CHAMPAIGN — Brayden Long knew the ride of his life, playing alongside Duke recruit Jaden Schutt, awaited him in his junior season at Yorkville Christian.
The problem was, the 6-foot-5 Long didn’t know when he would return to the court as he dealt with setback after setback in an eight-month recovery from a broken bone in his foot.
Around Christmastime, Long returned to action, slowly working his way back.
“It was pretty frustrating,” said Long, who broke the same bone three times, and in a pair of surgeries before his foot finally healed, had to have a titanium plate implanted, removed and replaced with a different plate and screw.
“I just had to take that frustration out in some sort of way, and it was usually in the weight room or swimming pool. It took a lot of internal motivation.”
Long found more motivation Thursday morning at the State Farm Center, erupting for a game-high 23 points in 24 minutes as Yorkville Christian defeated Steeleville 70-27 in a Class 1A state semifinal.
“It’s just a great honor to be down here and finally playing,” said Long, who has a scholarship offer from Bryant. “I’m not back to my full potential, but I feel like I’m starting to feel more like freshman and sophomore years.”
Thursday’s win advanced the Mustangs (24-13) to the 11 a.m. Saturday state championship game against Liberty (30-5), a surprise 75-41 winner over fan favorite Scales Mound (35-3) in the other semifinal.
Yorkville Christian coach Aaron Sovern was anxiously waiting in the first half of the season, knowing what Long could bring to his team.
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“It’s always next man up, but we had a section of the schedule we called the gauntlet, facing a number of teams with more size than us,” Sovern said. “Not having Brayden was tough.
“He’s a rebounder, knockdown shooter, but more important, a strong kid whose floor vision opens things up for us. It can lighten the load on Jaden and KJ (Vasser).”
It definitely showed against Steeleville (29-7).
“Brayden just completes the puzzle,” Sovern said. “He’s the last piece. I’ve joked that having him join us then was like a trade deadline acquisition. He completes what we have.”
As usual, though, it was the 6-6 Schutt who got things rolling for the Mustangs.
The senior guard staked his team to an 11-2 lead by connecting on three 3-pointers and beating his defender one-on-one for a dunk.
“Jaden hit a few right out of the gate and that set the tone,” Sovern said. “Then our guys put forth a tremendous effort on defense like they have this whole postseason.”
Schutt capped the first quarter with a steal, taking the ball coast to coast for a dunk that upped the lead to 21-2.
“Coach got us ready with a good schedule,” Schutt said. “We’ve played a lot of big games this year against a lot of good teams. It’s a big environment, but the rim’s still 10 feet.”
Schutt finished with 16 points, 13 rebounds and six assists, with four feeds going to Long, who’s also listed as a guard.
“Brayden was out for quite a while with the foot injury and it was hard for him because he’s really dedicated to his game,” Schutt said. “It’s great to see him have success out there again.”
Steeleville coach Aaron Fiene and junior guard Carter Wasson, who drew Schutt for his defensive assignment, were impressed.
“Just ridiculous,” Wasson said of Schutt. “He’s a great player.”
And he wasn’t alone, according to Fiene.
“They have some other guys who are really good too,” Fiene said. “It’s quite a challenge playing that team. A school like us, we may never see talent of that kind again.
“I’ll say this, (Schutt) is as good a publicized. He’s a stud, man. It was still fun, no matter what the scoreboard says. When these kids are my age, they’ll be able to talk about facing someone like that.”