Nearly 40 years later, Dan Hill still sits atop the hill as Woodstock’s all-time leading basketball scorer.

Knocking Hill off that hill would be a mountainous task, harder than knocking down a jumper while being triple-teamed.

Max Beard doesn’t lack courage, or a jump shot. He is taking aim at Hill’s record of 1,791 points. The sharp-shooting Hill graduated in 1987, when there was no 3-point line, and remains a local basketball legend.

“It’s definitely a goal,” Beard said of the school scoring record. “I definitely would love to achieve that, but first thing first is winning. I’d love to be the leading scorer of all-time here. That would be a lot of fun. As long as we keep having fun, playing as a team and winning games, I’m all for it.”

The 6-foot-4 Beard, a junior guard who’s in his third varsity season, surpassed 1,000 points Tuesday night in the Blue Streaks’ 74-47 win over visiting Harvard in a Kishwaukee River Conference opener. His 24 points gave him 1,018 heading into Friday night’s home game against Marengo. He averaged about 18 points a game last season and about 11 as a freshman.

“He’s got some high goals – to be the all-time leading scorer here, all-time rebound leader – and he’s on track to do all of that,” said Woodstock coach Ryan Starnes, adding that the all-time school records for steals and 3-pointers also are within Beard’s reach.

Coming off back-to-back 20-win seasons, the Streaks are 6-0, despite starting three sophomores in forward Liam Laidig (a varsity starter last season), point guard Rian Hahn-Clifton and guard Marc Thomas.

“You see that [inexperience] show a little bit at times,” Beard said. “But we play hard. We get up and down, play hard defense. I’m excited [about the season].”

Starnes has relied on Beard, who’s the team’s most experienced varsity player, early in the season. Beard played every minute in three of the Streaks’ first four games. Against Boylan on Saturday, foul trouble limited his playing time.

“We don’t take him out,” Starnes said with a laugh after Liam Laidig’s double-double (15 points, 12 rebounds) and Beard’s 14 points led the way in a 64-53 win.

While Beard figures to lead the Streaks in scoring again this season, Starnes also values the leadership of J.J. Stokes, who’s another returning starter and the team’s only senior starter.

The 6-foot Stokes grabbed 11 rebounds against Wauconda on Nov. 26. He had 16 points and 12 rebounds against Grant on Dec. 2. Before fouling out against Boylan, Stokes had six points and six rebounds, and also took two charges.

“I really think the key to this team to this point has been J.J. Stokes,” Starnes said after the Boylan game. “He knows what it takes to win. You saw him taking a couple of charges. He rebounds the ball well, and he attacks at the right times and at the right points. ... He’s so important to our team. I’m really proud of how far he’s come.”

Stokes’ contributions don’t go unnoticed by Beard either.

“J.J. Stokes keeps me in check,” Beard said. “If my head gets down for point-five seconds, or a second, he’a automatically on me. ‘Keep your head up. Keep your head up.’ He’s probably our best rebounder. I hang out with him outside of basketball too. He’s a nice kid, a good leader, vocal, works hard, just hustles. I love him.”

McHenry’s Anwar chooses wisely: McHenry forward Adam Anwar made a big decision at the start of the season.

He sprinkled his black curly hair with frosted blond tips. Anwar said he and a friend had a side bet in fantasy football, and Team Anwar lost.

“Coach Card liked it when he first saw it,” Anwar said of Warriors head coach Corky Card. “[Assistant] Coach [Rob] Niemic was like, ‘Get out of here.’ It was funny reactions from everyone.”

Anwar has yet to make his biggest decision – where he will play college basketball. The 6-7 senior said he has had a lot of offers from Division II and D-III schools and a lot of interest from D-I schools. He said he is waiting to see what potential D-I offers he can get, while also looking to see if a post-graduate year is more beneficial to his recruitment.

“I’m just playing the season out, trying to win as many games as possible, playing the best that I can with my guys,” Anwar said.

Anwar averaged 18.2 points and 7.4 rebounds a game last season, which was interrupted when he broke his wrist, causing him to miss 12 games in a row.

He said he wants to become an orthopedic surgeon, which will influence his college choice.

“When I broke my wrist last year, my surgeon really inspired me, and he’s given me a lot of opportunities to learn from him,” Anwar said.

“I want to go to a high-academic school, for sure, like the high-academic Division IIIs or the Ivy League or Patriot League. That’s my ultimate goal. I’m in touch with Johns Hopkins, and I’m talks heavily with Ivy League [schools] Harvard, Dartmouth and Brown. Those are the schools I strive for because I know that those can set up the next 40 years of my life.”

Burlington Central’s Meseldzija sidelined: Burlington Central forward Stefan Meseldzija was wearing a protective boot before the Rockets’ game at McHenry on Friday.

Coach Brett Porto said Meseldzija suffered the injury in the team’s shoot-around before the opening game of the season. Meseldzija tried to play and actually scored four points in limited minutes.

The Rockets hope to get Meseldzija back around the holidays.

“He’s our best athlete,” Porto said. “We lack depth right now, so it would be nice to have him.”