Helm's fabulous freshman year continues at Kaneland

In his first year of coaching boys basketball last winter at Kaneland, Brian Johnson certainly had plenty on his plate.

He had a Division I star in Dave Dudzinski to build around. Johnson succeeded in leading the Knights to a 17-win season and their first tournament championship of any kind in 15 years at Christmas at Plano before coming up 3 points short of winning a Class 3A regional title.

Johnson also found time to get a look at the future of his program when he went to watch the eighth-grade team play. That gave Johnson his first look at Daniel Helm.

Helm impressed then, he did so again during the summer playing with the Knights and has continued throughout his freshman season. The latest came with back-to-back 16-point games last weekend as the Knights upset Northern Illinois Big 12 East conference leader Rochelle and beat Geneseo to improve to 12-8 on the season.

"I knew he had some developing to do but he works hard, he listens," Johnson said of watching Helm last year.

"He is an extremely smart kid. He fits in extremely well. He does an excellent job. I'm a little surprised how quickly he's picked up the varsity game. I knew he could handle it otherwise we wouldn't have him up."

Johnson and Helm both said they attribute part of the quick success to the confidence Helm gained as a wide receiver this fall on Kaneland's 12-1 Class 5A semifinalist football team.

"That team was real good, he has been in some big-time games," Johnson said. "He keeps coming through night in and night out. The best thing is he listens and he wants to get better."

Helm caught 11 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown. Football coach Tom Fedderly, sensing a chance to have Helm develop into a team leader the next three years, immersed him with the Knights' senior class. As the Knights went deeper into the playoffs, Fedderly sent Helm out with senior captains like quarterback Joe Camiliere for the opening coin flip.

It worked both with his play in football and now his impact in basketball.

"The confidence level shot way up in the fall," Helm said. "I said 'I can do this. I can do better.' It's just helping making more shots go in, handling the ball better, just confidence."

The shots have been falling for the 6-foot-3 forward. He is averaging 11.3 points a game this year, slightly behind senior Chaon Denlinger (11.6) for the team lead.

"He's got a lot of ability," said Johnson who expects Helm to grow a couple more inches before he leaves Kaneland. "He's definitely a real good player, he's got a bright future."

Johnson sees that future sliding from the '4' he's playing now to the '3'. Helm is showing his versatility, playing strong inside leading the Knights in rebounding at 6.3 a game and with 18 blocked shots.

But he can also play on the perimeter. He's made eight 3-pointers and scores many of his points knocking down midrange jump shots or penetrating to find an opening.

"I think I'm at my best coming off screens and shooting short pull-up jumpers 10 to 12 feet or driving to the hoop," Helm said. "I definitely have a lot to work on, ballhandling and deep shooting or shooting in general are two things I can work on to further my game."

That's an analysis Johnson shares.

"Handling pressure, being able to handle pressure, becoming a little more defensively sound," Johnson said. "I think he'll end up being a 3. If he plays basketball in college he'll be one of those type (wing) players."

Another statistic Helm leads Kaneland in is his 67 free-throw attempts, a sign of his aggressive nature in attacking the basket that Johnson said will serve Helm well in the future.

"He gets to the line a lot," Johnson said. "He's very physical. He's definitely not one that shies away from going to the rim. Nothing really intimidates him. He can score from the outside and inside. He's a nice player to have the next four years."

Helm is one of Kaneland's two freshman staters. The other is guard Drew David who is averaging 3.9 points and leads the team with 3.2 assists a game.

"They are both special players," Johnson said. "They have played very well."

Helm credited his AAU team IBA Select for helping him improve this past summer. His teammates included another area freshman starter, West Aurora point guard Jontrel Walker.

"We had a really good team, that was a confidence-builder too," Helm said.

Helm comes from an athletic family. His father Steve was a walk-on football player at UCLA. His mother Christy was a swimmer at UCLA.

Helm moved to Illinois from Colorado 18 months ago. He's lived in five states and said he couldn't be happier in Illinois and at Kaneland.

That's where, with still three years of high school still to go, he hopes to develop into a college player - either in basketball or football.

"I like it a lot, I like the people, my friends, I love the school. It's a great opportunity," Helm said. "My dream is a D-I scholarship but I never know how that is going to happen.

"I just thank God he gives me the opportunity to play. Basketball is my favorite but football is a very close second."