Dudzinski holds his own

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The first day of school is eight days away. Back-to-school blues are growing more somber by the day. Just not for Dave Dudzinski. His reasons are two-fold. First, school isn't so bad for straight-A students. “I definitely work hard at school, and I'm looking forward to getting back. I want to get my grades off to a good start this fall,” the Kaneland junior said. The second component is a matter of time: The start of school gets Dudzinski one step closer to the Knights' basketball season. “I definitely enjoyed the summer, and I learned a lot,” Dudzinski said. “But the faster to school, the faster to basketball season. With all the work I've put it in, I feel like this can be a big year.” The 6-foot-8 Kaneland big man with size 17 shoes - “They're more like water skis,” says his mother, Barb - became a double-double machine this summer in his AAU debut with Naperville-based Velocity. Last month at AAU nationals in Orlando, Fla., Dudzinski did more than hold his own against some of the top high school players in the country. “Dave had a very strong showing at nationals, and really, at all our big tournaments,” said Velocity coach Sean Connor, who says Dudzinski could be a “high-Division I player.” “Once he figured out where he fit in with this team, he really became a centerpiece.” It seems the name Dave Dudzinski is doing more than twisting tongues these days. “He certainly caught the eyes of some coaches who might not have been looking for him,” Connor said. “But with the way he played, now he's on their radar.” Dudzinski said a few moments in particular stood out in Orlando. He racked up a triple-double the hard way - 18 points, 15 rebounds and 11 blocked shots - “definitely a confidence-booster,” Dudzinski said. He also took part in an invitation-only showcase event run by former NBA player Dee Brown, the former Boston Celtic, not the former Illinois star. Dudzinski played before a who's who audience of college coaches, including North Carolina's Roy Williams and Michigan State's Tom Izzo. “It's a lot of pressure playing in front of them. ... It was also pretty surreal, pretty weird,” he said. Along for the Orlando highlights was Barb Dudzinski, who enjoyed seeing her son's success, even if some of the details of the experience were lost on her. “I didn't really recognize all the coaches, but Dave would say, ‘Oh, there's so-and-so and there's Tom Izzo.' I did recognize [Illini coach] Bruce Weber, though,” said Barb, a former college swimmer at Northwestern. “ ... It's fun to see him excel at the higher levels. He's a very humble kid who goes out and works very hard. “His first goal is to get a good education at a good school. And then sports being part of that goal, he understands the commitment involved, and I think he has what it takes.”