Fox captain: Bartlett's Little settled in, made others pay up

Once Marc Little settled in, he made Bartlett's opponents settle up.

After transferring from Driscoll to Addison Trail as a sophomore and from Addison Trail to Bartlett as a junior, Little found his basketball home with the Hawks on Schick Road.

He made an immediate impact in his first season at Bartlett as a junior last year after he was ruled eligible by the IHSA 7 games into the season.

Playing alongside seniors Kamil Janton and Cory Hrynyk and sophomore sharpshooter Luke Labedzki for 22 games, the 5-foot-10 guard posted 298 points (13.5 avg.) and 103 assists (4.7) and was a key reason the Hawks advanced to a Class 4A sectional final.

Little's best basketball was still ahead of him, however.

With the benefit of working in the same system under the same high school coach (Jim Wolfsmith) for back-to-back seasons, the quick-twitch point guard's production and all-around game reached new heights in his senior year.

Little led the 2008-09 Hawks with 570 points (22.1 avg.), finishing second in the area to only Conrad Krutwig of Jacobs (21.7 avg.). He was also the area's runaway leader in assists with 149 in 27 games for an average of 5.5.

Little started his senior season with a bang by dropping 38 points on Waukegan in the opener. In Game 2 he scored 33 points against mighty Warren, including a 3-pointer with a defender in his face that sent the game to overtime before the Hawks eventually succumbed.

During the Upstate Eight Conference season Little rescued Bartlett from defeat when he launched a game-winning shot from two-steps inside the midcourt line to beat host Waubonsie Valley at the buzzer.

"It was kind of far, but coach told me to hit that shot or you're going to run laps," Little said with a laugh. "I didn't want to run laps, so I had to hit the shot. I was like, 'OK, I'll make it.' It was all net, no bank."

Named to the Upstate Eight all-conference team, Little led the Hawks to a 9-game winning streak late in the season, a surge that helped Bartlett to a third-place tie in the UEC.

For his stellar senior season Marc Little has been named an honorary co-captain of the 2008-09 Daily Herald all-area team.

Little, co-captain Conrad Krutwig of Jacobs, girls captain Katie Yohn of St. Edward, the rest of the all-area teams and the players of the week will receive their awards this Sunday evening at the Daily Herald All-Area Recognition Banquet at Stonegate Conference and Banquet Centre in Hoffman Estates.

Wolfsmith said the natural talent his point guard exhibited this season might have been developed earlier at either Driscoll or Addison Trail had Little played a second season at either school.

"I think a lot of it is the comfort zone of being at the school two years in a row," Wolfsmith said. "He's been at a different school his freshman, sophomore and junior year. That's a different coach, different teammates, a different system and a different style of play. I think what we saw this year was a byproduct of his high school history. He was more comfortable with the guys around him, he knew where they liked his shots, he knew where his shots were in my offense.

"We asked him to stretch teams out and find teammates early in the game so he can close out the game late. We asked him to look for his shot quicker in the set, get more rebounds and be diligent to his defensive duties. With all his speed he likes to gamble, so it's more harnessing his energy and letting him loose in bursts rather than just putting him on the floor and saying. 'Go do it.'"

Little appreciated Wolfsmith's penchant for up-tempo basketball.

"I got to play my game with coach Wolfsmith," said the West Chicago resident. "He likes to run and I like to run, which wasn't the case at the other schools I played for."

Little moved in sixth grade from Maywood to Addison, where he attended Indian Trails Middle School with the intention of playing for Driscoll. His uncle, Cory Little, was a volunteer assistant coach at Driscoll and would open the gym for pickup games with his friends and some younger players. Marc was one of those younger players invited to play with the big boys.

"I used to always play with all the older guys and it made me a lot tougher and it made me a lot better," Little said. "A lot of what I can do came from my uncle. He taught me a lot."

A person with a hand in Little's recent development is Anthony Maestranzi, Sr., whose son Anthony starred at Bartlett and went on to play at Northern Illinois. Maestranzi worked with Little in the off-season, concentrating on ballhandling skills and shooting technique.

