‘It’s good to get out here’ Tyler Burrows, Yorkville Christian race past Sandwich in opener of delayed season

YORKVILLE – So much has changed in the 336 days since the last time Tyler Burrows took the basketball court.

He’s changed schools, for starters.

A once-in-a-century pandemic put his first season at Yorkville Christian on hold for nearly three months, delaying the building of on-the-court camaraderie. Wearing a mask while he’s playing, that’s new too.

“I’m definitely not used to playing with something covering my face. We just had to adjust and learn to play with it, take a few breaks to catch our breath,” said Burrows, Yorkville Christian’s 6-foot-2 junior guard. “We played and got after it.”

Even in a different environment, and a very different season, Burrows looked right at home.

Burrows, a transfer from Bolingbrook, scored 22 points. Jaden Schutt had 23 and another junior transfer, K.J. Vasser scored 15 as Yorkville Christian raced past Sandwich 85-33 in Friday’s opener of the pandemic-abbreviated season in Yorkville.

Burrows said he got moved up to Bolingbrook’s varsity team last year as a sophomore toward the playoffs. He made the decision to transfer to Yorkville Christian a little bit before August. He was able to get in some workouts in with his new teammates when Illinois allowed fall contact days.

“With all the crazy stuff going on in the world, Covid, I just feel like this is the best fit for me,” Burrows said. “Getting to know these guys, it really helped my decision to transfer here. It was a little sad when we found out we couldn’t have a full season but it’s good to get out here.”

Friday was the first time Burrows and Schutt played together in a game. They didn’t take long to make a connection.

Four minutes in, Burrows found Schutt on a lob and the Mustangs’ 6-foot-5 junior threw down the dunk with authority.

“He’s a great guy, a great teammate, a great person to work with,” Burrows said of Schutt. “You saw what we did. It felt pretty good to hit ‘em, to set him up.”

With Burrows and Schutt leading the way, Yorkville Christian overwhelmed Sandwich early with its pressure. The Mustangs forced 14 turnovers in the first quarter alone, and turned it into a commanding 31-6 lead after a quarter that ballooned to 50-22 by halftime.

Yorkville Christian’s pressure and depth was too much for Sandwich, playing in its first game under new coach Kevin Kozan.

“They’ll be all right,” Yorkville Christian coach Aaron Sovern said of Sandwich. “They’re only in school twice a week and haven’t had much practice together. [Kozan] comes from a good background.”

Burrows and Schutt scored 18 each in the first half alone, with the Mustangs up big despite shooting an uncharacteristic 2-for-19 from the 3-point line in the first half.

Marial Puou, a 6-foot-9 transfer from Mooseheart, scored eight of his 10 points in the first half for Sandwich. Puou’s three-point play in the game’s first minute provided the Indians’ only lead, before the Mustangs’ pressure took over. Yorkville Christian followed Puou’s basket with an 18-0 run capped off by Schutt’s pull-up 3-pointer and Burrows’ jumper from the top of the key.

“We’re kind of going with that up-tempo game, not quite Grinnell but a Diet Coke version of Grinnell,” Sovern said. “The way we shot, that’s not what we normally do. We don’t want to ugly up the game, but we want the tempo to be so ragged because other teams aren’t going to be able to do that.”

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Jaden Schutt of Yorkville Christian dunks the ball during a home game against Sandwich on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. (Sandy Bressner - sbressner@shawmedia.com)

Yorkville Christian can, with the deepest team Sovern’s ever had there.

Vasser came aboard from Rich Central, and senior Chase DiVito transferred from Yorkville during the second semester last year. Elijah Fisher, a starter for the Mustangs last year, is now coming off the bench.

Then there’s Burrows, who Sovern got his first look at in open gym after he enrolled.

Other than a missed dunk in the second half, not much went wrong in Burrows’ debut with the Mustangs. He scored on a number of drives to the basket and in transition, with a couple short jumpers to boot.

“The little bit I saw of him before, he got after it defensively,” Sovern said. “We’re working on his shot, but he gets downhill and he can go to the rim. He’s learning to play with others and see the floor and having Jaden as a teammate, passing the ball is contagious.”

Schutt, for his part, was grateful to get back on the court for a game, after the long wait. He only made one of his six 3-point attempts, his first, but it didn’t take away from the good vibes. He also showcased an expanded all-around game.

“It’s all glory to God, the ability to go out there and play a game, even if it’s 50 fans,” said Schutt, who had 10 rebounds and four steals. “My mom, she hasn’t been able to see me play this year because of Covid, we just wanted to put on a good game for them.”

It’s a very young group with just one senior, and a melting pot of new faces with just three returning players from last year’s 24-win team. DiVito scored eight points and Brayden Long six.

“One thing that helps is that we’re in person for school every day which helps them bond,” Sovern said. “It’s difficult having different kids from different backgrounds, melding them together. We really needed a game.”

The Mustangs will get about a dozen in this truncated season. With the Illinois Department of Public Health ruling this week that schools could play teams outside their COVID region within a 30-mile distance, Yorkville Christian was able to add a game with West Aurora for March 3.

“It will be great,” Sovern said. “Programs our size don’t get to play teams of that caliber too often.”