Ashton Creal’s best skill is a perfect match for Metea Valley’s style.
Pure, raw speed.
“Ashton gets down the court faster than anybody I have ever seen,” Mustangs coach Matt Walpole said. “Our goal is to speed teams up, and that fits Ashton. He’s got a motor that doesn’t quit.”
Creal, a 6-foot-1 senior guard, was a driving force for Metea in two recent fast starts. The Mustangs jumped on Neuqua Valley 20-0 and blitzed Naperville Central 18-0.
Creal and Metea (3-4, 2-1) can be electric in the open court.
It’s born of necessity.
“We’re so undersized, we have to be faster than other teams or we’ll get beat,” Creal said. “We get the ball, we’re going.”
Part of a crowded backcourt as a junior, Creal is breaking out now. He’s averaging 12 points, second on Metea to Jeremy Hunter. Creal also averages 4.7 rebounds and 2.0 steals.
“He has a ton of natural ability that he is now tapping into,” Walpole said. “He gives it everything he’s got.”
Ironically, Creal considered not coming back out for basketball.
A three-sport athlete — Creal’s a wide receiver in football, an outfielder in baseball — he committed last month to John A. Logan College in downstate Carterville for baseball.
Baseball is Creal’s first love, but after consulting with his mom and coach he wasn’t quite ready to hang up his basketball sneakers.
“It’s my senior year, I thought ‘Why not?'” Creal said.
Skills do translate from season to season. Creal began competitive basketball in a recreation league at the Eola Community Center, and that year tried out and made his seventh-grade team.
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“Being an outfielder, I have to be able to read the ball off the bat,” Creal said. “That helps with my instincts in basketball.”
Those instincts are of particular use on the defensive end, where Creal routinely guards opponents’ best players.
“I look at their waist or wherever their hips are moving — that’s the direction I know they’re going,” Creal said. “My first priority has always been guarding my man.”
Pontiac loaded: Benet coach Gene Heidkamp will never get caught looking ahead. His team’s post-Christmas schedule, though, is worth a peek.
The Redwings are one of five unbeatens in the 16-team field at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament from Dec. 28-30. Curie, Simeon, Joliet West and Bloomington are the others.
Throw in West Aurora, St. Charles North, Bloom and Oak Park, and the top nine teams at Pontiac took a combined 55-4 record into this week. Benet (7-0) opens with Lockport.
“Our focus and only focus once we get there is Lockport,” Heidkamp said. “Winning any games at Pontiac is a challenge.”
Heidkamp has to be feeling good about his team heading into Friday’s game with St. Viator. Jack Nolan, Liam Lyman and Justin Enochs have played well, but don’t overlook Matt Teglia.
The senior guard scored nine points against Notre Dame. He also had nine points with seven rebounds in Tuesday’s win over Montini.
“He can make open shots, is a good defender and for his size is an excellent rebounder,” Heidkamp said. “His energy has been a boost.”
Close calls: It’s early, but Naperville North (5-2) is still figuring out how to win close games.
The Huskies are 1-2 in games decided by fewer than 10 points after Tuesday’s 43-42 home loss to Wheaton Warrenville South. In North’s only close win, the Huskies let a 12-point lead slip away during the fourth quarter in an overtime game at Wheaton North.
Tyler Carlson scored 13 points against Wheaton South, including 10 in the fourth quarter, but missed a half-court heave as time expired.
“There is a mental toughness that we are lacking a bit,” North coach Jeff Powers said. “As skilled as we are we need to find an edge to compete at a high level when the pressure is on. It’s not there yet.”
Joshua Welge is a freelance writer for the Naperville Sun.