall for the past four years, Megan Rogowski has warmed up for the basketball season as a top player on Hersey's girls golf team.
During her career on the links, Rogowski hit quite a few greens in regulation.
When it came time for basketball, though, there was nothing regular about her game.
It was extraordinary.
The 5-foot-9 guard, a four-year starter, became the most prolific scorer in Hersey girls basketball history with a school record of 2,365 points, 271 3-pointers, 450 free throws, a 79.1 percent free throw percentage and 34.7 percent 3-point percentage.
She concludes her senior season with yet another honor: Rogowski is the captain of the Daily Herald's girls basketball all-area team for suburban Cook County.
That's what you call a hole in one for your basketball career.
While she may not have had any aces on the golf course, Rogowski still set a school record in that sport as she fired a 35 at Rob Roy last fall.
“After playing basketball for nine of the 12 months, playing golf for three months each fall was definitely a nice break and a good time to recover from all the basketball,” said Rogowski, who also played for Derril Kipp's Illinois Hustle AAU program. “It was a nice relaxing period to refresh me for the upcoming basketball season each year.”
And no one seemed more refreshed each season.
Rogowski was ready to go every season when the Huskies started out in the Maine West Tip-Off Classic. She made four straight all-tourney appearances, the last three on the first team.
“What I think is most impressive is that Megan really just played golf competitively in the fall season, and a little over the summer,” said Hersey girls basketball coach Mary Fendley. “Yet the fact that she was still able to play at such a high level, I think speaks volumes of her talent.”
Not many girls played basketball at the same level as Rogowski this season.
She was named to the Associated Press Class 4A all-state first team.
When she was forced to miss her only game in four years this winter with a pinkie-finger injury, Rogowski was clearly missed at a practice when she had to tend to the injury.
“Megan always took the initiative to start practice by running our “11-man” (3-on-2 drill) to loosen everyone up,” Fendley said. “When she missed that day, it was like everyone was waiting for someone to start things. It was funny, like the kids said, ‘I guess we have to do things ourselves because Megan is not here.'
“Megan did a lot of things like that which go unnoticed. She was always the first to talk in the huddle. She did a lot of those important little things that a coach appreciates. Megan definitely stepped up with the little things that a great leader does.”
And of course, she stepped up on the floor, ready to make the big shot or a lot of big shots. In a game against Mother McAuley early in her junior campaign Rogowski hit 8 3-point baskets for the single-game school record.
Rogowski scored 346 points (32 3-pointers) as a freshman, 579 (74 3s) as sophomore, 733 (76 3s) as a junior and 707 (89 3s) as senior.
“It went by fast,” said the former St. Emily standout of her brilliant four-year career. “I never thought about how it would finish. I just took it one step at a time.”
And college recruiters kept a close eye on those steps, before Rogowski committed to DePaul and coach Doug Bruno a month before this past season started.
“I can't wait for that,” Rogowski added about her future at the Chicago school. “I'm looking forward to it. It's going to be a lot different. I don't really know what to expect. I don't know their ways yet.”
Fendley loved Rogowski's way about doing things.
“Obviously, I'll miss the tremendous talent she had but Megan is just a really fun kid to have around,” the veteran coach added. “Even when she was younger, when the older kids would tease her, she just took it real well and kind of gave a funny smile.
“As she got older, she became more serious but she's always had a good perspective on things and a great sense of humor. She's just a fun kid independent of her amazing talent.
“I'll miss her subtle humor and the chemistry she added to the team.”
And the Huskies will miss all those points the last four years.