Neuqua Valley senior guard Whitman Charboneau wasn’t feeling like the best version of himself recently.
He wasn’t playing like it, either. But lately something has changed.
“I got sick, and I had a couple days off a couple weeks ago, and it was kind of really good for me to get my legs back,” Charboneau said. “Since then, I’ve been playing well.
“I feel like also my confidence has gone up, and we’ve been playing a lot better as a team.”
Those two things go hand in hand. Charboneau, who is averaging 11.0 points, has scored in double figures in each of his past three games. He had 19 points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals in the Wildcats’ 64-45 victory against visiting Leyden in Naperville on Friday.
It was the third straight strong performance for Neuqua Valley (9-9), which beat Barrington 64-60 on Jan. 11 and lost to unbeaten Waubonsie Valley 49-48 on Jan. 14.
The importance of Charboneau, the team’s lone returning starter this season, cannot be understated. The Wildcats need him to be a consistent scorer in order to take some of the pressure off 6-foot-6 star Cole Kelly, who is considered by many to be the top freshman in the state.
“Cole is seeing a lot of box-and-ones now,” Neuqua Valley assistant Tyler Sutton said. “So Whit’s got to step up and got to make shots just so they get out of that, and now we can run some things for Cole again. You saw it tonight.”
Indeed, Leyden (7-12) raced out to an 11-2 lead, in part because Neuqua Valley used a makeshift starting lineup for senior night. Charboneau is the only regular starter among the seniors.
But once the rest of the starters entered the game, things changed in a hurry. Charboneau made his first three shots, as did Kelly, who started 7 for 8.
Charboneau’s steal and layup capped a string of 17 consecutive points, part of a larger 37-6 run that gave Neuqua Valley a 42-19 lead in the third quarter.
“Coming out, it was rough,” Charboneau said. “We started off pretty slow. Once we got it rolling, we got the ball in the middle. Of course, that was big, and then we kind off play off that, get open shots.”
Cole and Charbonneau combined to score 28 points in the first half. Kelly, who led all players with 26 points, 13 rebounds and three steals, said Charboneau’s performance was key.
“It’s very important,” Kelly said. “He’s a big piece of our team.
“You know if it’s not going in, he’s in his head. But as the season has gone on, he’s getting better and better. It definitely takes the pressure off of me. When he scores, they’ve got to come out of that defense that they’re in and guard him.”
That creates openings for Kelly and others, which is fine with Charboneau. He knows the Wildcats need at least one, and preferably two, consistent scorers to pair with Kelly, but Charboneau doesn’t care who gets the glory.
“He doesn’t say a whole lot, but he shows up every day and plays tough,” Sutton said. “The guys love him. He’s kind of a glue guy that brings people together. He helps with the chemistry.”
Kelly said Charboneau has helped him with his transition to high school basketball.
“He’s been a big help for me with just the leadership,” Kelly said. “From his experience, he’s teaching me the offense and teaching me things every day at practice.”
Charboneau is hoping to play basketball at a Division III college. His top choices are Wisconsin-Platteville, Hope and DePauw.
But Charboneau still has some unfinished business at Neuqua Valley. He wants to do what he can to make sure the second half of the season goes better than the first half did.
“I’m not that outgoing, but I try to lead by example, play hard and get all my teammates involved,” he said. “I make sure to pick them up when they’re down, or get them ball, whether it’s to get them an easy shot or get them going to help the team get rolling.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
