Basketball Wrap Up: Incredible

1.65. That’s it. Not even a full 2. Just 1.65. But that 1.65 makes 461 all of a sudden becomes 761. That number—761—is ACC’s adjusted enrollment due to the private school multiplier that affects all Catholic and private schools. That multiplier made Central the smallest school in the IHSA Class 3A. For the Chargers, that meant going up against public schools with more than 1,400 kids that didn’t have to deal with the adjusted enrollment. Feel bad for the Chargers yet? Don’t—the team didn’t.

When a school of 461 does battle with a school of 1,464, the outcome should be fairly predictable. That wasn’t the case on the 29th of February. A 74-61 victory over Glenbard South gave Aurora Central a school-record 25th victory. And the regional championship. ACC did it on both ends of the floor that night, with five players in double digits for scoring and 16 blocks on defense. It was clearly a team effort for the Chargers, who with the win set a school record for wins with 25 (they would finish 25-5). And with the victory, came the net. “I can’t even explain what it’s like to climb up there and cut down your own net,” said junior forward Mike Adams, who had a team-high 7 blocked shots on the night. Mike was also one of the five to finish with double digits, alongside brother Mark Adams, Anthony Kelley, Mark Brauweiler, and Nick Czaja. Speaking about the regional championship loss last year against Byron, Coach Drye said, “We’ve been irritated about that ever since. We asked the kids to remember how they felt after that loss, and how long they had to wait for this opportunity.” Central would have nothing of a repeat, however, and capped off an incredible season with a 13 point victory over a school that has 1,000 more kids.

The incredible season was more than just one game, though. It was 30 games. And practices. And open gyms. And team lifting before school at 6:30 AM since last March. And summer tournaments that consumed many a weekend. That was the incredible part: all the hard work that went into making a 25-5 regional championship/SCC championship team. It was key victories throughout the course of the season that made this season special. It was the 53-30 stomping at St. Francis. It was the 18 point victory over class 4A Chicago-Bogan. It was the 77-73 OT victory at home over the favored Highlanders. It was the 73-66 victory over Oswego East. It was the victory over Aurora Christian without Mark Adams at 100%. And it was the three-peat sweep over Marmion. It was all of the above and then some—the desire, the passion, the pursuit of perfection—that made this record-setting team so special.

There’s a a quote from Phil Jackson that goes, “The strength of the team is each individual member…the strength of each member is the team.” There is no team stronger than this year’s Chargers basketball team—the record 25 wins, the Sandwich Tournament Championship, the SCC Championship, and the Regional Championship can attest to that. Each member brought something to the table for the team: Mark Adams (’08), Mike Adams (’09), Tom Barkei (’09), Brendan Bond (’09), Mark Brauweiler (’09), Nick Czaja (’09), Joey Guth (’10), Steve Hollon (’10), Anthony Kelley (’09), Steve Kuk (’09), Brian O’Donnell (’09), and Aaron Rubio (’08).

As for next year’s team, there will be only two losses to graduation which means 10 returning players. The team is already looking for another regional crown—and even further for a sectional crown. But first, it’s back to the hard work. It’s back to the weights, the open gyms, the running…the things that really make a season incredible.