Libertyville’s Pils starts to fill it up

It’s at least a decade into Griffin Pils’ basketball career. And he’s finally learning to shoot the ball.

Well, let’s clarify that.

Technically, Pils has always known how to shoot the ball. He’s just finally shooting it with the same willingness with which he passes it.

To the dismay of his many coaches over the years, it’s taken the 18-year-old Libertyville senior point guard, who has been playing for as long as he can remember and dribbling since he was 2 years old, all these years to get to this point.

“All of my old coaches when I was younger ... they used to get so mad at me,” Pils said with a laugh. “I would never really shoot, even when they kept telling me to. All I did was pass.

“I’ve always been like that. I’ve always been a point guard, and I’ve always liked making a great pass way more than scoring. I guess I’ve always considered myself more of a playmaker.”

Pils has been making all kinds of plays so far this season. But his well-rounded approach of combining great passes with more scoring is a big reason Libertyville is off to its best start in the last eight years.

The Wildcats are a perfect 7-0 heading into tonight’s North Suburban Conference Lake Division clash against Stevenson (7:30 p.m.) in Lincolnshire.

Pils is leading the Wildcats in assists and averaging about 10 points. In games against Zion-Benton, Maine South and Lake Zurich, Pils was at his best. Against the Zee-Bees, he scored a season-high 19 points. Against Maine South, he rolled up 8 assists to go along with 13 points. Against Lake Zurich, he tallied a career-high 9 assists.

“I still look to pass first,” Pils said. “I like to try to get my teammates involved first, to get them going and get their confidence up. In the first half, I usually pass a lot more. In the second half, things are more open for me because the defense is concentrating on my teammates after all the shooting they did in the first half. That’s when I’ll shoot more.

“But if I see a good chance to pass it off, I’m definitely going to do that.”

It’s hard to take that point guard mentality out of Pils.

In fact, when the Wildcats tried to slide Pils over to shooting guard last year, near chaos ensued.

Ryan Barth, a senior last year, was also like Pils, a point guard his whole life. A year older and more experienced, he got the nod to start at point guard last season.

Wanting to keep the talented Pils on the floor somehow, Libertyville coach Scott Bogumil figured he’d move Pils to shooting guard and play Barth and Pils together.

“It was harder than I thought it would be to play two natural point guards together,” Bogumil said. “Griffin and Ryan are two players who really need the ball in their hands. It was such a dilemma because it’s like trying to play two quarterbacks at the same time. It just doesn’t work very well.”

Pils struggled. Barth struggled, and the Wildcats struggled.

When Barth went down with a mid-season knee injury and missed eight games, the Wildcats were worried about being without their leading scorer. But the bright side was that roles became more defined when Pils slid over to point guard and was the only point guard on the floor at one time.

“I really wasn’t sure what I was supposed to be doing when Ryan was playing point guard because I wasn’t used to not playing point guard,” Pils said. “I felt like I didn’t know what to do when I wasn’t directing people on the court. The coaches told me to just fight through it. When Ryan got hurt, it was tough for our team because we didn’t have him to score. But it helped me to go back to playing point guard.

“When Ryan came back, it was back to not knowing how to play us together. The offense would get stagnant. The coaches tried all kinds of lineups and combinations. When we finally got it together, and figured it all out, it was too late. The season was pretty much over.”

Pils spent the entire off-season waiting for the chance to make the point guard spot his own from the get-go.

It was worth the wait.

“This year, I feel totally comfortable with what I’m doing on the court,” Pils said. “I just like my role in the offense. I know what to do. I know how to lead and get everyone involved.”

And Pils is at his best when he’s getting the best out of his teammates.

“Griffin is just that true point guard,” Bogumil said. “It’s been great to see him develop his shot more because I think he can really be an effective scorer for us.

“But his thing is directing and setting guys up. If you’re looking at your (prototypical) point guards, I think Griffin has established himself as one of the best point guards in our conference.”

pbabcock@dailyherald.com