Boys Basketball Player of the Year: ‘He put in the time’ Brendan Yarusso’s hard work led St. Francis to sectional title

St. Francis’ Brendan Yarusso is the Kane County Chronicle Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

Brendan Yarusso received a phone call after his first successful varsity basketball season as a sophomore.

It was from St. Francis coach Erin Dwyer.

“He goes: ‘Brendan, I think you have a chance of playing a decently high level of college basketball,’ ” Yarusso said. “Just knowing he had that confidence in me … made me think I could be better than I thought I could be.”

Yarusso initially was slated for spot reserve minutes off the bench that season. Because of injuries on the team and other circumstances, Yarusso performed well in his chances and started during the Thanksgiving tournament.

He never looked back.

“He made it impossible for me to not keep starting him,” Dwyer said. “He played an all-around game. He took tremendous pride and tried to be very efficient. Probably one of the most efficient players I’ve ever coached.”

Yarusso blossomed into a three-year varsity starter and was one of the pillars in the Spartans’ run to a Class 3A sectional title this season.

Yarusso, one of the catalysts for St. Francis’ two regional titles and the program’s first sectional championship since 2013 in his time as a starter, is the 2021-22 Kane County Chronicle Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

Yarusso averaged 13.6 points, 4.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game for his senior season.

“He made a decision that he wanted to be really good,” Dwyer said. “He put in the time and the work [and] was incredibly self-motivated and disciplined. When a lot of guys might want to go home after school, he would always go to the weight room.

“Every Sunday, if we opened the gym, he was always there shooting. He was shooting 500 to 1,000 shots and this goes back all the way back from sophomore year all the way into his senior year. He’s an excellent student, great teammate [and] multi-sport athlete.”

St. Francis’ Brendan Yarusso is the Kane County Chronicle Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

Yarusso made the drive to Wheaton every time.

To Dwyer, “a lot of kids want to be really good, [but Yarusso] was willing to do the lonely work that no one sees.”

“That’s the best way I could describe him,” Dwyer said. “If the kid is 6-foot-5, he’s all-state. We don’t really feature one player, I don’t think. I think we kind of play very balanced. He easily could’ve scored 20 points per game if we let him shoot more.”

After the supersectional loss to Metamora this season, Yarusso, speaking on behalf of the team, said a new bar had been set for St. Francis.

“I think we set a standard of how we’re supposed to play at Francis,” Yarusso said. “It starts on defense. Play together, love each other. Like Sebastian [Miller] said, a brotherhood.”

Yarusso’s Spartans became one of three teams in program history to win a sectional title.

“When I play, I try and inspire other people to love the game or try and motivate them,” Yarusso said. “Be a little bit of a role model to underclassmen. I try and show good sportsmanship; our whole team shows how you should play basketball. It should be a team game, not just one or two players one-on-one. That’s the Spartan way of playing basketball.”