EVANSTON — Maine East junior guard Janelle Alba Garner gave AAU basketball a shot when she was in fifth grade but didn’t enjoy the experience. She felt out of place and simply didn’t have much fun.
But when five seniors graduated from Maine East — leaving a team that went 20-7 last season and won the Central Suburban North championship — Alba Garner decided to give AAU ball another shot.
Hoping to improve her skills for this year, Alba Garner tried out for Midwest Elite and made a U-15 team coached by Randy Weibel.
“Playing with them was a completely different experience,” Alba Garner said. “There’s been nothing like it. I would have to guard [Fremd’s] Haley Gorecki in practice and she’s going to Duke. It’s made me so much better and adjusting to that level has helped me bring it back to Maine East.”
Since Alba Garner was playing with Midwest Elite, she missed the start of Maine East’s summer league. When she returned, Blue Demons coach Karol Hanusiak noticed an immediate difference.
“We play 10 league games in the summer and when she came back for the fifth game I was like ‘Wow, look at her physical strength and confidence level,’ ” Hanusiak said. “She’s a lot stronger and a lot more decisive. She’s making better decisions and she’s attacking more.”
Alba Garner is ready to show off her new skills this season and is averaging around 12 points per game.
“I do like to drive a lot but I shoot only if I’m open,” she said. “I’m a pass-first guard and look to get my teammates involved before I do anything else.”
Maine East, however, is off to a slow start without the arsenal it had last year. The Blue Demons dropped to 2-4 after a 65-29 loss on Dec. 2 to Evanston in a CSL crossover.
Alba Garner, who had 12 points in the loss, is trying to find the perfect balance of getting her teammates involved and taking over a game so Maine East can rack up some wins.
“You have to regulate that when you’re in the game,” she said. “So I’ll start by making sure everything is working smoothly as a team. If it’s not working then we’ll change the plan. Maybe I’ll drive in more or if driving is not working I’ll kick it out to someone else. I want to integrate everyone into it but if no one is making a shot, then I’ll definitely try to take over more. If I take over the defense will step on me and I’ll get more opportunities for other people.”
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Teammate Maddie McTague said she is grateful for everything that Alba Garner has brought to the table.
“She’s given us a lot of knowledge that she learned from basketball camps and that’s helped a lot of the younger girls coming up,” McTague said. “She’s stepping up a lot as a leader and she’s a very good basketball player. She can rebound, shoot outside and drive inside. She can do pretty much everything.”