Crystal Lake South junior AJ Demirov is a marked man in the Fox Valley Conference.
Opponents are face guarding him off the ball and doing everything possible to keep the ball out of the talented guard’s hands.
The Gators are busy developing another weapon that is taking the pressure off Demirov, who is 5-11. Coach Matt LePage has been utilizing a 1-3-1 zone defense to take advantage of his team’s impressive size.
The four starters after Demirov are 6-5 Tony Santarelli, 6-6 Colton Hess, 6-6 James Carlson and 6-8 Christian Rohde.
“Defense has become our way of winning,” Rohde said. “It creates turnovers and gets us some easy baskets. We’ve just been getting more and more aggressive in it.”
Demirov finished with 15 points and five assists in the Gators’ 49-25 win against visiting Huntley on Wednesday.
There were some stretches where Crystal Lake South struggled in the half-court offense when Demirov was denied the ball.
“I’m not going to try and force everything every time,” Demirov said. “I trust my teammates. They are capable of doing the job too.”
Rohde (10 points, six rebounds, four blocks) hit a few jumpers to supply points when Demirov was denied and freshman Carson Trivellini had a major impact off the bench with 16 points and five rebounds. He made four three-pointers.
“[Trivellini] came in and obviously wasn’t scared, which is awesome,” LePage said. “When AJ is doubled we need someone to step up. [Trivellini] had 16 in a conference game last week too. He’s been playing well.”
Rohde was the ninth man on last season’s team, which won a regional. He started receiving more playing time near the end of the year.
“Rhode’s development has been great,” LePage said. “He’s senior and he’s starting to take off. That was arguably his best game of the year. He just stepped up.”
Both teams struggled offensively in the first half and the Gators (10-1, 5-0 Fox Valley) led 18-7. Huntley (7-3, 3-2) handed Crystal Lake South its only loss of the season so far, a 55-48 win the first week of the season.
“This had more of a conference feel,” LePage said. “Two teams battling it out and every possession mattered. Our guys just played better. We rebounded well out of the 1-3-1 which is crucial.”
The Gators out-rebounded Huntley 38-21. Carlson had nine boards to lead the effort.
Senior guard Bryce Walker led the Red Raiders with nine points and Christian Wilson added eight points. Huntley was 0 for 13 from three-point range.
“The 1-3-1 is really bothering teams,” Demirov said. “We’ve held five teams to under 40 points.”
Crystal Lake South had some playoff success last season and has the tallest team in the conference and probably the best player in Demirov. The Gators are dreaming big.
“Honestly, I think our ceiling is limitless,” Demirov said. “We can go all the way if we keep improving. We have the pieces.”
