Making an impact, then and now

On Feb. 12, two days after the Gonzaga University men’s basketball team upset No. 17 Kentucky 89-85, Bulldogs forward Braden Huff was named West Coast Conference freshman of the week.

It was the fourth time this season for the 6-foot-10 Glen Ellyn native.

Illinois’ Mr. Basketball in 2022, Huff compared Gonzaga’s effort with Glenbard West’s Class 4A championship season alongside fellow Hilltoppers starters Bobby Durkin, Caden Pierce, Ryan Renfro and Paxton Warden, all now contributing to winning college teams.

“I think the group of guys we had, everyone at West approached it in a very professional style. That’s the approach you need to have, especially going to Lexington and playing Kentucky — just being able to go into these games with the mindset that you’ve really got to lock in and attack it, was the biggest thing,” Huff said.

“I think West helped me to prepare for that.”

Braden Huff, Gonzaga

Coming off Gonzaga coach Mark Few’s bench all 24 games entering Thursday’s game at Loyola Marymount, the redshirt freshman averages 10.9 points and 4.2 rebounds in about 15 minutes per game. His .617 field goal percentage leads the 18-6 Zags.

“He’s accepting his role and he just cares about winning,” said Glenbard West coach Jason Opoka, whose 1-3-1 zone defense in 2021-2022 — the 6-7 Pierce up top, Huff on the left wing, 6-7 Durkin on the right, 6-7 Renfro in the middle and 6-4 Warden down low — stifled teams with their length, athleticism and, because most had played together since grade school, nearly telepathic communication.

“The best thing about that group is how they sacrificed for each other,” said Opoka, who also got lots of action from Jack Cardwell, Andrew Dauksas and Jack Oberhofer to help Glenbard West go 37-1.

“Now you look at those guys, they might have different roles on their teams at the college level but they’re all buying into their roles and they’re finding success, and over time that will help them develop into better basketball players, where coaches can trust them to have even bigger roles down the road,” Opoka said.

Bobby Durkin, Davidson

Opoka, assistant coach Jim Pecilunas and a large Hilltoppers contingent visited Loyola’s Gentile Arena on Feb. 4 when Durkin returned with Davidson College.

A true freshman after attending IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla., in 2022-23 and reclassifying as a 2023 graduate, entering Feb. 17 Durkin had started the last 9 games and ranked second on Davidson in minutes played.

Durkin averages 9.4 points and 4.8 rebounds with a team-high 50 three-point baskets. He’s working to impact the game beyond the shooting touch that set Glenbard West’s season 3s record with 78.

Growing up in Darien and moving to Glen Ellyn after his junior year, Durkin didn’t share the same grade school memories and didn’t play on those Hadley Junior High teams that went 40-0 in two seasons with Huff, Pierce, Renfro and Warden on them.

As opponents and through the suburban basketball scene they were familiar, though. He was readily accepted.

“Absolutely,” he said. “All those guys, from the first day of summer workouts they were very welcoming, even some of the guys who didn’t have to be. All those guys were awesome to me, it made it very easy to transition.”

Durkin’s standout memories of that 2021-22 season were winning the York Jack Tosh title (by an average of 25 points), beating Whitney Young at the When Sides Collide Shootout, and Glenbard West’s playoff run.

Also the sole blemish on the Hilltoppers’ record, a 67-64 buzzer-beater loss to Bronny James and Sierra Canyon, played in a circus atmosphere at Wintrust Arena.

“Some of the crowds that we played in, I think those atmospheres kind of helped at the college level, being as close to gamelike in college as a high school game can really get,” Durkin said.

Ryan Renfro/Paxton Warden, Lewis

Renfro remembers hitting a corner 3 against Sierra Canyon, turning and smiling as he ran back downcourt. Sitting courtside, the Chicago Bulls’ DeMar DeRozan smiled back.

“It was the greatest time I ever had playing basketball,” Renfro said of that championship season. “Everyone was so connected, every game was another opportunity to have fun with my best friends.”

He still plays with one, Warden, at Lewis University in Romeoville. Entering Thursday’s game at Springfield, Renfro had started all 22 games while Warden had played in 14 with 4 starts for the Flyers.

“I feel like that season definitely prepared me for the college level, the crowds and the people talking to you,” Warden said.

Shooting 56% from the floor for Lewis, Renfro averages 9.6 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds. Warden averages 7.4 points, 3.8 rebounds.

They took different routes to Lewis. Renfro, listed as a freshman, committed to Army his senior year in high school and spent last year at U.S. Military Prep. He decided a career in finance was more his thing.

Warden, a sophomore, walked on at Illinois his freshman year, but he wanted more time on the court. Lewis University could offer that.

“It’s been awesome so far,” he said.

Family and friends are able to attend home games at Neil Carey Arena in Romeoville, and the two players live close enough to raid their parents’ refrigerators as necessary.

“None of this would have happened without the great community we had supporting us. So many families came together and they still talk about it,” Renfro said.

“And you still see it now, many families coming to my Lewis University basketball games, giving me support because they watched me my senior year. The town of Glen Ellyn, we owe them so much thanks for what they did that year.”

Caden Pierce, Princeton

Pierce has really made an impression at Princeton University. In 2022-23 he was the Ivy League rookie of the year and set the Tigers’ freshman record for rebounds with 232.

Averaging 15 points and 9.5 rebounds, shooting 53% from the floor with nearly a 2-to-1 assist-turnover ratio, Pierce in January earned his third Ivy League player of the week award. A few days later he made the Lou Henson Mid-Season Watch List for the top mid-major player in Division I.

Pierce’s bloodlines are strong. Both his parents were college athletes; older brothers Justin played basketball at William & Mary and North Carolina, and Alec is a receiver with the Indianapolis Colts.

Pierce’s father, Greg, coached the Glen Ellyn Titans, where Caden first played with Warden, Renfro and Huff in fifth grade.

There and through high school, Caden said a “foundation of fundamentals” made his transition to college basketball easier than he anticipated.

“I think that the reason we were so good is we were all best friends,” Pierce said.

“I certainly miss them, it’s hard not to when they’re kids you’ve grown up with. But I think it’s just part of life, growing up, moving on, going your separate ways,” he said.

“It’s cool to see all the success they’ve had as well. It’s cool to look back on the fact that we were all just normal kids hanging out together and now we’re playing college basketball all over the country.”