John Shurna is just having fun

Glenbard West boys basketball player John Shurna has had a fabulous year.

One reason? He never has a bad day.

"First of all," said Glenbard West coach Tim Hoder, "he loves to play.

"He wants to be in the gym every single day. There's no such thing as, 'Oh, I was having a bad day' -- ever. Or, 'He did bad on a test, he doesn't feel like being here,' " Hoder said.

"He wants to be in the gym every single day. In that sense he's kind of a quiet leader. But he just loves to play basketball."

That wasn't lost on Shurna's former coach. Lee Maciejewski promoted Shurna to varsity midway through his sophomore year, then admired his star-making ascent as a junior in 2007 when Glenbard West won its first sectional title since 1938.

"His pleasantness, the joy he has for the game, makes you want to be near him," Maciejewski said.

Over two-plus seasons as a starting forward, the well-mannered son of Tony and Suzy Shurna has become Glenbard West's all-time leader in points, rebounds and blocked shots, skills that have earned John a full ride to Northwestern.

Alone, his 2007-08 averages of 22.9 points, 12.1 rebounds and 3.2 blocks -- he set program records in points, rebounds and blocks -- are worthy of honor.

Combined with his enthusiasm, his respect for others, an upbeat perspective and unflappable spirit -- whether combating double-teams or signing postgame autographs for goggle-eyed kids -- John Shurna is a perfect choice as captain of the 2007-2008 Daily Herald DuPage County All-Area Boys Basketball Team.

"Basketball's great, I love playing it. I always try to have fun out there. When it's crunch time the game's serious, but I love just smiling, trying to help people out. I love just being around happy people and trying to make people happy," Shurna said.

"I try and keep an open mind on everyone. Even if some people may be stereotyped 'this' way, I want to meet the person. I want to keep an open mind and respect everyone's opinions and respect them as a person for having those opinions."

Effort off the court

This sounds like the rose-colored ramblings of a 17-year-old who has never left the cushy suburbs -- were it not for Shurna's real-life experiences.

Through mission trips conducted by St. Petronille Church in Glen Ellyn -- after eighth grade at "St. Pet's" School he chose to attend Glenbard West rather than St. Francis in Wheaton -- he's joined relief efforts in Kentucky and, after his sophomore year, Mississippi to aid victims of Hurricane Katrina.

"I have never experienced anything like that before. It was truly an eye-opening experience, and a great one," said Shurna, who also cheers on classmates at school productions and participates in Glenbard West's Target Success, Peer Mediation and Senior Mentors programs. He's ending a two-year term as a J. Kyle Braid Leadership Foundation scholar.

"In sports and athletics you see a lot of the same people," he said. "But for this (hurricane relief), everyone's there for the same cause. They just want to help people live better lives and help people get back on their feet and help rebuild these homes. I think that was cool."

This basketball season first-year varsity Hilltoppers coach Hoder and Shurna were the lead architects of another rebuilding project.

The 6-foot-8 forward came off his 2007 Illinois Basketball Coaches Association All-State third-team selection as the team's sole returning starter.

"Last year he was probably our best player, but he wasn't the leader of the team," said Maciejewski, now at Hinsdale Central. "We had outstanding senior leadership and it's really apparent after watching him play this year that he is the leader of that team and he elevates the play of his teammates."

Fellow starters Shane Bryant, Chris Watt, Bryant Venson and Dave McCaffrey played cameo roles, at best, for Glenbard West in 2007.

Despite their lack of experience and scoring support -- the 5.6-point averages of Watt and Bryant tied for second on the team -- Glenbard West beat Naperville North and higher seeds Wheaton North and Naperville Central before falling 67-64 Tuesday to Bartlett in a Class 4A East Aurora sectional semifinal.

Shurna had 33 points, 16 rebounds and 4 blocks against a Bartlett team that included 6-9 Kamil Janton, a teammate last summer on the Illinois Wolves, Shurna's only venture into AAU ball.

The defense's focus

"I saw him play last year, and he is as well-rounded a player this year as anybody," said Wheaton North coach Jim Nazos, whose Falcons got scorched by Shurna's 29 points and a program-record 22 rebounds in No. 13 seed Glenbard West's 55-50 overtime win.

"He's 6-8, 6-9, if they want him to bring the ball upcourt he'll bring the ball up," Nazos said. "He scores from outside, he scores from inside. He's a complete player this year."

Nazos added, "He might be one of the best players that we've ever played against."

According to ChicagoHoops.com, Shurna isn't the best in the West Suburban Conference.

Rated No. 9 among the Class of 2008, Shurna is several spots below No. 2 Iman Shumpert, the Georgia Tech-bound guard out of Oak Park.

Rankings didn't trouble York coach Al Biancalana. It was Shurna's defense, including a program-record 81 blocked shots.

"We game-prepped for him more than any player, including Shumpert, this season," Biancalana said.

"He's a guy that could beat you in so many different ways -- but the big difference with him was that he affected the game defensively as much as he did. So you really had to have a very good game plan against him or he could truly dominate, either blocking shots or altering shots like no player we saw all year long."

The 200-pound Shurna grabbed a school-record 305 rebounds this season despite a frame teammate Bryant likened to "a toothpick."

Boundless energy, balance, positioning, an innate feel for rebounding angles and quick, bouncy feet enabled Shurna to knife through opponents to the hoop.

"He doesn't look strong and he's obviously not muscular," Bryant said, "but he plays very strong with the ball and he doesn't let people take it from him."

Nope, Shurna takes it to them. He may smile, will never question a referee, but as he said, when it's crunch-time he's serious.

He scored a season- and career-high 34 points on 13-of-17 shooting, plus 13 rebounds, in Glenbard West's 54-49 win over Nazareth for the title of the Glenbard West Holiday Classic. He scored 17 points in a decisive 20-4 run.

After missing one game to illness -- Shurna also sat the first three games with a thumb injury -- he scored 21 points in 17 minutes in a 47-44 win over Elk Grove.

Box-and-ones, zones, double-teams, triple-teams. It didn't matter. Shurna scored 39 percent of his team's points, grabbed 36 percent of its rebounds, had 80 percent of its blocked shots.

He led his team in field-goal percentage at 56.6, in 2-point percentage at 61.3 and in steals with 30.

With all those blocks and battling a barrage of bodies he committed just 46 fouls in 26 games. Eighteen times Shurna was Glenbard West's sole double-figure scorer.

"I don't think anyone does for a team what John does," Hoder said of The Man who doesn't act that way.

"He's always trying to be the first one to win the suicide (drills)," Bryant said.

"Every coach should be so lucky," Hoder said.

Day by ever-lovin' day.

"Points and scoring and all that's not everything," Shurna said. "I know that's what people see, but I think everyone on our team should be recognized for all they've done.

"It's been a team effort, and I've been lucky to be around a lot of great people. I'm really blessed for that."