Adams brothers shine in 3 sports for Aurora Central

Ask the football, baseball and basketball coaches of Mike and Mark Adams, two standout athletes at Aurora Central Catholic, which sport they think the brothers are the best at, and they will tell you three different answers.

"Anyone who sits and watches them can see that football is their best sport," ACC football coach Mike Curry said. "But they are good at anything they do."

"I think their best sport is definitely basketball," ACC basketball coach Nate Drye said. "They've both improved so much."

Former ACC baseball coach Rich Swann first said it was tough to say which sport was the best, but eventually thought baseball.

"They both play baseball because it's the natural thing to do in the spring, but they are both awfully good at it," said Swann, who now coaches baseball at Aurora University.

Ask Mark and Mike what they think they are best at, and they both will give you a shy answer of, "I'm not sure," or, "I don't know."

Mike, the 6-foot-3 junior who is ACC's starting quarterback, center and pitcher/center fielder, hinted that football may be his best.

Mark, the 6-foot-3 senior who was ACC's starting wide receiver, guard/forward and shortstop/pitcher, said he used to really lean toward basketball, but had a fun football season, so it's between those two.

Mark thinks Mike is best at football and Mike thinks Mark is, "the star in everything."

Their father, Mark Sr., didn't exactly answer the question, but noted that Mark set a reception record for football, has a good chance to set a scoring record for basketball and might set a school record in stolen bases.

He also noted that Mike could break two records as a quarterback next year.

So no one knows for sure, not even the Adams boys, but one thing is certain -- the duo have really made a name for themselves in athletics at ACC. Perhaps they are the best two athletes the school has had in the last decade or so.

"They are right up there," Swann said.

"Certainly for us at ACC, it's been tremendous having them," Curry added. "I wish we had more of them."

Both are coming off a stellar football season, despite the Chargers finishing with 2 wins.

Mark caught 59 passes for 823 yards with 10 touchdowns. He finished his career 32nd in IHSA history in career receptions (113) and tied for 37th in career TDs with 19.

The ball, of course, was coming from Mike, who posted a solid season with his 1,917 yards passing, 17 touchdowns, and ran for 481 yards to go with his 46 tackles on defense.

"It was tough (for opponents) to concentrate on stopping Mark and pressuring Mike," Curry said. "They were our go-to guys. Mike always looked to Mark. Whenever he was in trouble, he'd look for him."

Both Mike and Mark made varsity as freshmen for basketball. Each has made tremendous strides since then.

Mark, went from averaging 5 points as a freshman, 11 as a sophomore and a team-high 17 as a junior. He eclipsed the 1,000-point scoring mark and is currently averaging 13.4 points per game.

"Whenever we need points, he always scores," Mike said of Mark.

Mike is the fierce post player whose numbers have improved as well. He averaged 9 points and 9 rebounds a game last year and was the team's only true post player. This year, his numbers are about the same in scoring and he leads the team in rebounding at around 6 boards a game.

"He's aggressive," Mark said of Mike. 'He's a big, strong guy. He's big."

In baseball, Mark was the leadoff batter who hit in the .400s and led the area in stolen bases and led the Chargers in runs scored. Last year was his first pitching in relief for the Chargers.

Like his brother, Mike was brought up to varsity halfway through his freshman year. He enjoyed his first full year on varsity last year hitting in the high .300s, was second on the team in runs scored and led the teams in doubles and triples. He was also in the rotation as a starter.

Swann said the word "nice" does not even come close to describing what it was like to coach Mike and Mark.

"It was exciting," Swann said. "Any time either one of them was up to the plate, you knew something special might happen. It was exciting because you never knew what was going to happen."

With all the sports Mike and Mark play, they are very competitive -- just not against each other.

"When we were younger, we were, but not anymore," Mike added. "We are probably more against our friends than each other."

"They don't go at each other too much -- that's just not their thing," Drye added. "Mike is competitive when there's stuff on the line…and Mark is competitive all the time. He plays hard and has done so every day since his Day 1 of practice freshman year."

Perhaps the competition between the duo doesn't exist because they play different positions in every sport. For example, Mike knows Mark is quicker and plays with more finesse and Mark knows Mike is more of a physical player than he is.

"I think they complement each other," Swann said. "If both played the same position, you'd have to move one of them."

One thing the boys do have in common -- except for sports -- is their mannerisms. Both are on the quiet side and are certainly not known for talking back to coaches. Neither one has a reputation of bragging, either.

"They aren't their own chest-thumpers," Curry said. "But I'll tell you, they like to go after the guys who are like that."

"They aren't especially loud," Drye said. "Michael might be more of a joker with his friends than Mark is. Michael can sometimes get away with murder. He gets this grin on his face, and it's impossible to be mad at him. I can't even describe it when he knows he's doing something wrong, but it's slightly funny because he knows you aren't going to be mad at him.

"Mark talks more once you get to know him. He's pretty vocal around his friends and they are both pretty respectful as far as authority goes. They never talk back and are good kids."

The Adams brother era will be completed after this school year. Fortunately, Drye has them for the rest of the basketball season. In the spring, new coach and athletic director Mike Armato gets to enjoy them.

But once Mark graduates, that's it. Mike will be the lone Adams boy at ACC.

Curry said it will be a challenge without both of them on the same team.

"It's going to be tough to find all the things they do for us as a duo," Curry said. "The two of them together was a potent attack."

Drye just hopes the Chargers can continue their winning ways (they are 6-0 for the first time in Drye's four years as head coach) so that Mark can remember the basketball season as a winning one.

"I'd like to send him out with a really good season," Drye said. "It's be fun to win a regional or sectional."

For Swann, he'd like to see Mark play at the next level -- in any sport, maybe even all three -- at Aurora University.

The possibilities for Mark, however, at any collegiate level in any sport, is endless. Mark said his options are wide open at this point.

"It's a fun position to be in," Swann said. "He can play at any level."

As for Mike, next year will be his year to shine -- without his brother.

"I'm sure he'll pick up right where he left off," Mark said. "He'll continue doing his own thing, maybe become more of a leader, step up and take a bigger role with the team."

Whichever team -- football, basketball or baseball -- he's playing.