It took Declan Wilson one game to best his older brother’s Burlington Central career scoring total.

While the performance didn’t earn headlines, his family got a kick out of it.

The 6-foot-6, 180-pound freshman forward opened the season with a five-point effort against Dixon at Sycamore’s Thanksgiving tournament.

Mind you, the high school basketball career of Declan’s big brother was frustrating. Aidan Wilson, who’s a 6-10 student at the University of Kansas, missed his junior and senior hoops seasons at Central because of multiple injuries, including a stress fracture in his back, a torn labrum in his hip and a torn tendon in his ankle.

“His brother scored only four varsity points, so we razz him a little bit,” Bill Wilson said of his son Declan. “We’re like, ‘Hey, Declan, how long is it going to take you to break your brother’s career varsity total?’ ”

Declan has continued to surge past his brother’s scoring total and, more importantly for a young Rockets squad, show signs of growth.

He’s played in all 25 games for Central (15-10, 10-4 Fox Valley Conference) and takes averages of 7.6 points and 5.4 rebounds a game into Tuesday’s contest at Dundee-Crown.

“The best part [of the season] has been winning and being there for my teammates,” Wilson said Friday night after totaling nine points and six rebounds in the Rockets’ 55-47 loss to FVC leader Cary-Grove at Rocket Hill in Burlington. “The worst part has been losing. I hate losing.”

Wilson is averaging 11.5 points in the Rockets’ past eight games, with a season best of 17 against McHenry on Jan. 30. The varsity rookie starts along side juniors Patrick Magan, Bennek Braden, Ryan Carpenter and Cash Cumpata. Magan started last season, while Braden, Carpenter and Cumpata played coming off the bench.

There have been growing pains this season for the Rockets, who were an uncharacteristic 6-7 after a Jan. 7 loss at Cary-Grove, before reeling off nine wins in a row. Wilson, too, has had to get acclimated to playing lots of varsity minutes against guys bigger and stronger than him.

“I’m trying to beat them with ways other than physicality, with my IQ,” Wilson said. “[I’m learning] how to get around them, while still having that mindset that I’m as big as them. That helps me out.”

The good news for the Rockets and Wilson is that there is a strong possibility of physical growth. Bill Wilson stands 6-6, his wife, Sally, is 6-foot, and middle child Ainsley (a junior volleyball star who’s committed to play for the University of Dayton) is 6-4.

“He’s probably not done growing,” Central coach Brett Porto said of his freshman. “He’s a special player. He’s going to keep getting stronger, develop more. What he’s doing now as a freshman, playing against some of the guys he’s playing, is huge for us. We’re really excited to see what he can do the rest of this year and throughout his career.”

Robinson’s scoring and rebounding lead the way: A varsity player since his freshman year, Richmond-Burton senior Luke Robinson is having his best season, even better than last season’s breakout campaign.

The 6-5 forward/guard became the school’s all-time leading rebounder and surpassed 1,000 career points last season. This season, he became the Rockets’ all-time leading scorer Jan. 13, putting up 24 points in a Kishwaukee River Conference win at Sandwich.

Robinson opened this season with a 30-point effort against Round Lake and has had 13 games of at least 20 points.

“He’s relentless out there,” R-B coach Rich Petska said after Robinson had 22 points and 10 rebounds in the Rockets’ 58-40 loss at Woodstock on Wednesday. “He just keeps driving, and when the chips are down, he keeps pushing us forward and pulling us along. We talked about a couple of the shots tonight might have been forced, but he’s doing his best. He’s trying to help us win anyway he can.”

Robinson has scholarship offers from Illinois Wesleyan, North Park and Dubuque.

“There’s a reason why he’s the all-time leading scorer and rebounder in the program,” said Petska, whose Rockets (18-7, 8-3 KRC) visit Woodstock North on Tuesday. “He’s a heck of a kid and a great player.”

Former D-C coach hit milestone: Longtime Saint Patrick coach Mike Bailey earned his 700th career win Saturday, when the Shamrocks captured a 74-42 decision over Jones College Prep.

Bailey coached Dundee-Crown from 1986-90, going 56-53 and winning three Class AA regional titles in a row. He has 604 wins at St. Pats in Chicago, where he’s coached since 1994. His career win total ranks him just outside the top 25 in IHSA history.