When Kaneland pulled up Sam Kerry to varsity as a sophomore, Brian Claesson said it was only after having several discussions with his coaching staff about the decision.
Once Kerry arrived on the scene, however, she started to earn more opportunities, many of them important. And along with that elevated role and extra responsibility came internal strife.
“I was really afraid of making mistakes my sophomore year,” Kerry said. “Now, I just try to let it go and not get down on myself. The biggest thing is staying positive throughout the game.
“I think the mental part is just as hard as the physical part. I can only thank my teammates for picking me up when I’m down.”
All things have pointed up as a senior for Kerry, a 5-foot-8 guard/forward who has emerged as a reliable second scoring option behind senior guard Kendra Brown for the Knights (22-9).
Looking back to that sophomore season, the physical part started catching up to the mental part for Kerry, a Waubonsee recruit. She then took another big leap last season as a junior.
“She’s a coach’s dream,” Claesson said of Kerry. “She’s being more vocal. When you talk about being a coach on the floor, she understands everything we’re doing.
“She does all the little things fans don’t realize. She’s a huge part of our team.”
Claesson said the strides Kerry has made have been a pleasant surprise even to him.
“Going into her junior year, we knew she had talent, but she took a jump we didn’t see coming,” Claesson said. “She keeps surprising us. Our success lately has correlated with her play.”
Brown and Kerry have been playing together since they were little girls. This season, they have helped lead the Knights to their first conference championship in 20 seasons.
Kaneland also is riding an eight-game winning streak heading into the Class 3A Crystal Lake South Regional, where the Knights will be looking for their second straight regional title.
And Kerry has been a key.
“It’s really cool seeing how she’s improved just confidence-wise on the court,” Brown said. “That’s a huge thing for her. On the court, she brings scoring ability and a mentality to win.
“She’s really competitive in practice and pushing all of us. It’s nice to have that going for us going into the playoffs.”
Kerry’s success has led to reaching a lifelong dream by committing to play basketball in college.
“Once I finally got it all figured out, I felt so much better,” Kerry said. “It definitely feels great. It feels like all of it happened for a reason. All the experiences, good and bad, had something to do with me getting here and I’m really happy about it.
“There’s a lot less pressure. I already achieved the goals I wanted to achieve. This is all extra.”
Brown, a Judson commit, and Kerry feel the Knights have unfinished business. And they’re savoring this time together.
“Those two being our only seniors who play, they’re enjoying the moment,” Claesson said. “They realize they don’t have a ton of time left and they’re taking advantage of it.”
Kerry, meanwhile, likes the way things are set up for Kaneland in the postseason. With the Knights playing their best basketball at the right time, hopes are sky high.
“Going into the season we weren’t sure how it would go, but so many girls have stepped up,” Kerry said. “I’m really excited for the postseason and what we can do.
“I think we’ve gotten prepared by the tough games we played this year. I think we learned a lot from those games.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
