He’s a gentle giant.
His coaches, though, would like to see a less gentleness from Naperville Central junior Ben Wolf.
“I say to him, ‘Hey, Ben, get a mean streak in you,'” said Joe Fano, Wolf’s AAU coach with the Mercury Elite. “We got on him in practice, and he started to play angry. That brought out the confidence.”
Wolf seems have come out of his shell this summer, which sounds like good news for Naperville Central.
A breakout season from the 6-foot-8 junior could go a long way in helping the Redhawks replace four starters from a team that finished 16-12.
“I think I’ve got into the groove of varsity basketball,” Wolf said. “It was new to me. I’m more comfortable in the position I am now.”
Wolf remembers well the rude welcome to the varsity game provided by fellow post Harry Hallstrom in the first week of practice last November.
“He blocked me pretty bad one time,” Wolf said of Hallstrom. “I didn’t know what to expect. He’s a good competitor. He brought out the best in me.”
Wolf and Hallstrom played sparingly side-by-side in their only season together. Wolf’s role off the bench was limited. He delivered his best moment in Central’s win in February at Wheaton Warrenville South, with a dunk punctuating his 10-point game.
The consensus is Wolf’s game has grown as the summer has worn on.
Led by Nick Kramer, Central went 4-0 at a shootout at Wabash College and 5-1 in a team camp at Northern Iowa.
“By the end of our summer together Ben was all over the place,” Redhawks coach Pete Kramer said. “He was rebounding, scoring, blocking shots. He’s even shown he can shoot it a little from outside, but we have to keep him around the basket as much as possible.”
Fano, likewise, saw a different Wolf show up when AAU season resumed in July.
Wolf was less tentative and in better shape, with 10 pounds of muscle packed on. He had breakout double-double games at the Next Level Invitational in Milwaukee.
Perhaps Wolf’s most tantalizing skill is his shot-blocking ability, no doubt honed against the likes of Hallstrom and AAU teammate Ethan Schuemer from Willowbrook.
“He has a big body,” Fano said. “If he puts his mind to it the sky can be the limit. I don’t think he realizes how big he is.”
Fano, also an assistant coach at Benedictine, believes Wolf has a future at that level of college basketball — or beyond.
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Wolf doesn’t have an offer yet, but has received feelers from Wright State, Northern Illinois, Western Illinois and Loyola.
“As far as potential Ben can be Division I, Division II or Division III, depending on how hard he works,” Fano said. “There are going to be schools that take a chance on him because of his height.”
Wolf and Central will follow Nick Kramer’s lead into next season.
Noah Swope, who missed most of last season with an ankle injury, also will be counted on to score more. Pedro Villanova and Patrick Meier will key the Redhawks’ defense. Junior guard Tyler O’Brien showed well in June when Meier missed time with a broken finger.
Wolf is anxious to fill the big shoes left by Hallstrom.
“It’s a big role to take over,” Wolf said. “I have to work to get as good as him. It’s about playing up to the competition. That’s definitely helped me this summer.”
Joshua Welge is a freelance writer for the Naperville Sun.