Jack Nolan grew 8 inches and gained 60 pounds.
The physical explosion really wasn’t one, though, with the former 5-foot-5, 105-pound freshman listed at a modest 6-1, 165 three years later.
This makes Nolan the perfect leader of another Benet team that, in his own words, “doesn’t pass the eye test,” but no longer is overlooked by its peers as a result.
A starter on Benet’s surprising Class 4A runner-up team last year, Nolan is coming off a 3-point-record-setting performance at the prestigious Pontiac Holiday Tournament. In four games against some of the best teams in Illinois, he made 21 of 36 3s and averaged 23.3 points per game.
In the championship game against No. 1 Simeon, Nolan shot 7-for-9 and scored 20 points despite being the focus of a box-and-one defense. The Redwings came back from deficits of 18 in the first half and 10 in the fourth quarter but lost 52-50.
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“With Simeon tagging him and everyone else paying attention, his efficiency is the most impressive thing considering the circumstances,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. “He is not sneaking up on anybody and he’s still playing at high level.”
The same, of course, can be said of Benet. A state finalist twice in the past three seasons, the No. 9 Redwings (11-3) are at it again this winter in the face of a typically difficult schedule.
They won their first six games and beat Fenwick prior to their Pontiac run, yet they were unseeded at Pontiac and seeded fifth at this weekend’s MLK Tournament at Wheaton Warrenville South because both brackets were drawn after Benet’s one bad weekend — losses to St. Viator and No. 15 Conant on Dec. 16-17.
As a result, they drew the fifth seed in the impressive Wheaton South field and a tough first-round game against Hinsdale South at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, with the winner to likely face No. 12 Homewood-Flossmoor later that day.
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First they face St. Patrick (14-2) on the road Friday in an important East Suburban Catholic contest.
“Three games in 24 hours against three really good teams,” said Heidkamp, who has turned Benet into a power with tough schedules since becoming head coach in 2008. “This is probably the most difficult stretch since I’ve been at Benet.”
“It will be fine,” Nolan said. “I enjoy it. If you are a competitive person you enjoy challenges like this.”
The other challenge for Nolan, a straight-A student who scored a 32 on the ACT, is to find the right college. He has numerous Division II and III suitors but only tepid interest from the high-academic Division I conferences.
Nolan said he’s “not frustrated at all by that,” but Heidkamp is.
“Sometimes the tale of the tape discourages people and the skill level doesn’t get the credit it deserves,” Heidkamp said. “He can do three things that I think is unique for a high school player to be able to do all three.
“He can catch and shoot, he can create his own shot, and he can shoot on the move. You do not find many high school players who can do that. That is something people are missing the boat on.”
Mike Helfgot is a freelance reporter for the baiduhai.