Success is no accident for Lake Park's Rogers

It's OK to call Darrione Rogers a gym rat.

"I'm pretty much in the gym a good amount of time," the Lake Park junior says, readily accepting the term. "I get a few days off a week, but other than that, yeah, I'm at the gym."

Early in the morning, late at night, it doesn't matter. The only question is which gym.

"That's ultimately what's gotten her to the spot she's in," says Lake Park girls basketball coach Brian Rupp, who has had an up-close look at Rogers' work ethic the last three years. "It hasn't just started since she got to high school. It started way before she got to high school. She has a passion for it."

You can't understand why Rogers is this year's DuPage County All-Area Girls Basketball Captain without understanding how much time she spends working to improve.

An obvious talent

Darwin Rogers says he first put a basketball in his daughter's hands at age 4. He works with his daughter to this day, focusing mostly on post-up moves.

"He always gives me back feedback or tells me new moves I can put into my game to help me grow as a player," Darrione Rogers says. "My Dad has a lot to do with this, I must say."

He's not the only one of course. In addition to her father, Rogers works with her Lake Park coaches plus private trainers Stan Stewart and Chris Conrad.

"I get a lot of shots up, but when I'm with my trainer, Stan, we do a lot of ballhandling as well," she says. "So it really depends on my trainer. When I'm with my Dad we do a lot of post moves and, like, catch and rips, one-dribble pull-ups, things like that. So it really depends, but I'm pretty much always working on ballhandling and jump shots."

Ah, those jump shots. Yes, she does practice those 30-foot shots. It just makes sense. If teams are going to hound her close to the 3-point arc, she has to move back to shoot or create even more space for her teammates.

Rogers saw a significant jump in her scoring and rebounding stats, averaging a double-double and leading DuPage County in scoring by 7.5 points a game. Her 799 points this season set a school record, one of many she now owns.

Rupp noticed how effective she was on defense. Fans noticed how Lake Park went 21-9 in a season that included a regional championship and two tournament championships.

"It was probably the best season yet, at least for me," Rogers says. "Just the relationship with the girls, not only on the court but off the court. We built a really strong bond. I think that helped us on the court as well. So this is definitely one of my favorite teams to play on."

A tough start

Clearly, Rogers' freshman season wasn't a favorite. An immediate starter, Rogers' first year lasted just four and a half minutes. Dribbling right to left across the lane in the season opener at Hoffman Estates' tournament, Rogers suddenly fell to the floor. Without contact she had torn her ACL.

Looking back, Rogers sees it as a turning point in her development as well as her college recruitment.

"When you're so used to doing something every day, like five or six days a week, and then not being able to touch a ball or being able to even stand up and dribble a ball or anything like that, it's hard," Rogers says. "It's like, man, I'd do anything just to like do it again. And that's why I said it made me work harder to fight and push just to do what I love again."

Meanwhile, the Rogers family noticed how college coaches reacted to the knee injury. Some backed off. That made her want to work harder also. It also helped her make her decision.

"When she tore her ACL, DePaul was the same school from Day 1," Darwin Rogers says.

Go ahead and chirp

Rogers quickly turned heads this season. In November she scored 49 points in a win against Hinsdale South. It was one of four games in which she scored 40 or more.

"I didn't know I had 49 points, first of all, but it was really different," Rogers says. "I felt free. Well, I feel free all the games, but I was in a zone and everything else didn't matter. I just wanted to do what it took to win that game.

"And I heard parents in the crowd chirping at me and stuff like that. And honestly, I think I'm a player that plays better in that type of atmosphere. So when I heard that parent talking and things like this, it was like, OK, it was an I want to prove you wrong type of moment. I just end up going off for 49 points. So that was pretty cool. That was a moment I'll always remember."

Opponents quickly learned that double- and triple-teams, and maybe a little more physical play, would be required to slow Rogers.

"Darrione is a special player that you don't want to see three times in a year," says WW South coach Rob Kroehnke, whose team faced Lake Park in the sectional semifinals as well as DuKane Conference play. "You don't want to see her once. The things that she's capable of doing and the range she has, you have to totally switch your defensive game plan just to contain her. Not stop her, just to contain her."

Added Wheaton North coach Dave Eaton: "I mean, she just makes some unbelievable shots and some unbelievable plays. Watching her get hot sometimes, there's not much you can do. Sometimes you've got a hand in her face and she's making contested shots."

But here's the thing: As hard as it was to stop Rogers this year, you can be sure Rogers will soon be back in the gym, working on more moves, honing her shot and working to improve her endurance.

She plans to be even better next season.

"I'm resting for a few days," she says four days after Lake Park's season ended, "but now I'm about to start working out as much as possible."