Late Saturday night, five Stevenson boys basketball players sat at the postgame press table inside Carver Arena and answered questions.
Four of the players — seniors Jalen Brunson, Connor Cashaw, Parker Nichols and Matt Johnson — had just ended their careers by winning the Class 4A state title. The other player at the podium, Justin Smith, sat at the end, one seat to the right of Cashaw and two from Brunson. A sophomore starter, Smith will forever be linked with the 2014-15 Patriots.
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But in 2015-16, he will likely take Brunson’s spot at the head of the table.
On Illinois high school basketball’s biggest stage Saturday night, Smith performed admirably. His 12 points were second to Brunson’s 30. His seven rebounds led the team. Smith’s contributions to Stevenson’s 57-40 win over Normal — and its first-ever state title — were what coach Pat Ambrose hoped for when he made the 6-7 Smith a varsity player as a freshman.
“That’s one reason we brought up Justin last year is because we saw the potential and possibility,” Ambrose said. “He was a part last year but a major part this year.”
Smith’s regular-season minutes, points and rebounds were third best on the team (behind Brunson and Cashaw). If Stevenson is to compete for North Suburban Conference, regional and sectional titles in 2015-16, Smith will most likely lead in those categories.
But Smith isn’t the only returning player. An early season injury to junior Jordan Newman gave 5-11 junior guard Ryuji Aoki more reps in practice. By February, Aoki became one of the first Patriots off the bench. As his minutes increased, Aoki became a tenacious one-on-one defender and reliable three-point shooter (47 percent). In Stevenson’s 63-43 semifinal win over Bolingbrook on Friday, Aoki hit 2-of-3 three-point shots and finished with eight points in seven minutes.
Smith credited daily practice sessions with Brunson, Cashaw and other senior starters Nichols and Johnson for aiding his and Aoki’s development.
“[Brunson] is always going 100 miles an hour. He and the other guys create game situations so we are prepared for the actual games,” Smith said.
Some of Stevenson’s other reserves are less proven. Once he recovered from that early injury, Newman was in the rotation for much of the regular season. His minutes faded in the playoffs as Ambrose tightened the lineup. The 6-foot Newman is playing spring AAU basketball with Fundamental U. Juniors Radek Gralak (6-1), Kevin Yang (6-6) and sophomore Eric Zalewski (5-10) also saw action at various times during the season and should return in 2015-16.
The tangible takeaway from this season was a championship medal. But it’s the intangibles Ambrose said he hopes returning players carry over into next season.
“It’s part of the educational process. They learn from the older kids, learn from the situations they were in,” Ambrose said. “We were very fortunate to go on the road this year and play some tough competition. All players that were a part of this, we hope they understand that it takes a little bit more.”
Smith added: “It will be a teaching moment for the guys down the road. We will keep looking up to these people and just follow their example and just try and continue the tradition and keep coming down here.”
Jon Kerr is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter: @prepspioneer