Boys basketball: Gaither finds his voice to lead Dixon, cap stellar career

Jake Gaither is a man of few words. He usually lets his play do the talking.

So it’s no surprise that as the Dixon senior grew into his leadership role over the past two seasons, his teammates took notice.

A four-year varsity player and three-year standout, Gaither has been the go-to guy for the Dukes each of the past three seasons. But he expanded his role even further in 2021-22, becoming more of a vocal leader to his teammates.

“This year, Jake started talking a little bit more, and it really brought us together as a team,” fellow senior Lucas Healy said.

“He’s not the loudest guy, but he got a whole lot louder this year – and not in a bad way,” classmate Riley Abell added. “We’ve 100% seen him grow into more of a leader, not yelling at guys or getting mad at them, but picking everybody up, encouraging them, making us more accountable.”

Even his coach credited that as the biggest leap in Gaither’s stellar game this season. Chris Harmann arrived as coach the same year Gaither came in as a freshman, and he’s watched Gaither go from a sponge soaking up lessons from the older players to dishing them out to the younger guys this season.

“He’s not super vocal, not a rah-rah type of guy,” Harmann said. “But even throughout this year, you could see him growing by leaps and bounds in that part of it.”

Gaither is the 2022 SVM Boys Basketball Player of the Year in the tightest race in some time, with Eastland senior Kellen Henze, Sterling junior JP Schilling and Newman senior Marcus Williams as his fellow finalists.

“It’s a great accomplishment, for sure, a really nice honor,” Gaither said, “because there were a lot of great players around the area this year.”

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Always smooth on the basketball court, Gaither’s growth into a more vocal leader was probably the part of his game he was least comfortable with. But the fact that he was comfortable with his teammates helped him adopt that louder voice in the locker room, on the bench, and on the court.

“It was a big change. In the classroom I’m quiet, off the court I’m quiet, but it’s different when I step on the court,” Gaither said. “I feel like I’m closer to my teammates, so I can get on them and encourage them and talk to them easier because I’m on the court, where I feel like I know what’s going on and how we can be better. When I’m talking to them, they know what it’s for, and we all want that same thing, just playing our best and doing everything we can to win.”

A wide-eyed freshman in the fall of 2018, Gaither joined a team led by then-seniors Beau Bailey and Derian Duncan. Bailey was a pure scorer – he’s the only player with more points than Gaither in Dixon boys basketball history – and Duncan was a smooth point guard, and like Gaither, neither were loud, flashy leaders.

But seeing those two guys grow into those leadership roles as seniors provided a bit of a blueprint for Gaither as he made the program his own the next three seasons.

“It helped a lot to have those guys, and also my teammates the past couple of years,” Gaither said. “My freshman year learning from ‘D’ and Beau, they helped me work on every part of my game, and also showed me how you can lead even if you’re not the loudest guy.

“Then the seniors my sophomore year really helped me get comfortable, and the last couple of years with Riley and Lucas, just working with all of them and helping each other get better, it made it easier for me to be a leader.”

It wasn’t just on the court where Harmann saw his star player make a huge impact this season.

“There were a couple times in games where he started getting on guys in timeouts, and it’s so important, because you want the kids to be the leaders in that area,” Harmann said. “Their opinions value more and matter to each other, and so when he’s able to do that, it’s one less thing I have to worry about, and we’re able to do more schematically – and that helps us win games.”

Even before he adopted his persona as a more vocal leader this season, Gaither has always led by example. No matter the situation – team meetings, timeout huddles, practices, or during games – Gaither set the tone as the hardest-working Duke, another trait he likely picked up from gym rats like Duncan and Bailey.

“Jake brought it every single day. You did not have to worry about him working hard,” Harmann said. “When we were having other guys who maybe weren’t on point, we’d look to him and say, ‘Hey, you’re a senior this year, man, let’s get these kids going’ – and he took care of it every day. Having him be on point and ready and wanting to compete in every drill, it elevated everybody else.”

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Gaither’s teammates have known that and been a part of that elevation for a lot longer than their coach. Not only has he played alongside fellow seniors like Abell, Lucas Healy, Karson Glessner and Sky Goral for the past few seasons, they’ve also been right there together growing up.

Even back then, his teammates knew that Gaither was going to be a force to be reckoned with once they got into high school.

“Jake and I and all those guys, we’ve played together since such a young age, and Jake’s always been a player that you knew when we grew up he was going to be something,” Healy said. “I’m really thankful for Jake and everything he’s done; he helped me and helped all our teammates out, he’s a great guy on and off the court.”

Gaither has taken Dixon’s unselfish brand of basketball to heart, and that’s the thing his teammates can’t stress enough. And when the best player on the team distributes the ball and doesn’t try to do it all himself, that rubs off on the rest of the players.

