Naperville North senior forward Grant Montanari always has his teammates’ backs.
They always have his, too, even when he’s flat on his back.
Such was the case late in the third quarter Friday night. Montanari got run over while setting a pick on Metea Valley star Will Ashford, who was whistled for his third foul on the play.
The Huskies quickly helped Montanari get to his feet.
“He’s a guy who is undersized, and he’s asked to do a lot — rebound, defend, guard a lot of their best players down low, like Ashford tonight,” Naperville North senior guard Bryce Welch said. “We ask a lot of him, and he always answers the bell.”
Even when that means taking a few knocks. The 6-foot-2 Montanari is the Huskies’ de facto center, even though he’s barely an inch taller than Welch.
“He’s always banged up, but he never complains,” Welch said. “He’s probably the toughest kid on our team, so we lean on him a lot, and we’re always there to pick him up whenever he needs it.
“He just brings a great deal of unselfishness.”
Naperville North has needed Montanari’s efforts to remain competitive since senior star Luke Williams had season-ending shoulder surgery in January. The Huskies have been in nearly every game since then, including their 53-48 road loss to Metea Valley on Friday.
Montanari is averaging 6.0 points and 4.5 rebounds for the Huskies (12-15, 3-6 DuPage Valley Conference) while shooting 55% on 2-point shots and 38.5% on 3-point shots. Those numbers — and his gritty play — rarely get noticed since the trio of Williams, Welch and senior guard Cole Arl accounted for the bulk of Naperville North’s offense over the past two seasons.
“Grant is a great teammate, and he’s a tough kid,” Naperville North coach Gene Nolan said. “Grant’s the kind of kid that every team says if you have a guy like that with you, you have a chance. He’s done a great job in his career here. He knows his role, and he loves his role.”
It’s a role that often goes overlooked. But that doesn’t bother Montanari.
“I do love it,” he said. “If the press isn’t there for me, then my teammates are there for me. They’re always giving me the love that I need and deserve.”
The starting role is something new for Montanari, but his contribution to a winning culture is not. In the fall, he was the backup goalkeeper for Naperville North’s boys soccer team, which went 23-2-3 and finished third in Class 3A.
Montanari played 370 minutes over 15 games and allowed just three goals. He started the third-place game against Glenbrook North, making three saves and keeping a clean sheet for 40 minutes in the Huskies’ 5-2 victory.
“I feel like at North, as a whole, whether it’s soccer or basketball, it is the same,” Montanari said. “They are all close families, and they all have similar beliefs.
“It’s kind of a similar game plan. Just work hard, go out there and trust your teammates.”
Montanari scored eight points on 4-for-4 shooting and added four blocks, three rebounds, two steals and one assist against Metea Valley (18-10, 5-4) while helping limit Ashford to 11 points.
After drawing the foul on Ashford, Montanari scored on a drive to beat the third-quarter buzzer. In the fourth quarter, his steal led to a turnaround jumper by Welch, and he later assisted on senior forward Jack Kallstrand’s layup that made it 49-44 with 1:15 left.
The Mustangs responded by sinking four straight free throws, although Montanari and Welch made it interesting by each scoring in the final 22 seconds.
“We did pretty good,” Montanari said. “I feel that we kind of got back to our fundamentals of North basketball. We worked really hard, and we hustled. But sometimes we let the middle open, and that’s kind of where we kind of fell apart.”
The Huskies could have fallen apart after losing Williams, but Montanari wouldn’t allow it. He isn’t going to play a sport in college, where he intends to major in kinesiology with the goal of becoming an occupational therapist, so he’s relishing the final weeks of his career.
“It’s super special,” Montanari said. “It’s something I’ve been looking forward to since I was in seventh grade playing for Junior Huskies. This is what we’ve all worked for.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
