A good portion of Hinckley-Big Rock’s success this season in basketball hinges on the left knee of senior guard Max Hintzsche.
It’s been good so far.
That’s also great news for the Royals since the 6-foot-5 Hintzsche, who had started as a sophomore in the backcourt alongside his senior brother Ben, missed all of his junior season while recovering from two surgeries for a torn patellar tendon.
Now three inches taller with added weight, Max has been reunited with 6-5 senior forward Martin Ledbetter, who led the Royals in scoring each of the past two seasons by averaging 15.8 and 19.5 points, respectively.
“We’ve been playing together since elementary school and were looking forward to playing together all through high school,” Ledbetter said. “Having him out last season took a toll.”
This season, Ledbetter is averaging 20.8 points, followed by Hintzsche at 18.1, giving Hinckley-Big Rock coach Seth Sanderson a strong one-two punch at the top of his lineup.
“Obviously, every single day last year, this is what I was looking forward to,” Hintzsche said. “We had four starters coming back junior year from a team that made it to sectional.
“It’s been really fun this year. I think Martin and I have a good connection on the court and off the court. He moved here in the fifth grade and we’ve been buddies ever since.”
That duo has helped lead the Royals (17-7, 7-1) to the top of the Little Ten Conference standings, where they are tied with Newark (13-11, 7-1). The teams are the top two seeds in this week’s Little Ten Tournament that dates to 1920.
Hinckley-Big Rock opens quarterfinal play Monday and Newark on Tuesday, and if the seeds hold, the Royals and Norsemen could meet Friday night for the title.
Newark beat Hinckley-Big Rock 67-63 last week in a matchup with both teams shorthanded due to illness and injury. Later in the week, Somonauk upended Newark.
“I hope we see each other at full strength,” Hintzsche said. “We’ve got our eye set on winning the gold ball (trophy).”
Hintzsche initially injured his knee in June playing with his high school team in a tournament at downstate Jacksonville following his sophomore season.
“I think it was the third game of the day,” Hintzsche said. “I went to jump and the knee gave out.”
The tendon attaches the kneecap to the tibia and plays a crucial role in knee extension.
“My kneecap was up here,” Hintzsche said, pointing to his thigh.
The surgery and initial physical therapy went well, so he was eyeing a December return to action.
But on the first day of school in August, going down the stairs on crutches at home, he took a fall of six or seven steps and reinjured the knee, which required a second surgery.
Hintzsche, who was cleared last July, is playing without a brace.
“I did physical therapy seven or eight months in Warrenville,” Hintzsche said. “In July, I picked back up and got to do AAU ball, then played in a fall league in Romeoville on a team with Martin.”
After making 54 3-pointers as a sophomore, Hintzsche has passed that mark this winter and is likely to set the program’s single-season record.
“He can stretch the defense out,” Sanderson said. “And at 6-5 he gets a few chances every game to get a post-up, too.”
At this point, Hintzsche just wants to take advantage.
“Ever since I was little, I’ve kind of been a point guard, looking to facilitate,” he said. “Getting those extra inches to see over people, it’s a lot easier. Bulking up helped a little bit.
“Being taller than a lot of guys I face, I can get a shot off in the midrange.”
He’s also a target for his best friend.
“Max is a great asset to have,” Ledbetter said. “Whenever I’m down in the paint, I know he’s spotted up somewhere.”
