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Making an impact in varsity basketball isn't easy. Our breakout players just make it seem that way. Whether a freshman impacting the game or an upperclassman shining in a larger role, our breakout players are having seasons to remember.
Dom Adduci
SCHOOL St. Charles East
CLASS Sophomore
POSITION Guard
IMPACT At the beginning of the season, new St. Charles East head coach Pat Woods knew Adduci would be one of the Saints’ key players. He just didn’t know how key. “I knew he’d be in the mix for playing time, but if you told me he’d have a couple games (scoring) in the 20s, I didn’t expect that,” Woods said. “He’s given us a little more than we expected, which is great.” From the get-go, Adduci’s solid ball-handling skill, ability to orchestrate the offense and his confidence at both ends of the floor was evident. So far, Adduci has started at point guard in every game for East and has provided highlights with a game-high 23 points in a 69-68 holiday win over Addison Trail, including two free throws to seal the win. He tallied 25 points (four 3-pointers) in a 56-43 win over Geneva and nailed four 3-pointers and scored 16 points in a season-opening win over East Aurora.
Rachel Hinchman
SCHOOL Geneva
CLASS Senior
POSITION Guard
IMPACT With four-year varsity player Kat Yelle running the point guard spot last year, there wasn’t a plethora of playing time to spread among Hinchman and several other guards. This season, however, Hinchman is the one running the show offensively and defensively. “She has taken her role and run with it,” Geneva coach Sarah Meadows said. “She’s not a real vocal leader, but she has been a solid player and she leads by example. It’s a big difference from last year. She got minutes last year, but she’s just grown.” Hinchman credits an offseason spent improving her shot and senior-year confidence with her success in a much larger role this season. So far this season, she’s averaging 11.9 points, 2.5 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.
Kyle Swanson
SCHOOL St. Charles North
CLASS Junior
POSITION Forward
IMPACT With plenty of roster turnover, several North Stars are playing bigger varsity roles than they ever have before. But so far this season, Swanson has burst onto the scene. The first-year varsity player has already worked his way into the starting lineup, where his height and length give the North Stars an advantage on the block. With his well-rounded game, he has become an invaluable piece of the puzzle for North head coach Tom Poulin. “He’s just a guy that comes to work every day,” Poulin said. “And he’s totally unselfish. He plays good team basketball. He can score and he defends on and off the ball. Every so often you get a kid you don’t have to worry about because you know what you’re going to get from him, and Kyle is that kid.” Swanson is averaging 7.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocks per game. Most recently, he scored eight points, grabbed seven rebounds and was 4-of-4 at the foul line in North’s 52-46 win over St. Charles East.
Making an impact in varsity basketball isn't easy. Our breakout players just make it seem that way. Whether a freshman impacting the game or an upperclassman shining in a larger role, our breakout players are having seasons to remember.
Dom Adduci
SCHOOL St. Charles East
CLASS Sophomore
POSITION Guard
IMPACT At the beginning of the season, new St. Charles East head coach Pat Woods knew Adduci would be one of the Saints’ key players. He just didn’t know how key. “I knew he’d be in the mix for playing time, but if you told me he’d have a couple games (scoring) in the 20s, I didn’t expect that,” Woods said. “He’s given us a little more than we expected, which is great.” From the get-go, Adduci’s solid ball-handling skill, ability to orchestrate the offense and his confidence at both ends of the floor was evident. So far, Adduci has started at point guard in every game for East and has provided highlights with a game-high 23 points in a 69-68 holiday win over Addison Trail, including two free throws to seal the win. He tallied 25 points (four 3-pointers) in a 56-43 win over Geneva and nailed four 3-pointers and scored 16 points in a season-opening win over East Aurora.
Rachel Hinchman
SCHOOL Geneva
CLASS Senior
POSITION Guard
IMPACT With four-year varsity player Kat Yelle running the point guard spot last year, there wasn’t a plethora of playing time to spread among Hinchman and several other guards. This season, however, Hinchman is the one running the show offensively and defensively. “She has taken her role and run with it,” Geneva coach Sarah Meadows said. “She’s not a real vocal leader, but she has been a solid player and she leads by example. It’s a big difference from last year. She got minutes last year, but she’s just grown.” Hinchman credits an offseason spent improving her shot and senior-year confidence with her success in a much larger role this season. So far this season, she’s averaging 11.9 points, 2.5 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game.
