The long and short of it this past summer, when junior forward Jason Jakstys learned that Yorkville was gaining a whopping six transfers from Yorkville Christian?
Few introductions would be necessary.
Most of the newcomers actually attended middle school with Jakstys, one of three veteran returnees along with LeBaron Lee and Michael Dunn who were expected to lead the team.
“Some of those guys that came in, I’ve known them or played with them before,” Jakstys said. “It wasn’t like a huge adjustment for me, but it still took some getting used to.
“The only problem I thought we could have would be a slow start building up our chemistry.”
That hasn’t happened, although there were some anxious moments Friday in the second half when West Aurora rallied from a 14-point deficit to within four with about four minutes left.
Getting excellent free-throw shooting from the 6-foot-10 Jakstys in the fourth quarter, the host Foxes would hold on for a 64-60 Southwest Prairie West victory.
Jakstys shot 6 of 7 from the line in the fourth for undefeated Yorkville (5-0, 2-0), which opened the season by winning the Leland Strombom Tournament in Sycamore.
The Foxes also beat Plainfield North 66-51 in Tuesday’s conference opener.
“I had some concerns to start the season,” Yorkville coach John Holakovsky said. “Six guys transfer in, that’s almost half your team. We have 14 guys.
“What we said from day one, however, is they’re Yorkville guys. We’re glad to have them.”
Jakstys started slowly Friday, going scoreless in the first half but grabbing six of his 11 rebounds.
“We knew they were going to press and even pressure us in the half court, which they did in the first half,” Holakovsky said. “Every play we ran, we didn’t execute because they were in our chests and the passing lanes so much we couldn’t complete a pass in our sets.”
That left it to the guards, plus 6-3 newcomer Jory Boley and the 6-5 Lee, who teams up in the post with Jakstys after both averaged 15 points last season.
“Offensively, I wasn’t scoring, but I wasn’t too worried about because the team was scoring,” Jakstys said. “That’s just something I’ve had to adjust to this year, and then once they start trying to guard Jory and everyone else that’s scoring, that leaves me open and they can dish to me.
“I’m not too worried about starting slowly. It’s happened a couple times this year.”
The Foxes led 27-20 at halftime and 41-40 after three quarters, with Boley scoring 14 of his team-high 18 points in the middle two quarters.
Boley moved from Chicago to attend Yorkville Christian as a freshman before his transfer.
“I just needed a new start,” Boley said. “It has felt like home, real comfortable here.”
Boley showed off that comfort zone with a pair of steals in the middle quarters.
“Boley really hurt us,” West Aurora coach Brian Johnson said. “He’s physical and plays hard and hit some 3-pointers.”
Nine turnovers in the first quarter, a disturbing trend, also hurt the Blackhawks (3-3, 0-2).
“It’s something we’ve been doing, then roar back into it,” Johnson said. “We have to do a better job of not letting those valleys get so low.”
West Aurora did get back into the game by employing a zone press after Jakstys converted a 3-point play that extended the lead to 14 points.
Josh Pickett led the way for the Blackhawks, converting on three steals and scoring 15 of his game-high 22 points in the second half.
C.J. Savage added 11 points for West Aurora, but Lee answered with 14 for Yorkville and Jakstys finished with 12.
“We just needed to stay calm and not be too rushed,” Jakstys said. “Our guards did a good job breaking the press and getting it up to our big men for easy baskets.”