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player ready...There is something different about Hersey basketball star Katy Eidle, and it is hard to define.
Even those who are closest to her, like fellow junior guard Kelsey Neary, have difficulty finding the words.
“I don’t even know how to describe it, but there is something about Katy on and off the court,” Neary said. “You just want her to like you.
“She has this swag about her. She’s like a sister to me because I’ve grown up with her. But people who aren’t as close with her gravitate toward trying to be friends with her. She’s got a cool vibe about her that everyone wants to be able to experience.”
Part of that, no doubt, is the fact the 5-foot-11 Eidle is one of the best players in the state. The Michigan commit is the first player in program history to receive an offer from a Big Ten team, much less commit to one, and she has transformed the Huskies into one of the top teams in Illinois.
Eidle was averaging 19.2 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.0 steals through Sunday for the Huskies (25-4), who are seeking their first trip to the state finals since 2010, when they finished fourth.
That team was led by Megan Rogowski, a star guard who later played at DePaul. Rogowski holds Hersey’s career scoring record of 2,365 points, which Eidle, who had 1,396 points through Sunday, might break even though she will play fewer games than Rogowski.
“She’s a little under Megan’s pace,” Hersey coach Mary Fendley said. “Points-per-game average, she’s above Megan, but we only had 16 games last year.
“They’re both amazing shooters. They have so many similar qualities. To their credit, despite them being the go-to players on their teams, they’re just humble and can kind of pick up and be good at anything.”
Team first
Therein lies another reason for Eidle’s popularity. She’s only interested in getting a record if it helps her team win.
“I like getting others involved,” Eidle said. “I try to not just score as much as I can, but get others the opportunity to make baskets, as well, and set us up for an opportunity to win if we can.”
Rogowski had a similar approach, and Eidle is humbled by the comparison.
“It feels great,” Eidle said. “All our records at our school are Megan Rogowski’s. She was a great player, so to follow in her footsteps is great and to be able to make a statement that anything is possible if you just work.”
Eidle has had to work harder than ever this season as opponents scheme to stop her.
“It has been a little bit of a challenge,” she said. “In the first half, it is definitely hard. But the second half is when I usually do a lot better because they’ll often get tired, and we can find their weaknesses.
“We’ve practiced playing against teams that try to double-team me. But we have so many other people that can score as well, so if I give the ball up, I’m not too worried at all.”
Fendley sometimes worries that Eidle passes too much.
“She is a super unselfish player,” Fendley said. “There are times where she is almost too unselfish. She will always give the ball up to a teammate ahead of her.
“When you watch her, she might be more excited with a beautiful assist than she is with her scoring, just based on her sheer reaction. I think she genuinely gets a thrill out of making a great pass to an open teammate, and I think the kids appreciate that.”
Indeed, the Huskies love Eidle’s team-first mentality, but even Neary said there are times when Eidle should be more selfish.
“She should definitely shoot the ball more than she does,” Neary said. “She doesn’t need to pass it to me when she’s open.”
Basketball ‘stuck’
Neary, who has committed to UConn for lacrosse, has known Eidle since they were toddlers. Their dads coached together, and the girls have played on the same travel team since third grade.
Fendley met Eidle at a summer camp the summer before Eidle began third grade. But Fendley already knew the name. Her son, Cole, was in day care with Eidle’s younger sister, Maddy.
“There were two Maddys in the class at the time, so whenever Cole referenced Maddy, he always said ‘Maddy Eidle,'” Fendley said. “Then Katy walks into our camp, and her mom, Michelle, said, ‘Hey, I think our kids are in school together.’ So there was this double connection.
“I just think it’s funny that a lot of people know Katy Eidle, but I knew Maddy Eidle first.”
Fendley said it did not take long for Eidle’s basketball skills to stand out. But it wasn’t certain that Eidle would choose basketball.
Eidle’s father, Scott, played baseball at Yale, and her uncle Steve played basketball at Princeton. Her mother played softball in high school, and that’s the sport Maddy, a seventh grader, has picked up.
“As a kid, I tried as many sports as I could,” Eidle said. “Basketball is what stuck with me and what I had the most fun playing. I knew I was good at it, and I wanted to keep pursuing it and see what I can do. It’s great how I’ve gotten this far.
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“I couldn’t even imagine going to college for it, to be honest. I just kept playing, and things happened, and you go with the flow and see where it takes you.”
Eidle received her first scholarship offer, from Illinois State, in January of her freshman year. The second offer came from Michigan.
“I knew I wanted to play Big Ten once I started getting recruited,” Eidle said. “I liked the environment and all the coaches and community. I’m glad I found a good one.”
‘Much more of a leader’
Behind Eidle, the Huskies went 16-0 last season, which was delayed and shortened and did not include a postseason due to the coronavirus pandemic.
She averaged 20.0 points, 3.6 rebounds, 2.9 steals and 2.8 assists while shooting 51%, accounting for 320 of Hersey’s 980 points.
Every other player with any significant playing time graduated after that season, so Fendley was stunned when some publications ranked the Huskies No. 1 in preseason polls.
“I’m like, ‘Are these people crazy?'” Fendley said. “We had one returning starter. One. But that one returning starter is Katy Eidle.
“Normally when people do rankings, I think they’re very dismissive of teams that don’t have 3-4-5 kids back. None of our kids have every played varsity before, but Katy Eidle is on that team. What a statement, right?”
As Eidle moved into a leadership role, the Huskies made statement after statement, validating their lofty rankings with a string of impressive wins. Nine of the 14 players are juniors.
“It’s really exciting, especially since this team is a bunch of juniors, so I’ve been friends with all of them for a while,” Eidle said. “That chemistry definitely plays a part on the court, and I’ve played with the seniors since they’ve been on varsity.”
Neary has noticed a change in her longtime friend as Eidle embraces her starring role.
“It’s different this year because she’s so much more of a leader than she’s needed to be before,” Neary said. “She’s always been a silent leader.
“We were a very senior-heavy team last year, and on our travel team we had girls that were older than us. She never took the role of vocal leader, but she has this year. It’s cool to see because she’s growing as a player even on a high school level.”
Eidle’s legend is growing, and her biggest fans are her teammates, who sometimes catch themselves watching her play. Fendley got pushback from the bench during a Jan. 15 win against Batavia.
“She already had six 3s, and I took her out because we were up,” Fendley said. “The kid I put in for her said, ‘No, I don’t want to go in for Katy. She might get a school record.’
“I said, ‘I’m not leaving her in to get a school record when we’re beating a team by 20 in the fourth quarter.’ Her teammates said, ‘No, Fend, keep her in.’ That’s how much her teammates are cheering for her.”
With each successive Hersey win, more people are cheering for the Huskies, whose offense is never idling when Eidle is driving it.
“The Hersey community is great,” Eidle said. “Everybody supports us, and we’re trying to do our best out there. It’s amazing.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.