McCurdy steps up big time this season

FREEPORT -- Six months ago, not many people would have predicted the Burlington Central boys basketball team would be playing into March.

But six months ago, not many people knew what kind of basketball player Mike McCurdy was or what kind of seniors the Rockets had.

Now they do.

And even though the Rockets lost to Sterling 75-64 in the semifinals of the Class 3A Freeport sectional here Wednesday night, McCurdy's performance was as stellar as ever. He scored 32 points to finish his senior season as the area's leading scorer with 695 points, an average of 24 per game. It's been some time since a player in the Fox Valley area scored at that kind of clip.

But McCurdy was about more than scoring. He was about team, he was about winning. He was about being a leader. That the Rockets fell prey to Illinois recruit Joseph Bertrand and his amazing 38-point game Wednesday takes nothing away from the season coach Chris Payne and Central put together.

And it all started with McCurdy.

"Michael went from being a role player in August to possibly being the best player in the area this season," said Payne, who did one heck of a job of coaching this year himself. "He might not have had the most talent, but I think he might have had the best season of anyone in the area."

OK, the name has to be said now. Cully Payne. The player who, until late July was a Rocket. The player who transferred to Schaumburg, leaving Burlington Central to find a new leader.

That leader became Michael McCurdy. The other senior starters, Jason Wagner and Jake McNutt, joined with McCurdy to lead this team to a 22-7 season, but it was McCurdy who took on the role of making Central fans forget the one year of Cully Payne on Rocket Hill.

"When Cully left, Mike stepped up and he saw it as a challenge," said Chris Payne. "The job he did for us this year says a lot about his character."

McCurdy is as humble as he is good, the product of good parenting, and a team player all the way.

"Never in a million years did I think it would turn out like this," he said. "We won the conference and we won a regional. For as disappointing as it is right now and as bad as it is right now, those are great accomplishments. I know I'll look back on this and realize it was a great season."

For all the Rockets it was. Because they became brothers again.

"We've been playing together since elementary school," said Wagner. "We're like brothers. When Cully came here we didn't expect it, but once he left it brought back the chemistry from our grade school years."

Chemistry that Chris Payne talked about over and over as being so important. Chemistry that led him to take McCurdy, Wagner and McNutt out of Wednesday's game one at a time so he could speak to each of them.

"I just told all three of them that I was really proud of them and they just had to keep their heads up," Payne said. "They had a great season and I couldn't ask for anything more. This group faced a lot of adversity and they could have folded it up back in August. But the seniors decided they wanted to work hard, they did, and they got to play into March. They have a lot to be proud of."

Yes, coach, they do. As do you for being the leader they needed to become leaders.