Healthy Heinle key for Kaneland heading into 1st-place showdown
A healthier Kaneland boys basketball team has a chance at a statement win.
The Knights head to Rochelle on Friday with the lead of the Northern Illinois Big 12 Conference’s East Division in the balance.
Kaneland (11-6, 3-2) joins Morris and DeKalb all chasing 4-1 Rochelle.
“We’re just one game back, and going to Rochelle and getting a win is going to be extremely difficult,” said Kaneland coach Brian Johnson. “They play well there, but our guys are really excited for the game.”
The Knights’ third-year coach called it an “up and down January,” but perhaps the ups will be more common with the return of senior swingman Trever Heinle to full-time action.
Heinle — whose twin brother Tyler has seen his scoring average increase to 7.3 points a game in Trever’s absence — still has a partially torn rotator cuff from a hard foul Dec. 16 against DeKalb, which also gave him whiplash, Johnson said.
Playing last Saturday in a 59-40 win over Ottawa for the first time since missing four games — including losses to Yorkville and Morris — after a premature return at the Plano Christmas Classic, Johnson said Trever Heinle “looked comfortable.”
The Knights need Heinle in order to make a push past Rochelle. At the time of his injury he was averaging about 12 points a game, and he remains Kaneland’s second-leading scorer, at 9.2 points a game. And he offers more than offense.
“He has a knack for playing the passing lanes really well on defense, and he was one of our key defenders last year down the stretch as we made our push for the conference title,” Johnson said.
The leading score continues to be Marcel Neil, the 6-foot-4 swingman who transferred from West Aurora. Johnson called the 13.5-point scorer an “eventual college player.”
“He’s been great,” Johnson said of Neil, who also leads Kaneland in rebounding and steals. “He fits in really well and he’s been a leader.”
With sophomore point guard Drew David hoping to reprise his solid defensive role on Rochelle counterpart Grant Prusator, Johnson hopes January ends on an upswing for his Knights.
“I’d like to be a little more consistent as far as our offense is concerned, and we’ve really worked hard the last couple weeks with our defense and rebounding,” the coach said. “We’re hoping to make a game out of it against Rochelle.”
The stopper:Geneva#146;s Ben Rogers didn#146;t score in double figures in either of last week#146;s wins for the Vikings (11-7, 5-1 Upstate Eight River). Yet the 6-foot-2 senior was a major factor in both wins, assigned the defensive stopper role first on Jan. 17 against West Chicago#146;s Justin Mundt, and again last Saturday against Batavia#146;s Cole Gardner.A star receiver in football and a sprinter and jumper in track and field, Rogers has the quickness to deal with a sleek forward like Mundt. He also has the strength to hold his own against the big-bodied Gardner, who Rogers on Saturday termed #147;a load#148; and #147;a force to be reckoned with.#148;#147;Ben#146;s strength for us is to give us some energy and being able to play a different style of defense than the rest of our guys are,#148; Geneva coach Phil Ralston said after his Vikings beat Batavia 48-38 at Sears Centre Arena. #147;We have him really go at the other team#146;s best players.#148;Mundt, who averages about 17 points, scored 7 in Geneva#146;s 42-35 win. With help from a collapsing zone Rogers held Gardner, a 15-point scorer, to 8 points #8212; though the 240-pound all-state football player did grab a game-high 15 rebounds.#147;I thought Ben Rogers probably was our MVP tonight,#148; Ralston said Saturday, #147;because by and large he did just a great job of denying (Gardner) the ball, denying him touches and post passes.#148;Rogers, who figured he#146;d get the defensive stopper job this season #8212; and said he loves the role #8212; said he tried to use quickness to front the Batavia big man.#147;I just kind of let my instincts take over,#148; Rogers said.He doesn#146;t care if his job takes him to the perimeter or into the paint.#147;I don#146;t really have a preference,#148; he said. #147;It#146;s fun to bang around in there sometimes and it#146;s fun to chase them around on the outside sometimes. They#146;re both fun.#148;Bulldogs at HoopfestBatavia (4-12, 1-6 UEC River) will battle North Lawndale on Saturday in the first game at East Aurora#146;s Ernie Kivisto Hoopfest, at 4:30 p.m. This was to be the Bulldogs#146; sole game this weekend, until last Friday#146;s snow pushed St. Charles North (8-12, 4-2) to this Friday.Waubonsie Valley plays Oswego East in the middle game at East Aurora, at 6:15, and after a presentation of East Aurora#146;s 1972 team, third in Class AA that year, the host Tomcats get Waukegan.Batavia needs something good to happen. Coach Jim Roberts#146; squad has lost seven straight, its last victory coming Dec. 20, 51-49 over Buffalo Grove at Elgin#146;s holiday tournament.That something good might be in store soon. Roberts said Saturday that junior guard Mike Rueffer was going in for re-evaluation on his injured right arm on Thursday.