Shurna nearly a King
PEORIA -- Their boys basketball careers are night and day, but Zac Boster, at least for a day, knows how John Shurna must feel.
Shurna, the Glenbard West senior was anointed first-team all-state in the Class 3A/4A coaches' poll, while Boster toils in relative obscurity as a role player for Huntley.
The 3-point contest and dunk contest were introduced to enable players not competing in the state tournament to enjoy the festivities.
The two of them did just that this weekend.
On Friday Boster, a sophomore guard, could have been arrested for arson.
He barely touched iron in draining five straight to begin the Class 3A shootout, and Boster was also perfect on his final rack to win the competition with 13 made 3-pointers.
"I wasn't nervous at all," Boster said Friday night. "I came down here last year in the (Class) AA tournament and got third. (Nerves) didn't affect me as much as they did last year."
Shurna, meanwhile, was entered in the Class 4A dunk contest, where he surprised himself with a between-the-legs maneuver with the ball that he ultimately threw down for a perfect score.
"That's the first time I've ever done it," Shurna said. "I was just having fun out there."
The Northwestern recruit returned Saturday afternoon to compete in the King of the Hill portion of the event, where all three class winners meet for a grand final competition.
The 6-foot-8 forward needed 44 points to overtake Mounds' Marland Johnson, the Class 1A senior who had 44 (out of 50) points.
Vernon Young had 40 in Class 2A, and Illinois commitment Joseph Bertrand came in with 42.
Shurna was right there, but he fell a point short for the overall King of the Hill title.
Boster, meanwhile, as hot as he was on Friday afternoon received an unlikely threat from Aurora Central Catholic sophomore Joe Guth, who drained a dozen 3-pointers in hot pursuit of the torrid Boster.
"It's a great experience to be a part of," said Goth, whose Aurora Central squad lost to eventual state champion Marshall in the Riverside-Brookfield sectional semifinals. "I've never had an experience like this."
There were three competitors in the 3-point King of the Hill, and very little separated the three shooters.
Unfortunately for Boster, his second double-digit output -- 10 in all -- was one short of the total posted by St. Rita junior Jamere Walton.
"The guys who were shooting were great guys," Boster said.