Stevenson’s Aidan Bardic started to dream big while watching his older sister Ava play.
In fact, Aidan Bardic was in the stands at Redbird Arena when Ava scored 13 points in the Stevenson girls basketball team’s win against Barrington in the 2022 Class 4A state championship game.
“Aidan was in the front row of our student section,” Ava Bardic said. “It was pretty cool that he got to be there to experience that. I think it was transformative to his career because he saw that it really is possible to get to that moment and that goal is really attainable if you work hard for it.”
Two years later, as Aidan Bardic attempts to lead Stevenson’s boys basketball team on a lengthy playoff run, he agreed his sister’s journey has inspired him.
“Being around Ava every single day growing up and seeing the amount of work she put in by herself out of practice and how much she wanted it and then seeing that state run was crazy,” Aidan Bardic said. “I watched all of that work pay off right in front of me.
“After that, I was like, ‘Now it’s my turn.’ I had to do something like that. I thought of having that moment with my teammates. She had the time of her life. It all started with her working every single day by herself.”
Aidan Bardic, a 6-foot-3 junior point guard and captain, is averaging a team-high 14.0 points while shooting 72% from the free-throw line and 37% on 3-point attempts for the fourth-seeded Patriots (20-8), who will play 13th-seeded South Elgin (14-13) in the 4A Prospect Regional semifinals at 6 p.m. Wednesday. He is also averaging a team-high 4.0 assists and 4.0 rebounds.
“Last year I was more of a facilitator,” he said. “I was the second-youngest player on the team last year. This year I’m scoring more, and that made my facilitating better and easier.
“I kind of knew the role I would play on the team. I had to be in good shape to play heavy minutes and multiple games a week. I also worked on improving my jump shot a ton, which has made things easier on the offensive end.”
Aidan Bardic was named all-conference in the North Suburban Conference this week. Meanwhile, Ava Bardic, a sophomore guard averaging 13.8 points, 2.3 assists and 2.0 rebounds at Illinois Wesleyan, was named to the second team in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin.
Aidan Bardic said he occasionally hears about Ava from opposing teams’ fans. She ranks eighth in Stevenson girls basketball history with 1,281 points.
“Some student sections talk about how I can’t fill my sister’s shoes, but it definitely builds my fire,” Aidan Bardic said. “When your sister has the career that she had — a state champion, a 1,000-point scorer and a four-year starter on varsity — it put a lot of pressure on me. I try my best to take the pressure off.
“I realize she had her career. I have mine. I’m not trying to copy the path she took. I’m taking my own path.”
Ava Bardic said she told Aidan to “stay dedicated to the process and stay confident in tough games.”
Aidan Bardic is showing he can thrive in those games too. He scored a team-high 15 points in the Patriots’ 47-45 win against Yorkville on Jan. 15. Eight days later, he scored 15 points again, hitting the shot that forced overtime, in Stevenson’s 70-67 victory against conference co-champion Warren.
Will Benson, Stevenson’s first-year coach, said Aidan Bardic has showed he can handle the responsibilities required to lead the team on and off the court.
“We’re running a bit of new stuff offensively, so it took him awhile to figure out where to pick his spots to score,” Benson said. “I also had to adapt and take advantage of his skill set. He’s had great growth from last year.
“He competes and works really hard. He puts in the time on his individual work and has gotten really better defensively. I think his leadership has really grown throughout the year.”
Ava Bardic said she’s not surprised about her brother’s progress this season.
“He’s been putting in so much work with lifting and really getting his shot consistent,” she said. “He’s really worked to get a quicker first step and change his speed.”
Aidan Bardic has started to see that work pay off, like it did for Ava and their sister Alena, who played for Stevenson girls water polo’s back-to-back state championship teams in 2018 and 2019.
“I had a lot of expectations to live up to with my two sisters,” Aidan Bardic said. “But it’s awesome to think just a few years ago that I was thinking about this, so to get this opportunity is awesome.”
Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter.
