Adams leaves as one of Chargers' all-time greats

If Mark Adams' season with the Aurora Central Catholic boys basketball team had to end, this was the way to do it.

The four-year varsity guard made the most of his final opportunity as a high school basketball player by scoring 34 points in ACC's 73-62 loss to Marshall in the Class 3A Riverside-Brookfield sectional semifinal Tuesday.

The senior capped his outstanding career with 1,593 total points in 121 games.

With that, Adams holds the school's scoring record and will be remembered as one of -- if not the best -- boys basketball players to ever come out of ACC.

"He's certainly the best basketball player I've ever seen since I've been (at ACC)," said ACC coach Nate Drye, who has coached at the varsity level for four seasons. "I haven't been there that long, but I think I can go out on a limb and say he's the best player to come out of there.

"You put up 34 against Marshall, that's a pretty good testament to how good you are. Anybody can do that against a nobody, but doing that against Marshall is another level."

The always-polite, soft-spoken Adams averaged 5.4 points as a freshman and 10.5 as a sophomore.

He had a breakthrough junior year, scoring 545 total points (17 ppg) and was one of the top three players in the Tri-Cities Area this year at 19.1 points a game.

He finished his senior season with 573 total points and co-MVP of the Suburban Catholic Conference, which the Chargers earned a share of first place with Driscoll at 12-2.

The Chargers capped this year a record-setting 25-5 record and won their first regional title since the 2003-04 season.

"It was a great experience, all four years," Mark Adams said. "It was great watching the program evolve to what it is now."

Mark Adams had a lot to do with all the success of this season. His teammates will tell you so.

"He was always there, and he always played his heart out," said starting junior guard Anthony Kelley, who is projected to fill Mark's role next year. "There's not one bad thing you can say about him. He played hard, he was fun to play with.

"The best memory I can have of him is running down the court with him, being able to dish out to him and knowing he was able to finish. You can always depend on him, especially in big games."

Against top-ranked Marshall, Mark Adams had just 5 points in the first quarter but finished with 15 at the half. His acrobatic, under-the-basket layups got the crowd fired up just as much as when he hit each of his 3-pointers.

He also went a perfect 7-for-7 at the line and finished with 7 rebounds and 2 blocks before fouling out with 1:09 left to play.

As Adams left the court, the ACC fans cheered louder than they had all game, even louder than the time the Chargers cut Marshall's lead to 36-35 after Mark's conventional 3-point play with 3:10 left in the third quarter.

The player wearing No. 20 certainly deserved the cheers.

"If it wasn't for him, we wouldn't have had a chance (against Marshall)," said junior Mike Adams, Mark's younger brother. "He took over."

Not only has Mark Adams given ACC fans something to cheer about in basketball, but he's one of the best football players the school has seen, as he finished this year 32nd in IHSA history in career receptions (113) and tied for 37th in career touchdowns with 19 as a wide receiver.

But wait, there's more. Don't be too surprised if the pitcher/shortstop sets a school record in the spring in baseball for stolen bases.

"He's amazing," said Mike Adams, who also plays three sports. "It's not even just in basketball. He still has baseball, but so far, so good."

So great is more like it.