Kaneland shows grit in summer workouts

Inspired by a challenge to compete harder, Dan Franck did something rarely seen in summer league boys basketball.

The Kaneland senior timed his defensive rotation from the weak side perfectly and took a charge. It was the second game of the Sycamore summer league against Rochelle, and Franck had answered Knights coach Joe Conroy’s challenge to compete harder.

“Coach loves it when we take charges,” Franck said. “Rochelle was bigger than us and were outrebounding us. The charge was a momentum-shifter for us. We went on a run after I took it.”

As the Knights enter Conroy’s second season as coach, they’ll do so with a full complement of summer practices and league games. Because the veteran coach was hired after the summer league last year, it’s his first opportunity to mold the team in the less competitive setting of offseason games.

There’s less reliance in summer on structure and coaches calling an offensive or defensive play every time down the court. A free-flowing system based on sight adjustments and reaction to an opponent’s action is Conroy’s preferred method of instruction anyway.

“I’ve got a defensive mindset, but I don’t want them to need me to make the calls,” Conroy said. “I want the kids on the floor to make the calls and react to the other team’s offense. I don’t want to get bogged down in hundreds of offensive and defensive play calls.

“On offense, we’ve got a basic motion put in and a secondary break. It’s all based on reads.”

Conroy wasted no time getting the Knights active this summer. Kaneland has played in the Sycamore tournament and will play in the Geneva league, travel to Illinois State University for a tournament and also play at Crystal Lake South.

“It’s very important we get to play together,” senior guard Jake Hed said. “The seniors didn’t get to play with the guys that will be juniors this year. So we’ve been able to get out there and get in our groove.”

Each tournament offers the quality competition Conroy wants the Knights to experience. If Kaneland can establish its teamwide responsibilities and become a cohesive unit over the summer, the Knights will be ahead of the progress they made last season when training camp kicks off in the fall.

“It’s been a leadership-by-committee approach,” Conroy said. “But what’s gone on is no one has come in with the attitude that they scored 20 points so it must be their team. These guys fit well and really enjoy playing together.”

Kaneland finished 20-9 last season, losing to Rockford Boylan in a Class 3A Woodstock North Sectional semifinal.

Without much frontcourt size, it will be important for Kaneland to jell on both offense and defense. At camp June 13, the Knights focused drills on ballhandling and blocking out.

Limited second-chance opportunities for Kaneland opponents will allow the Knights to initiate their fast break and capitalize on their speed.

“We’re small, so we’ve got to learn how to body up opponents,” senior guard Mason Conroy said. “We’ll have to go in and rebound against bigger guys. We are quick, though, and can really get up the court [on offense]. Our on-the-ball defense is one of our strengths, but we’ll still have to double down and dig down on the other team’s post players. We’ll throw our bodies around a bit, bother them and get a hand in their face.”

A few more summer league charges taken would please Conroy, too.