At some point, it seemed inevitable that sports were going to be part of KJ Avery’s life.
But when he was adopted by the winningest women’s volleyball and men’s soccer coaches in Valparaiso University history, basketball might have seemed less likely for him.
“I was going to my parents’ practices every day at VU, and I’d be exploring the gym, seeing basketball out on the court,” KJ Avery said. “It made me curious about what the sport was. I started shooting around, and I just fell in love with it.”
Basketball has become KJ Avery’s passion, and the 6-foot-3 junior has grown into the Valparaiso High School boys basketball team’s starting point guard. He’s averaging 10.3 points, which ranks second on the team behind senior guard Caden Crowell’s 11.7 points, along with a team-high 3.5 assists and a team-high 1.3 steals for the Vikings (4-11).
Although KJ Avery isn’t always the one doing the scoring, Valparaiso coach Ben Lieske said virtually any points generated by the offense are a result of Avery’s work.
“A lot of how we’re going as a team is very much depending on how KJ is going,” Lieske said. “As a junior with varsity experience, he’s finding his voice and making sure he’s using that to guide us in a positive way.”
KJ Avery’s role is more about facilitating than scoring, but he has proved capable of lighting up scoreboards. He tallied a season-high 22 points during the Vikings’ 71-66 loss to South Bend Washington on Saturday.
“My catch-and-shoot was pretty on point in that game,” KJ Avery said. “I was able to cut through the defense pretty well, too, and get to the foul line.”
Games like that may have seemed miles away when Carin and Mike Avery adopted KJ from Congo shortly before his fifth birthday, adding to a family that also included their son Alex, a 2022 Marquette graduate who attends VU.
Mike Avery was the men’s soccer coach at VU at the time but has since moved to Fort Wayne FC in the USL League Two. Carin Avery remains the VU women’s volleyball coach and has the most wins across all sports in school history. Carin Avery said their sons were introduced to a variety of sports, but one quickly became the clear favorite for KJ.
“KJ always needed a ball in his hand,” she said. “He did everything you could imagine with a ball. He was very good at soccer from the start. But he just gravitated toward basketball, and as he continued playing it, he just kept enjoying it for whatever reason.”
KJ Avery said attending VU’s home basketball games as a kid was a significant factor.
“It was fun cheering for VU, and it made me want to be in that atmosphere,” he said. “I wanted to be a part of that and experience that energy from the crowd.”
KJ Avery also experienced that atmosphere while playing during halftime of VU basketball games with various youth teams over the years, events that helped him fully commit to the sport by eighth grade.
Even though KJ Avery’s parents coached different sports, there was still plenty of information to be gleaned from their experiences.
“They taught me that if you want to play a sport, the first thing is education,” he said. “And the second thing is being coachable so you can learn and improve. But it’s hard work, and if you really want to play, you have to put in the work to get to that level.”
KJ Avery put in enough work to see some limited varsity time as a freshman. He earned a more expanded role as a sophomore, finishing third on the team with 7.3 points per game.
His work continues. Carin Avery saying KJ wakes up daily at 5 a.m. for shooting sessions at VU.
“This has always been his thing, and we’ve just tried to help him however we can,” Carin Avery said. “We’ve never seen a kid as dedicated as KJ is. It’s all coming from him.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter.
