Senior guard Morgan Weber has the shot now to go with her defensive stops.
Good thing for Kaneland, too, because an unfortunate twist days before the season began increased Weber’s value to the young Knights.
Weber was one of two returning starters and only three seniors for Kaneland. When fellow senior Kylie Modaff tore her ACL two weeks into practice, the Knights lost a girl expected to be a big scorer.
“We all saw her go down — it really puts things in perspective,” Weber said. “I knew it was time to start picking it up even more.”
Weber and the Knights (9-1), whose only loss is to Yorkville, have not missed a beat. The two teams could meet again this week at the Ottawa Holiday Tournament.
Weber, for her part, is averaging 13.9 points — almost double her scoring from last year. She’s shooting 47 percent, including 38 percent (10-for-26) from 3-point range. Weber has twice topped 20 points, and is coming off an 18-point game Saturday against Rockford East.
“She’s always been one of the best defenders on the team, if not the best defender, but she’s really stepped up her offense,” Kaneland coach Ernie Colombe said. “She lets the game come to her. This year she’s been a lot more aggressive.”
Never one afraid to do the dirty work, Weber put in the extra effort on her shot this fall.
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“I think it’s repetition and confidence, more than any particular adjustments that I’ve made,” Weber said. “I’m a senior, so it’s my time. I’m just having fun playing the game I love.”
Basketball, though, isn’t the game Weber is most known for.
An all-area shortstop last spring, Weber decided as a sophomore that softball would be the sport she pursued to play in college. She committed to Lewis in August, but stuck with basketball this year.
“My dad pushed me,” Webers said. “He said that you’re doing two sports. I love them very much. It would be very hard to give up basketball.”
Colombe is grateful Weber didn’t turn in her basketball sneakers.
“She’s a rare breed,” Colombe said. “Softball is her major sport and she stuck with basketball. Hopefully it rubs on other kids, that you don’t have to specialize in one sport.”
Colombe has a youthful team, which makes Weber’s example all the more important.
She was first called up to varsity midway through her freshman year, first and foremost for the way she competed defensively.
Clapping to encourage her teammates, slapping the floor to demand a big stop, Weber takes pride in winning her individual matchup and getting in opponents’ heads.
“If you watch Morgan practice, she doesn’t take any drills off,” Colombe said. “It’s her character and it’s her makeup. You have to have that mindset to want to play defense, and she’s had it since she was young.
“The younger players see that and want to be like her.”
Weber, who preaches the right example, looks forward to a very different type of teaching in her future. She works with kids with special disabilities through the Helping Others Prosper Every Day (HOPE) class at Kaneland.
She plans to major in special education and pursue a career in teaching.
“It’s taught me to be patient,” Weber said. “When I was younger I was afraid of those kids. I’ve matured a lot. You realize what you take for granted. Working with those kids has changed my life for the better.”
Joshua Welge is a freelance writer for The Beacon-News.