Starks shoots to new heights
Markus Cocroft didn’t pass a torch that day four years ago in Pontiac. Only a basketball.
But the time would come, and soon, for Juwan Starks to become the face of the West Aurora Blackhawks.
West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman recalled a game in Starks’ freshman year. The Blackhawks trailed Joliet West by a point with seconds left at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament.
Cocroft dribbled down the center of the court and spied Starks on the left baseline. Cocroft kicked it to the skinny frosh, who hit the game-winning 12-foot jumper as the horn sounded.
“That was quite a way to break in as a freshman, I thought,” Kerkman said.
Four years later Starks goes out even more impressively.
The 6-foot-3 senior, who sources say joins only Wheaton North’s Kent Graham as a four-year unanimous all-conference pick in the DuPage Valley Conference’s 36 years of boys basketball, came into Friday’s East Aurora sectional final as the second all-time leading scorer in the history of West Aurora’s legendary program.
He’s the program’s all-time leading 3-point shooter with 126 treys, far surpassing the 86 made by Mike Simmons. Starks’ three 3-pointers in the Blackhawks’ 58-53 overtime win Tuesday over Plainfield East also gave him 66 this season, eclipsing Simmons’ 1991 total by one.
Starks’ 1,592 points in four starting seasons entering Friday trail only the 1,613 points that Billy Taylor, Ball State’s head coach, scored at West from 1988-91. Starks surpassed Kenny Battle (1,164), Jaeh Thomas (1,201) and Bill Small (1,391) on his way up the ladder.
Prior to playing Plainfield East, Starks was asked if he knew how far away he was from Taylor’s mark.
“Not really,” he said. “But people keep telling me I’m close. I care about it, but I’d rather win than break the record.”
The combination of his numbers, leadership and his team’s success — including West Aurora’s first regional title since 2006 — makes Starks the honorary captain of the Daily Herald 2011-12 Tri-Cities All-Area Boys Basketball Team.
“I’m impressed, first of all, with his character and demeanor,” said Neal Ormond, West Aurora sports historian who for 48 years has been the “Voice of the Blackhawks” on WBIG-1280 AM, and now also streaming on the School District 129 website, tv.sd129.org.
Currently the district board president, the 1958 West Aurora graduate has also coached for such organizations as American Legion, and has coached West Aurora varsity sports since he retired from the business world in 1995. He once coached Starks’ grandfather, Charlie McGhee; former East Aurora star Aaron McGhee is a nephew of Juwan. Starks’ father, Jeremy McGhee, also played at East.
“He’s a very unselfish young man,” Ormond said of Starks, “and I would say as he’s come down the last month or so as he’s approached the school scoring record my perception is it’s the furthest thing from his mind. He is not taking shots that he shouldn’t take. If anything, he’s passing them up to pass to a teammate who might be closer to the basket. He appears to get more satisfaction from his assists.”
Kerkman noted as much, saying that while Starks’ scoring average has decreased slightly it’s more a factor of teammates such as sophomore point guard Jontrel Walker, junior guard Jayquan Lee and frontcourt brothers Chandler and Spencer Thomas picking it up in that department.
“I think he’s deferred a lot of his scoring to other guys on the team,” said Kerkman, who called Starks’ best attributes his shooting, quickness and jumping ability. Starks has led West Aurora in rebounding as well as scoring the past two seasons; he averages 6.1 boards this season.
Starks admits his favorite part of the game is “probably to get my teammates open and help them score. Then I can see my teammates’ joy and see them celebrate.”
He can still light it with the best of them.
Starks began his senior season with games of 24 and 32 points at Rock Island over Thanksgiving, on his way to the tournament’s MVP award.
Cruising toward the end of the first half of the season with games of 21 and 23 points against Glenbard North and York, respectively, Starks led West to a 3-1 record and fifth-place finish at the vaunted Pontiac Holiday Tournament. He averaged 20 points with a high of 27 points in a 60-52 loss to then-undefeated Curie to claim first-team honors.
“You know that there were some good players there,” Kerkman noted.
Starks had several of his most impressive efforts as the Blackhawks battled Naperville North for the DuPage Valley Conference lead. Before leaving with a sprained ankle he scored 21 first-half points on 7-of-9 shooting with four 3’s as part of a white-hot team effort in a 75-40 win over Naperville Central. He came back a few nights later for 30 against Glenbard North.
West Aurora lost its chance at a share of the DVC title in a loss at Glenbard East, but in a prior head-to-head meeting Feb. 17 at Naperville North Starks again went off in the first half, capitalizing on his favorite spot on the floor — the top of the key — to score 20 of his 23 points in the first half of a 64-53 Blackhawks win.
Entering Friday’s sectional final he averaged 17.3 points. Most impressively, Starks made 45 percent of his 3-point shots.
“When preparing for Juwan, there are so many things you’ve got to prepare for,” said Naperville North coach Jeff Powers. “He’s the kind of guy that if he’s hot from the outside he can score a ton of points, but also he can take you off the dribble and drive and score. So when you prepare for him it’s like, what do you try to stop?
“Another thing is he’s a good defensive player, too. He doesn’t take a vacation on defense. He knows his responsibility on defense, he’s not leaking out early, he’s in there rebounding and defending his man.
“And he’s a willing passer,” Powers said. “Some guys that are scorers look just to score, score, score, but he’s willing to give the ball up for the betterment of the team. He’s a pretty complete player, and from the times we played him he had great leadership abilities.”
Starks, who started his prep career as more of an inside player before heading closer to the wing and perimeter the past couple seasons, also was third on the team in assists and used his length to lead the Blackhawks in steals with 57, about 2 a game.
Despite the lofty numbers Starks takes the greatest pleasure in how the team has performed overall and seeing his teammates succeed, and how he’s contributed toward that as a leader. It is part of his responsibility, as he and forward Brandon Gossett are the sole seniors in Kerkman’s primary nine-player rotation.
Starks, who first started playing park district basketball in elementary school and now plays with both Chicago Mean Streets and Illinois Flight AAU teams outside of high school, exacts authority mainly by example, he said.
“I might see one of my teammates get wild or whatever,” Starks said, “but once they see me they tone down and get focused. I just got that from my past teammates, like Markus Cocroft.
“My freshman year I was always goofing around. You see Markus practicing before game days and he was all serious and I didn’t understand that. Once I got older I understood what he was trying to get the team to do. He was trying to be focused, so everyone else should be focused for this game, or practice.”
His attitude and support are easy to take.
“The best part about coaching Juwan is that he is such a great kid. He is very likable,” said Blackhawks assistant coach Paul Kieffer. “When he is out of a game, on the bench because of foul trouble or to get a rest, nobody cheers harder for his teammates than he does.
“He will either be our all-time leading scorer or second all-time leading scorer. I’m sure he is very proud of that fact, but you will never hear him brag or boast about it.”
Kerkman concurs: “He’s just been a fine young man, and really has developed into a very fine leader for us this year.”
The wiry athlete will enter East Aurora’s glorious gym on Friday needing 22 points to own West Aurora’s all-time scoring record.
Chances are he’d take 1 point, if it were a game-winning free throw to win a sectional title.
“I think about it every now and then but not too much,” Starks said. “I’m just trying to focus on games more than just trying to break a record.”