Kyle Swanson
SCHOOL St. Charles North
CLASS Junior
POSITION Forward
IMPACT With plenty of roster turnover, several North Stars are playing bigger varsity roles than they ever have before. But so far this season, Swanson has burst onto the scene. The first-year varsity player has already worked his way into the starting lineup, where his height and length give the North Stars an advantage on the block. With his well-rounded game, he has become an invaluable piece of the puzzle for North head coach Tom Poulin. “He’s just a guy that comes to work every day,” Poulin said. “And he’s totally unselfish. He plays good team basketball. He can score and he defends on and off the ball. Every so often you get a kid you don’t have to worry about because you know what you’re going to get from him, and Kyle is that kid.” Swanson is averaging 7.8 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 2.1 steals and 1.8 blocks per game. Most recently, he scored eight points, grabbed seven rebounds and was 4-of-4 at the foul line in North’s 52-46 win over St. Charles East.
Natalie Winkates
SCHOOL St. Charles North
CLASS Junior
POSITION Guard
IMPACT Making the jump from sophomore team to varsity is never easy, but Winkates has made it look that way this season. A speedy guard with good court vision, Winkates has been on the floor for some of the biggest moments of the season and had made big plays in those moments. She blocked a 3-pointer at the buzzer in the North Stars’ 45-42 win over Batavia for their first victory of the season. She also had the two free throws that put North up for good in that game as she finished with seven points. She tallied four consecutive free throws as part of a 10-0 North run that closed its 51-44 win over St. Charles East and she tallied seven points in that victory as well.
Brendan Leahy
SCHOOL Geneva
CLASS Senior
POSITION Forward
IMPACT More of a role player last season (albeit one that had a big role in the Vikings’ win over Batavia in an overtime road game last season), Leahy has taken it to another level this season. At 6-foot-4, Leahy has the size of a forward but the skill set of a guard, a combination that makes it tough for opposing teams to match up with him. He handles the ball as well as any point guard but he moves well without the rock, and he is as solid at the defensive end as he is on offense. So far this season, Leahy is averaging a team-high 13.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game. He’s shooting an astronomical 58 percent from inside the arc and 48 percent from 3-point range. He had a signature performance with a game-high 22 points in the Vikings’ 66-64 triple-overtime win against Elgin.
Kyra Washington
SCHOOL St. Charles East
CLASS Freshman
POSITION Forward
IMPACT Washington faces opponents that are older and more experienced on an almost daily basis, whether its against her teammates in practice or against players from another school in games. So far, the freshman has handled the situation with aplomb. An athletic 6-foot-1, Washington is comfortable playing on the block or handling the ball on the perimeter, and her length causes matchup nightmares at both ends of the floor for opposing coaches. The Saints’ early games saw some rough patches for Washington, but she regrouped and has been an integral part of the team’s recent success (6-3 since Dec. 16). In a 58-46 win over Lake Park on Dec. 16, Washington tallied 12 points. That came after a 14-point effort in a 62-40 win over Elgin Dec. 9. The Saints fell 57-46 to Wheaton North in the first game of that school’s holiday tournament Dec. 26, but Washington provided a bright spot with 10 points. Recently, she tallied eight points in a 59-36 win over Larkin and nine in a one-point loss to Streamwood.
Liz McNally
SCHOOL St. Charles North
CLASS Sophomore
POSITION Forward
IMPACT The North Stars aren’t blessed with an abundance of size, but they couldn’t do much better than having McNally provide that size. The varsity newcomer is the team’s only 6-footer (6-foot-2) and she has been fearless playing in the paint at both ends of the floor. She has an array of post moves and has shown she can use them with almost anyone defending her. She had a game-high 21 points in North’s 51-44 win over St. Charles East, including the three-point play that broke the last of five ties between the two teams. She also had 10 rebounds and three blocks in the game. Playing at the Dundee-Crown holiday tournament against a Fenwick team that is always one of the top squads and toughest defenses in the state, McNally tallied seven points.
Jake Pollack
SCHOOL Batavia
CLASS Junior
POSITION Guard
IMPACT Up until he injured his ankle in the Bulldogs’ contest against Neuqua Valley in the third-place game at the Elgin holiday tournament, Pollack was having one of the best seasons of any Batavia player. He was on the sophomore team last season; but after making the jump to varsity this season, he had started every game for the Bulldogs and provided a steady hand at guard. Named to the all-tournament team at Batavia’s Ken Peddy Windmill Classic at Thanksgiving, Pollack is expected to return in time to help the Bulldogs make a run in the playoffs. When he went down with the injury, he was averaging 7.6 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game.
