Ty Rodgers is far from a typical star basketball player.
In his only season at Thornton after moving from Michigan, Rodgers showed a pass-first mentality and a desire to get his teammates involved before looking for his own shot.
At times, the biggest problem for Wildcats coach Tai Streets was getting Rodgers — an Illinois recruit — to be a little more selfish.
As far as Rodgers is concerned, though, that’s just who he is.
“I think that’s more of my game,” Rodgers said. “Just being able to be a playmaker, whether that’s me scoring or setting up my teammates to score.
“That’s how I like to play. I like passing the ball and helping my teammates get open shots.”
As the season went on, Rodgers learned when it was time for him to take over and score while maintaining his versatility and his ability to fill up just about every category on the stat sheet.
Rodgers, the 2021-22 Daily Southtown Boys Basketball Player of the Year, averaged 17.2 points, 15.3 rebounds, 7.9 assists, 3.0 steals and 3.0 blocked shots.
He had 21 double-doubles and three triple-doubles.
“He just tries to make his teammates better by putting them in position to score, making it easy on them by setting them up,” Streets said of Rodgers.
“All along, he was the best player in the state. He was the best rebounder, the best passer. He could score when he wanted to, but he chose to do it in a different way and keep everybody involved.”
Coming to Thornton after winning a Michigan state championship last season at Grand Blanc, Rodgers quickly established himself as someone his teammates looked to for guidance.
“On the first day of practice, I was the leader of the team,” he said. “I took that role. Everybody knew I was an alpha, and they knew who I was and what I could do.
“I feel like I’m a natural leader, and anywhere I go, I’m going to be that leader. It’s been that way since probably middle school. I’m always vocal and showing guys the right way.”
Rodgers’ mentality shift came after a 66-49 loss to Kankakee on Jan. 18 when he was held to eight points.
The next time Thornton took on the Kays, Rodgers had 33 points and 20 rebounds in a 57-47 victory on Feb. 1.
“When we lost to Kankakee the first time we played them, I was getting double and triple teamed and kicking it out but we just weren’t hitting shots,” Rodgers said. “After that game, I was like, ‘Whatever. You just have to fight through those double and triple teams and find a way to get the job done.’
“Every player after they have a big scoring game, they build confidence off that. I feel like that was my big confidence booster.”
It was part of a 13-game winning streak that followed the loss to Kankakee, including a regular-season win over Class 4A sectional champion Kenwood and another victory over Kankakee in the sectional semifinals.
That run ended with a 56-49 upset loss to Lemont in the Class 3A Marian Catholic Sectional championship game.
Rodgers now moves on to Illinois, where Streets expects his multidimensional nature to pay dividends.
“He can defend all five positions,” Streets said of Rodgers. “He’s like a point forward. He does a little bit of everything. He’s special because he’s so versatile.
“He still has so much upside. I think he’s going to be a great college player.”
Rodgers hopes to go beyond that and follow in the footsteps of his uncle, Jason Richardson, who played 14 seasons in the NBA.
“Seeing him and knowing what he was in the NBA is a huge inspiration to me because I want to get there too,” Rodgers said. “I want to go to the NBA and have an even better career than he did.
“I think that’s how it should be. The next generation should always be better.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.