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Sotos - gym-rat Jimmy, that is - thriving at Conant

Once Jimmy Sotos came into the Conant gym, it was difficult to get him out of it.

Sotos, who has had three older brothers play for Conant since 2004, has been a fixture there since he was 4 years old.

"I would try to sit on the bench with my brother," Sotos said. "But he told me I couldn't stay there. So I began to shoot the ball in the gym any chance I could get. I was always out there at halftime taking shots."

Sotos has continued to take those shots - only now he's wearing the White, Blue and Red of the Cougars. And the junior has developed his game so well that he has been chosen to captain the Daily Herald's Northwest all-area team.

The Sotos Era has Jimmy's senior year still ahead. But that will be the end of the line, at least for this generation of Sotos.

"Unfortunately, he is the last one of them," Conant coach Tom McCormack said. "But fortunately, he will be around for another year."

The sport has been a real family affair for the Sotos clan. Dad Jim and mom Katy have watched their three sons - Tommy, now 25, Christian, 23, and Danny, who is 19 and starting as a freshman at Lake Forest College - play at Conant.

Jimmy, who was always in tow, is now carrying on the family legacy.

"I feel comfortable there," Jimmy Sotos said. "Been there so long because my brothers played there that it feels like a second home to me. Coach Mac and I have a great relationship because it goes so far back."

This year has been very good to Jimmy Sotos and the Cougars. His play helped Conant win its first MSL title since 2008 and propelled his team to the top seed in the Fremd sectional with a 20-6 mark.

Sotos has been a force offensively, averaging 16.5 points and 4.5 assists this season. He was also the team leader in points and assists in 17 of his team's first 25 games.

"He has developed a tremendous skill set," McCormack said. "There is no flaw in his game. The way he handles the ball, he makes split-second decisions and he can finish at the rim. You can't foul him either because he is a tremendous free throw shooter."

McCormack also likes the way Sotos operates on offense.

"He has unlimited range with his jump shot," McCormack said. "When he is not scoring big in games and teams are concentrating on taking his shot away, he assists. He always finds a way to be a factor."

Sotos, who was an all-area choice as a sophomore last year while playing point guard, helped lead his team to a regional title, where the Cougars stunned Barrington in the title game.

This year, Sotos had figured to ease into a more prominent leadership-and-scoring role a lot slower. But when teammate Kyle Bradley, who is a senior and was expected to be the team's leading scorer, went down at Thanksgiving with a season-ending injury, Sotos stepped up in a big way.

"I had to grow up quick," Sotos said. "It has been an adjustment because all my life I have been a pass-first point guard. And I still consider myself that. But because of what happened, my team has to count on me to score and I have to balance that out."

McCormack likes what he sees in Sotos, who has grown nearly a foot since his freshman year to stand 6-feet-2.

"He has really developed this year," McCormack said. "He has really filled out and hopefully he will fill out even more next year."

McCormack said Sotos' defensive play has also been outstanding.

"His defensive side has been great," McCormack said. "He has a lot of steals and deflections. And he rebounds very well for a guard.

"He is always thinking a play ahead of the game."

McCormack attributes some of that growing up with three older brothers.

"I think he owes what he has been able to accomplish has been being around his brothers," McCormack said. "They all had very successful years here at Conant, and after that."

Sotos says growing up with three older brothers got him ready for the rigors of high school basketball.

"They have always been supporting me and giving me advice," Sotos said. "When I was a little kid, they never took it easy on me on the driveway, and that made me a better player."

Sotos remembers when he was younger and his brother Christian would take him to Conant during the summer.

"We would shoot for like 5 hours," Jimmy Sotos said. "We are all so close."

Sotos, who plays AAU ball in the summer in Lake Forest, has not thought of long-range basketball plans past the end of this season.

"I have plenty of time for that," Sotos said. "Right now, I just want to keep playing with my team."

Images: Daily Herald All-Area Honorary Team Captains in Basketball

  Junior Jimmy Sotos has been a force for Conant's boys basketball team on his way to earning Mid-Suburban West player of the year honors. Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com
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