Early on in her career, junior guard Izzie Castro didn’t look at herself as a scorer for Elgin.
She was more of a facilitator, content to set things up rather than take on a leading role. Her father, Michael, helped get her into a more aggressive scoring mindset.
“A lot of it comes from my dad,” Castro said of her improving offense. “He tells me, ‘You can’t always shoot. You have to drive.’ So, I’ve been trying to drive a little bit more to create more space — so people don’t think I’m just a shooter and that’s all I do.
“It’s really helpful. He gives me a lot of advice and helps me a lot.”
Castro started turning into a reliable scorer in the second half last season. After her strong summer, dad’s advice is paying off in a big way this winter for the Maroons (6-3).
The 5-foot-7 Castro leads Elgin in scoring this season, averaging 13.6 points. She has hit 32 3-pointers. Her 63 3-pointers last season set a new program record.
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She’s well on her way to another new overall mark. And she tied her program single-game record with eight 3-pointers last week in a 26-point performance against Streamwood.
“The two games before that, I wasn’t really hitting any of my shots, so I was a little worried for that game,” Castro said. “My team did a good job getting me open, and I guess I kind of got lucky with my shots.”
Continuing to shoot through her slump was something coach Nick Bumbales liked to see.
“She has the green light,” Bumbales said. “Part of it is just confidence. A lot of people, after they miss a couple in a row, are like, ‘I need to shut it down.’ She knows that part of her responsibility for us is to score.
“If she misses 10 in a row, No. 11 is going to go in. She can’t just shut it down. She’s responded to that role really well, and she’s done a good job playing defense. Her all-around game keeps improving.”
Her play has helped the Maroons to a solid start in Bumbales’ final season before he retires. He has been a fixture for 36 years at Elgin, the first 21 as the team doctor in boys basketball.
In addition to various other coaching assignments, he’s led the girls basketball program the past 15 years.
“Jocelyn (Bardesi) and I have definitely talked about that,” Castro said. “We really need to step it up this year as captains and make it a good last season because he’s been here so long.
“We just want it to be a good ending for him.”
Scott Stewart, Bumbales’ assistant for all 15 seasons, hopes for the same.
“Basketball, obviously, that’s what we do, but the amount of girls that he’s gotten to go to college or graduate or help them with things at home,” Stewart said. “Everything, it’s amazing.
“They’re all like his grandkids or kids.”
Bumbales is grateful for the outpouring of support but wants this season to be about his team.
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“The sentimentality from them has been very nice and they’ve been very generous,” Bumbales said. “I keep reminding them it’s about them. My time has come and gone a couple times.”
And whatever happens, Castro — the newfound offensive star for the Maroons — will be in the middle of it.
“It’s really surprising to me because when I first started playing I wasn’t a big scorer,” Castro said. “I was more of the assist type person.
“The end of last year and this year, scoring a lot of points has been really surprising to me, but I’m really happy.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.