From start to finish, Conroy's first year at Kaneland a success
What started as an uneasy August transition ended as a satisfying March run for first-year coach Joe Conroy and the Kaneland boys basketball team.
Kaneland's postseason came to an undramatic end Wednesday in a 59-40 loss to Boylan Catholic in a Class 3A Woodstock North sectional semifinal, but it wasn't due to a lack of effort, ala the example senior Ryan David gave fans in the third quarter.
The Knights (20-9) had fallen behind talented NIC-10 champion Boylan (30-2) by 20 points after trailing by 15 at the half, but David's inner drive isn't regulated by the scoreboard.
The 6-foot-4 veteran streaked across the lane to block a shot, ran to the other end of the floor to play offense, then raced the length of the court in time to deny another attempt by the Titans, bringing the Kaneland faithful to their feet.
During a stoppage of play seconds later, David squatted near midcourt, exhausted, trying to catch his breath. The effort was Kaneland's season in microcosm, according to Conroy.
"I think Ryan David's 2 blocks at that end, for anybody that was watching, that's the defensive side of the ball and that's what I'm most pleased with," the coach said. "They bought into playing defense as hard as they possibly could."
If the Knights bought into playing defense, it was because they bought into what the first-year coach was selling. And that's saying something because Conroy walked into a tough situation. He was hired in early August after former Kaneland coach Brian Johnson left in June to take the West Aurora job.
Conroy was beyond qualified for the position, having coached at a variety of high schools and colleges through the years on both the men's and women's side. But your resume matters little unless you can get the eight seniors on the 12-man roster you're inheriting to buy in. That had to happen organically, not by reputation.
There were plenty of changes the players had to pick up on the fly because they didn't get to run Conroy's systems in summer-league play. Johnson ran several set plays on offense, whereas Conroy prefers the motion offense so prevalent in the high school game today.
Defense was stressed under the new regime as it was under the old, but there were slight nuances the players had to adjust to, like shading baseline instead of shading middle. Little things, sure, but they took time to learn.
Most importantly, the players were willing to learn from their new coach.
"He told us you've got to believe in me, believe in us and what we're trying to do," senior guard Dylan Vaca said. "At first everyone was kind of skeptical, but after everyone ran what he wanted and saw it pay off at the end as we closed out some close games with a big win against DeKalb and a big win against LaSalle-Peru, I think the team realized as a whole that coach knows what he's doing. He got us some big wins that helped us out. But I would say we really jumped on the boat after the first couple of games."
Effort on both ends of the floor, to the point of exhaust, was a Kaneland hallmark in 2015-16.
"Always giving every effort that you have, just putting forth your best effort on offense, defense," David said. "Just locking down, doing the best you can, that's what it's about."
Kaneland players, fans and coaches lingered on the court at Woodstock North after the game, holding on as long as they could to the positive energy of a season that resulted in 20 wins and a regional title.
As Conroy watched his players being congratulated by fans for a fine season, the veteran coach said he was grateful for the way Kaneland's seniors adjusted to his methods.
"I think that these seniors, they laid the foundation for what it means to play in this program," he said. "For that, I'm really thankful.
His voice beginning to crack, Conroy got one last sentence out.
"Selfishly, I wish I had more time with them."