York senior AJ Levine made a steal at midcourt, dribbled into the lane for what normally is a breakaway layup and reached for the sky.
Up and up Levine went, until he successfully dunked the ball.
The feat, something rarely seen from a 6-foot point guard, sent York’s student section into a frenzy.
“It was definitely cool to see, and it was definitely a momentum play that got us going,” York senior center Braden Richardson said. “It got the crowd going and got everyone going.”
It got Levine pumped up, too, during that West Suburban Conference Silver Division game against Lyons in December.
“I’ve devoted a lot of time to my athleticism,” he said. “I’ve been dunking for a while now. But to be consistently confident enough to do it in a game, it’s been pretty much since this past summer. In summer league, I actually got a lot of dunks because a lot of people weren’t expecting me to dunk.”
That’s still the case, as Levine is being judicious about deploying his newfound skill.
“I’ve been a little tired with (having to play defense in) the 1-2-2,” he said. “I’m running all over the place, so that was actually my first dunk of the season. I keep going up there and laying it in just to be safe. But it was early in the game, and my legs felt good, so I decided to go for one.”
York coach Mike Dunn feels good whenever Levine is on the court, regardless of what he’s doing. Dunks are just the latest, and probably least important, of the Penn recruit’s many talents.
“He’s one of the hardest workers I’ve ever coached, obviously, for basketball in the weight room, but to get into an Ivy League school says a lot about what he does in the classroom,” Dunn said. “He’s a fantastic kid who is really playing good basketball for us.”
Levine is in his third varsity season. He was the sixth man as a sophomore before becoming a starter last season, when he averaged 17.0 points, 3.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.9 steals to earn all-conference honors.
That got him noticed by college recruiters, mostly from high-academic Division III schools. But Levine, who said he has a 4.7 GPA, had other ideas.
“I always put academics first, and when I realized I wanted to go DI, the Ivy League was what I had my eyes set on,” he said. “That’s why I played for (AAU team) Young & Reckless in the summer. They did their tournaments on the East Coast, so it made it easier for me to be seen by the Ivy League.”
Through Sunday, Levine was averaging 15.8 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 3.9 steals for the Dukes (15-3, 6-0), who are pleased to have such a capable leader. He started the week needing just 13 points to reach 1,000 in his career.
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“He does everything,” Richardson said. “He pushes us in practice, and he makes each one of us get better. He’ll make the extra pass to get us active and involved in plays. Our team is unselfish.”
That unselfishness starts with Levine.
“I think as a 6-foot point guard, you need confidence,” he said. “You need a little bit of cockiness. You need to believe in yourself and know that if the ball’s in your hands, you have to be able to get others better, get yourself to score.
“So I think my game is making others better and just willing us to win. If I need to score, I will, and if I need to pass, I will. I do whatever I can to make us win basketball games.”
The Dukes have been doing a lot more of that than they did last season, when they finished 13-18 against a tough schedule. They lost twice each to 2022 Class 4A state champion Glenbard West, 2023 4A state semifinalist Downers Grove North and Hinsdale Central, which went 31-4.
Levine and his teammates were determined to avoid another losing record.
“It was the main point right after last season,” Levine said. “We met with our coaches, and we all said we’re not taking another year like that.
“It’s our senior year. We’re not taking anything for granted. We have to make sure we take advantage of every game, coming into every game knowing this is our last season playing together.”
Indeed, this is the last hurrah for a group of eight seniors who have played together since elementary school: Levine, Richardson, fellow starters Kyle Waltz, Ryan Pechous and Brendan Molis, plus key reserves Max Burnison, Nick Dizonno and Chris Pomatto.
Levine wasn’t always the leader of the pack.
“Not when we were younger, but he’s definitely put in the work through late middle school and early high school,” Richardson said. “He’s definitely devoted his life to basketball.”
Now Levine is devoted to leading.
“He’s got a great voice,” Dunn said. “What I mean by that is he’s like another coach on the floor. He’s very intelligent. His basketball IQ is very high, and he tells our coaching staff what he sees out there, and it helps us make adjustments that make us better.
“We trust each other. I think that’s the most important thing.”
Levine trusts in his teammates, too, and expects great things.
“This season, we all put in that extra work, and it all came together to make sure this season is a special season,” Levine said. “I don’t think there’s a cap to what this team could be.
“When everybody’s firing, we can beat any team in the state. We beat Mount Carmel over the summer, so I think this team could be really, really special as long as we stay confident in each other and keep playing how we’re playing.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.