"Mr. Maestranzi worked me out a lot and really helped me with my shooting," said Little, who shot 55.8 percent from the field on 2-point attempts and 34.3 percent from beyond the arc. "I wasn't really an outside shooter like I am now, so I developed my game to become a better shooter."

Little's immediate future is promising if not finalized at this point. He has an offer on the table from Eastern Illinois and has had serious talks with UIC about joining the program his uncle once led to a Horizon League title. But transferring twice in high school has left him with some core work to complete before he can become NCAA eligible.

Regardless of where he ends up in college, Little is glad he ended his high school career with Wolfsmith and the Hawks despite the disappointment of an early exit from the playoffs on Monday.

"I'm happy I came here because I like winning a lot and we won a lot of games," Little said. "I'm glad I came to Bartlett."

<div class="infoBox"> <h1>All-Area basketball teams coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Cook County</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=276980">Girls team</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=276982">Boys team</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=276929">Captain: Ashley Wilson</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=276927">Captain: Cully Payne</a></li> </ul> <h2>Cook PDF pages</h2> <ul class="morePdf"> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/cook1.pdf">Page 1 </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/cook2.pdf">Page 2 </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/cook3.pdf">Page 3 </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/cook4.pdf">Page 4 </a></li> </ul> <h2><A HREF="http://dailyherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=706057&CategoryID=5971">Purchase PDF page reprints</A></h2> <h2>DuPage County</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=276984">Girls team</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=276985">Boys team</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=276917">Captain: Toni Kokenis </a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=276915">Captain: Danny Crawford</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=276916">Past girls captains</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=276914">Past boys captains</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=276931">The best of the girls season</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=276930">The best of the boys season</a></li> </ul> <h2>DuPage PDF pages</h2> <ul class="morePdf"> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/dupage1.pdf">Page 1 </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/dupage2.pdf">Page 2 </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/dupage3.pdf">Page 3 </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/dupage4.pdf">Page 4 </a></li> </ul> <h2><A HREF="http://dailyherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=706057&CategoryID=5971">Purchase PDF page reprints</A></h2> <h2>Fox Valley</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=276978">Girls team</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=276990">Boys team</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=276709">Captain: Kati Yohn </a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=276820">Captain: Marc Little</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=276780">Captain: Conrad Krutwig</a></li> </ul> <h2>Video</h2> <ul class="video"> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/multimedia/?category=19&type=video&item=88">Fox Valley captains </a></li> </ul> <h2>Fox Valley PDF pages</h2> <ul class="morePdf"> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/foxvalley1.pdf">Page 1 </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/foxvalley2.pdf">Page 2 </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/foxvalley3.pdf">Page 3 </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/foxvalley4.pdf">Page 4 </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/foxvalley5.pdf">Page 5 </a></li> </ul> <h2><A HREF="http://dailyherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=706057&CategoryID=5971">Purchase PDF page reprints</A></h2> <h2>Lake County</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=276987">Girls team</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=276981">Boys team</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=276907">Captain: Lydia Bauer </a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=276908">Captain: Brandon Paul</a></li> </ul> <h2>Lake PDF pages</h2> <ul class="morePdf"> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/lake1.pdf">Page 1 </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/lake2.pdf">Page 2 </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/lake3.pdf">Page 3 </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/lake4.pdf">Page 4 </a></li> </ul> <h2><A HREF="http://dailyherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=706057&CategoryID=5971">Purchase PDF page reprints</A></h2> <h2>Tri Cities</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=276989">Girls team</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=276988">Boys team</a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=276904">Captain: Taylor Whitley </a></li> <li><a href="/story/?id=276905">Captain: Jeremy D'Amico</a></li> </ul> <h2>Tri Cities PDF pages</h2> <ul class="morePdf"> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/tricities1.pdf">Page 1 </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/tricities2.pdf">Page 2 </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/tricities3.pdf">Page 3 </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/tricities4.pdf">Page 4 </a></li> <li><a href="http://www.dailyherald.com/images/allareapdfs09/tricities5.pdf">Page 5 </a></li> </ul> <h2><A HREF="http://dailyherald.mycapture.com/mycapture/folder.asp?event=706057&CategoryID=5971">Purchase PDF page reprints</A></h2> </div> </div> </div>