It has been quite a high school journey for West Aurora’s Aspen Weeks.
She transferred after two seasons at Aurora Christian, played through a pandemic-shortened season and suffered an injury last summer at the end of the AAU schedule.
That made the accomplishment of the senior guard/forward reaching 1,000 career points — which she achieved Nov. 26 against Naperville North — even sweeter than expected.
“It felt very rewarding,” Weeks said. “I worked really hard to get where I’m at right now. It was really emotional because of everything I went through. I felt like I made it.”
Weeks is firmly entrenched in her second season with the Blackhawks’ program.
The Flagler recruit, slowly working her way from the leg injury suffered over the summer, is averaging 15 points, six rebounds, two assists and 1.8 steals for West Aurora (2-5).
“She was coming to our open gyms and rehabbing slowly,” coach Teresa Waldinger said. “She was coaching the girls. It was just getting back into shape, but the talent was there.
“She has excellent moves to the hoop — so aggressive for her size. She’s grown as a player.”
Weeks knew she had to be patient coming back from the injury.
“It was a pretty hard transition getting back in shape,” Weeks said. “But I’m really happy with how things are going so far.”
It was also a transition heading to West Aurora from Aurora Christian. She arrived with fanfare, having earned Class 1A all-state recognition with the Eagles.
The talent was obvious. How would she fit into a new program, however, was on her mind.
“It was pretty scary being on a team full of girls where I wouldn’t know how they would accept me,” Weeks said. “Coming in as an aggressive player, not knowing how I would fit into their playing style.”
Waldinger was immediately impressed with Weeks.
“She’s a natural-born leader,” Waldinger said. “She just really owned it. I think it was a great transition to have Riley (Mont) there as well.
“She’s really stepped up this year. She’s one of the captains. The transition was seamless for her.”
Now, according to Waldinger, Weeks is completely established as the team’s leader.
“I don’t know if that was cultivated at a young age or what, but she’s very vocal,” Waldinger said. “She does a lot of talking about ‘we’ and not finger-pointing. She leads by example.
“The girls have gained a lot of respect for her. I think she’s going to do great things.”
Weeks had several college options before getting injured in her final summer tournament.
The program that stuck with her the most was Flagler, an NCAA Division II school in St. Augustine, Florida. Last month, Weeks signed her national letter of intent.
“They made me feel the most at home and recruited me not only for my skill but the person I am,” Weeks said. “I felt like they wanted me no matter what happened.
“They supported me through my injury. They were the right choice for me.”
On the court, the Blackhawks have gone through several close losses, including to quality teams in Naperville North and Waubonsie Valley.
Weeks doesn’t think that tells the whole story of the team, however.
“I feel like all of our games so far have been really close,” she said. “A couple lapses we’ve had, when we finally clean them up, they won’t happen again.
“I feel like our record doesn’t reflect the work we’ve put in. We’re taking it game by game, but I feel like we could see ourselves with a regional championship.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.