Boys basketball: Benet’s MacDermot left Australia 9 months ago to chase his hoops dreams — now he’s chasing a state title
Ethan MacDermot was living on the other side of the world when Benet won its state championship last March.
He’ll be front and center Friday in Champaign.
Benet’s 6-foot-3 senior guard came to America from Australia last June.
The American dream?
MacDermot’s dream was to play college basketball. His aunt and uncle live in the Glen Ellyn area, and offered for MacDermot to come 10,000 miles and live with them to pursue that dream.
“We felt it was the best option for me to come and try to play college basketball,” MacDermot said. “Benet just won a state championship and their playing style suited me.”
On a team led by two three-year starters in Jayden Wright and Colin Stack, MacDermot has fit right in.
The Redwings will be going for their second consecutive Class 4A state championship this weekend and play DePaul Prep in a semifinal at 4:15 p.m. Friday at State Farm Center in Champaign.
MacDermot is looking forward to it.
“My teammates, they told me to take in the moment, that it’s something special,” MacDermot said. “I got a little taste of it Monday playing in a college arena but they said it’s completely different and much better in the state finals.”
MacDermot played with Benet during summer ball last June, and went to Virginia to play AAU after that. He went home to Australia at the end of July, but came back for the start of school.
“He’s fit in right from the beginning,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. “He’s one of the guys, great friends with the guys on the team.”
MacDermot’s parents, Amanda and Tim, and two younger siblings are still back in Australia. His mom came out to visit at Christmas and his dad in January.
Other than that, they watch all his games on stream.
“At first it was a bit of an adjustment,” MacDermot said. “My whole routine changed and stuff changed, my lifestyle was different. Waking up to something different was a bit weird. Now I’ve got used to it and enjoy living here.”
MacDermot has made an impact in his only year at Benet. As a starting guard he’s averaging 6.4 points, 2 rebounds and 1.8 assists. He leads Benet in made 3-pointers with 53 at a 35% clip.
“He can shoot, he can handle the ball well, and he can create shots for his teammates,” Heidkamp said. “He rebounds well for his size so he brings a lot on both sides of the ball.”
On Monday, MacDermot’s three-point play late in the first quarter gave Benet the lead for good in its win over Rockford Auburn.
“I feel like I’ve brought another scoring option and playmaker,” MacDermot said.
Benet (35-1) has won 32 consecutive games since a loss to St. Ignatius the first week of season, all but five by double figures.
But it faces a massive challenge Friday.
DePaul Prep (32-3) has won three consecutive state championships, the first in Class 2A and last two in Class 3A.
The Rams, like Benet, are an experienced group led by 6-foot-7 senior and Toledo recruit Rashaun Porter and 6-foot-1 senior guard and Brown commit Rykan Woo.
And the two programs are quite familiar with each other.
DePaul Prep coach Tom Kleinschmidt’s younger brother is Benet sophomore coach Dave Kleinschmidt. Benet beat DePaul Prep 52-43 in the championship game of the Pontiac Holiday Tournament on New Year’s Eve, the Rams’ only loss to in in-state opponent.
“We are going to have our hands full,” Heidkamp said. “We know the challenge is going to be great and we are going to have to play one of our best games of the year to win this game.”
Both Benet and DePaul Prep beat Marist during the regular season, and York is a major surprise to be here, unranked at the start of the season.
But Kleinschmidt won’t hear that Friday’s game is the actual state championship game.
That will be played at 6 p.m. Saturday.
“Some people are going to say DePaul Prep vs. Benet is a state championship game,” Kleinschmidt said. “No it is not. That is so disrespectful to York and Marist.”