4 days ago
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Moving across town and transferring from Lincoln-Way West to district rival Lincoln-Way Central, junior forward Nick Brzezniak had to work through some weird initial feelings.
But Brzezniak didn’t take long to fit in. He has also developed a huge appreciation for his new teammates and coaches — and he’s thriving on the court like never before.
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“It was a little bit awkward at first,” Brzezniak said. “It’s a lot different over here. I was pushed a lot harder and I just wasn’t used to it, but I eased into it. Now, I love it.
“There’s a really great staff here that’s helped me a lot with my perimeter game. I love being here. There’s no place I’d rather be.”
Brzezniak’s strong start to the season reached new heights Saturday. He poured in a career-high 32 points to help the host Knights pull away in the second half for a 57-35 victory over crosstown rival Providence in New Lenox.
Micah Evans finished with 13 points and eight rebounds for Lincoln-Way Central (11-3), while Nolan Morrill added six points and four steals.
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Eli Phillips led Providence (4-12) with 14 points. Cade Styrsky added seven points and Curtis Stubbs pulled down eight rebounds.
Brzezniak was on fire all game. He hit 13 of his 15 shots from the field, including four 3-pointers, and made both his free throws.
“It feels awesome,” Brzezniak said. “I never thought I’d score that many points in a game. Every shot I took felt amazing. I just felt really good. I can’t explain it any other way than that.
“I wasn’t forcing anything, I don’t think. It just came naturally.”
Lincoln-Way Central’s Brian Flaherty remembers coaching against Brzezniak last season. Now, he sees a well-rounded, blossoming player who’s thankfully on his side.
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“Last year, he was more of an around-the-basket-type guy,” Flaherty said of Brzezniak. “This year, he’s doing a lot away from the basket. He does a lot of different things for us. It seems like every game, you see him doing something new he didn’t do the game before that helps us.
“You can see his confidence growing. He’s like a sponge when you tell him stuff. He wants to keep learning.”
Perhaps Brzezniak’s eagerness to gain basketball knowledge stems from the fact that he’s a relative newcomer to the game.
Growing up, his athletic focus was on being a goalkeeper in soccer. He didn’t play basketball until seventh grade.
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“I would always go to basketball summer camps just for fun and the seventh-grade coach was like, ‘You’re pretty good. You should try out,’” Brzezniak said. “I just said, ‘OK.’
“I fell in love with it and it overtook soccer. I quit soccer freshman year.”
On Saturday, Brzezniak came through with a big third quarter, scoring 12 points. That helped the Knights outscore Providence 21-4 in the quarter to pull away after leading just 24-18 at halftime.
Evans did not know much about Brzezniak before the season, but he’s certainly glad to have him on his side.
“When I found out he was coming here, I was trying to remember him from the scouting report last year,” Evans said. “All I remembered was he beat one of our bigs on a back cut last year. But when he came in, the first shot I ever saw him take during practice was a dunk.
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“I knew this kid was legit. He plays really disciplined on the defensive end and he just wants it more. He’s got the same love for basketball that I do and I appreciate having someone like that.”
As far as Brzezniak is concerned, he’s just getting started.
“I can still develop my game a lot,” he said. “At this level, I’m one of the bigger guys, but at the next level, I’m a guard, so I need to work on those skills and just keep getting better.”
English (US) ·