When Ty Carlson was ready to leave from Kaneland, he had plenty of choices.
The standout had college options three sports — baseball, basketball and football — and wrestled with his decision before finally settling on Aurora University.
Carlson initially planned on also playing baseball at Aurora. But eventually the redshirt sophomore recognized where his athletic passion was strongest and concentrated exclusively on basketball.
“After fall workouts I just really liked what was going on, and decided to really focus all of my energy on basketball,” Carlson said. “Basketball was always my first love. And I finished very strong my senior year at Kaneland and I wanted to keep that going.”
But for a time it did not appear that the sport would reciprocate that love.
Carlson played sparingly as a freshman, netting just 11 points in eight games. Then in his sophomore season, Carlson appeared on the verge of possibly earning more time in the Spartans rotation. However, he suffered a broken ankle that made his season come to an abrupt end.
“My freshman year we had a few guys ahead of me that were good and I was like maybe the third guy who would come in,” Carlson said. “I was maybe sixth or seventh man as a sophomore, but I broke my ankle six games in. This is really only my first full year.”
On the plus side, the injury occurred early enough that Carlson, a 6-foot-3 forward, would be eligible for another season.
At the time, Carlson saw only the downside of the injury.
Aurora coach Lance Robinson said he’s starting to see the upside.
“I’m not glad he got hurt,” Robinson said. “But I’m glad he has two more years to play after this.
“Ty can do anything and he’s starting to realize it. He knows he can score and now teams are trying to stop him and stop his streaks. I think he knows what he needs to work on in the offseason and he’ll continue to get better.”
Carlson has been an absolute revelation for the Spartans (11-6). He leads the team in scoring along with teammate Marcus Myers at 16.1 points per game. Carlson is also the team’s leading rebounder (6.7) and 3-pointer shooter at 45.8 percent (38-for-83).
Although the season stats certainly pop, possibly more impressive has been his remarkable consistency. Carlson has scored in double figures in all 17 games, including a career-best 25 points against Lakeland on Sunday.
Carlson’s success story isn’t likely to go to his head.
“I really think he’s one of those guys you can always put the cheese out in front of him and he’ll work harder to try to achieve more,” Robinson said. “He’s not satisfied.”
Steve Soucie is a freelance writer for The Beacon-News.