Boys Basketball notes: Ethan Ivan adds name to Batavia record books with 1,000th career point

Ethan Ivan has grown up his entire life in Batavia.

The Batavia senior recently added his name to the program’s record books. In a victory over Bogan last week, the Wisconsin-Parkside recruit notched his 1,000th career varsity point.

“All my friends have been with me the whole time through middle school,” Ivan said on Wednesday. “Playing in front of everyone, it’s amazing. I love it. It’s my town and my people.”

Ivan was not aware of the accomplishment before the game. After the layup went in with the 1,000th point, Batavia coach Jim Nazos called timeout to commemorate the moment.

“Naz called a back-cut play for me,” Ivan said. “I back cut the guy, made a layup and everyone cheered. I was just really surprised because I just thought I made another layup.”

“…Everyone cheered and I had no clue what was going on,” Ivan continued. “It really felt great. All the hard work I’ve put in really paid off. It was great [to have] everyone cheering for me.”

Marmion’s Joe Piekarz notches 300th career

Even when balancing the twilight of his professional baseball career with the Kane County Cougars, Joe Piekarz found a way to coach varsity basketball.

Piekarz, now the head varsity boys basketball coach at Marmion, played within the Oakland A’s organization from 2004 to 2007. His first season coaching varsity basketball in 2006 was his first season at Indian Creek High School.

His routine at that time would be to attend spring training in March and play baseball until September. From there, he’d coach basketball from November to March until that cycle would repeat. After being released from the A’s organization, Piekarz played for the Schaumburg Flyers in independent ball.

Eventually, he chose to finish his education degree at Northern Illinois University and coach full-time.

Fifteen years later, Piekarz notched his 300th career win as a coach in a victory over St. Charles East on Tuesday.

“I knew I was close [with the wins total],” Piekarz said. “But I actually got a text from my sophomore coach at Indian Creek, Eric Schrader, who had been with me forever. He texted me: ‘Hey good win at East last night. I think that puts you right around 299 wins.”

Upon further review on the IHSA website, Piekarz discovered he had 292 wins entering the 2022 season. The Cadets (8-8) notched their eighth win Tuesday.

“It is 100% a testament to the other coaches, the players, the communities I’ve been involved with,” Piekarz said. “My family, who lets me do this crazy thing; it is a group effort 100%. It always will be. That’s who deserves the credit.”

The Cadets “are a drastically different team” than the one who competed at the season-opening Thanksgiving tournament at Batavia High School.

“They have been putting in the work; the schedule we play gives us no opportunity for any breaks,” Piekarz said. “We have really developed nicely and I like where we are right now.”

Brendan Yarusso’s big game for St. Francis

Brendan Yarusso credits the “trust that his coaches and teammates have in [him]” for his 30-point performance in a 59-46 victory over Huntley on Monday.

“They know where I want the ball and the spots, and they trust that I can do something with the ball,” said Yarusso, a St. Francis senior. “So having their trust gives me confidence to shoot or take the ball to the basket and put up those [higher] point totals.”

Yarusso’s additional offseason weight lifting work and playing competitive summer league games have helped pave the way for his breakout senior season.

Yarusso primarily is on the receiving end of passes from Sebastian Miller or Jack Brennan. Moving without the ball and using screens is something he’s done plenty of the last number of seasons.

“I was pulled up sophomore year and [Sebastian and I] took turns bringing the ball up,” Yarusso said. I’d come off screens a lot from there. Jack and Sebastian are really good at hitting me at the exact right moment.”