He’s not beating himself up, but if Phil Ralston had to do it over, he would have promoted Nate Navigato to his Geneva varsity as a freshman.
“I was a little foolish and protective of the kid,” Ralston said. “I was coming off my only losing season here (12-17 in 2010-11) and I wanted to make sure the culture was the way I wanted it.
“I knew the sophomore group (Navigato would be playing with) was talented and it was me making sure he was getting enough minutes. I’m human. I don’t make 100 percent correct decisions.”
Ralston shouldn’t worry, the 6-foot-7 Navigato said this week after being named the Beacon-News Player of the Year for his senior season.
“It was definitely better for me,” the University at Buffalo recruit said.
In the three varsity seasons he did play, Navigato became the school’s all-time scoring leader with 1,764 points. He capped it as a senior last week by leading the Vikings (30-5) to a fourth-place finish at the Class 4A state finals in Peoria, best in school history.
Navigato, who will play next fall for former Duke standout Bobby Hurley, looks back at that freshman season as key to his development.
“I played for (current varsity assistant) Coach (Scott) Henning and worked more than I ever had,” Navigato said. “He got me ready for what to expect next. I would come in early and pull out the shooting machine, do a lot of 1-on-1 dribbling drills, defensive drills and other stuff that isn’t a lot of fun but makes you better.”
Ralston smiles at the mention of that “shooting machine,” a contraption with a large net placed under the basket to collect made and missed shots before firing the ball back to the shooter
“I got (the machine) a number of years ago and when we first had it, no one wanted to use it,” Ralston said. “Nate did a great job of wearing it out.”
It can be set to pass the ball to the same spot or move to make the shooter, working alone, shoot from different spots on the floor.
“Sometimes, it struggles to move now,” Navigato said.
The lanky forward kept working and continued to expand his game to the point where he was equally adept at scoring from close range or beyond the 3-point line. He also served as the Vikings’ primary ball handler, at times, early in the year when point guard Pace Temple was sidelined by a football injury.
Navigato averaged 20.5 points, shooting 42 percent (76-for-180) for 3-pointers and 61 percent (174-for-287) for two-pointers, giving him a 54 percent (250-for-461) mark overall. He was an outstanding 84 percent (142-for-169) from the free throw line and averaged 5.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.7 steals.
“I just think over the course of time I’ve gained an understanding of the game of basketball along with getting stronger and quicker,” said Navigato, who also credits work with the Mercury Elite AAU team for aiding his development with exposure to more styles of play.
“I’ve experienced it all and consider myself lucky and blessed,” he said.
Navigato, who was named first team all-state by the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association, has certainly left his mark. But the Navigato name wouldn’t soon be forgotten in Geneva even if he hadn’t.
Nate has triplet brothers — Cole, Devin and Dominic — who played on the Vikings’ sophomore team this year, joined by first cousin Blake Navigato. A distant cousin, Michael Navigato, also played on the freshman team.
And then there’s sister, Cassidy, who will be a freshman next year. Yes, she plays basketball, too.
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The last five
Beacon-News Player of the Year honorees:
2013-14 Jontrell Walker, West Aurora
2012-13 Miles Simelton, Elliott McGaughy, Oswego
2011-12 Juwan Starks, West Aurora
2010-11 Ryan Boatright, East Aurora
2009-10 Ryan Boatright, East Aurora