“We’ve been playing together since we were little kids, and we’ve always gotten along on and off the court, and that just translated over to high school,” Abell said. “Jake gets everybody involved, makes sure everybody is part of the team, and isn’t a ‘me first’ guy at all. He picks everybody up, and it’s not just his scoring that helps us be successful.”

Gaither credits that team-first mentality to his dad, from his earliest days playing basketball.

“When I was little, in the biddy ball league, my dad wouldn’t let me shoot after the first quarter or first half; he’d make me pass it all the time,” Gaither recalls. “So that was the big focus for me, passing the ball, setting up my teammates, playing a team game. That was a big help for me as I got older.”

That’s carried over to the present day. While Gaither says shooting is an important skill to develop for any player, it’s the distributing the ball and taking care of it that will lead to more success for the team.

“Obviously you’ve got to be able to shoot and make baskets,” Gaither said. “But your ball-handling is just as big. If you can’t dribble, you’re never going to get to your shot. And passing is really my favorite thing, just getting my teammates a good pass so they can score, making the crowd go wild with a pass that leads to a big basket. That’s probably the most fun thing to me.”

It’s evident from just watching Gaither play. While his teammates are always aware of where their scoring leader is on the court, there’s no urgency to make sure he has the ball in his hands all the time.

But it’s not that Gaither is necessarily deferring to his teammates; rather, he’s making sure that everybody is getting involved and is able to play to their strengths on each offensive possession.

“I think people would say that we’re really unselfish, and in every single game, we’d get less selfish,” Healy said. “We always played as a team, and the beauty of it is Jake is scoring 30 points, and we still felt like we were getting the ball just as much as we needed to. There was never a question that we wanted or needed the ball more. Jake just hit his shots this year, but he also made us better around him.”

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Gaither remembers those early years of basketball fondly. He fell in love with the sport right away, and it didn’t take too long for him to realize that he might have a bright future on the court.

“I probably started playing when I was five, and I think I was seven years old – it was in third grade – when I started playing travel ball, and that’s just when I realized that this is what I wanted to do,” he said. “When I was eight or nine was probably when I realized that, ‘Hey, I’m getting good at this, and I could be really good as long as I put in the work.’ The desire to get better was always there.”

It carried over through the years and got even stronger. By the time he got to high school, and got to see the work that older guys like Bailey and Duncan put in to excel, the work ethic that was already ingrained in Gaither started to ramp up a few more notches.

“My sophomore year was kind of my breakout season, and it just made me want to get in the gym more and just focus on getting better at every part of my game,” Gaither said.

His teammates noticed it paying off these past two seasons, especially.

“It really started last year, our junior year actually, he stepped up as that guy, they guy you go to when the offense isn’t working out or the play’s not working right,” Healy said. “You give the ball to Jake and he’ll make something happen.”

He and his teammates also credit the style of play for making the game fun. Harmann’s game plans called for aggressive defense, either zone or man-to-man, and then a fast-paced offense where quick ball movement led to open shots.

And when the Dukes were really on, it was the fast break that they used so effectively to outrun opponents. When the defense created turnovers, Dixon had the horses to turn them into layups or 3-pointers on the other end.

“That’s where I get most of my points, is out in transition, so it was the perfect system for us,” Gaither said. “Just getting out and running, looking downcourt, finding open teammates for open shots, that’s really my game. It helped a lot having Coach Harmann come in here and get us playing that style. It’s fun to play, and it fit all of our strengths really well.”

It was the perfect fit for a group of players that had found their roles playing together through the years. Healy was the ball-handler and adept passer who could rack up the assists. Abell was the sharpshooter from the outside. Glessner could handle the ball and shoot. Goral and Wyatt Wetzell were the guys who did the dirty work and made the hustle plays their forté. Throw in talented younger players like Austin Hicks, Bryce Feit and Cullen Shaner, and it made for a strong rotation for the Dukes.

And all of them could do a little of everything if the situation called for it.

“It was really nice, because we really didn’t have the pressure of trying to do something we’re not comfortable with,” Abell said. “You could stick with what you knew – if you’re good at passing you distribute the ball, if you’re a shooter you spot up in the corner – then Jake, it helps he can do anything; when a play breaks down, he can do whatever he needs to. And worst-case scenario, we’d get into our 5-out offense and make things happen.

“Really, it was all about everybody playing to their ability, and we all fit into our roles really well. That’s why it worked so well for us.”

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Gaither finished his four-year Dixon career with 1,559 points, second on the all-time list to Bailey’s 1,781. After scoring 140 points as a freshman role player, he netted 572 points as a sophomore, then 312 in his COVID-shortened junior season. He came into 2021-22 with 1,024 points, sitting 12th on the all-time list, and added 535 points this season to pass everybody but his former teammate.

Sitting only 222 points behind that top spot, that junior season with half as many games because of the pandemic might have cost him a shot at the Dukes scoring title; if you add that 222 to the 312 he scored, you get 534 points – right at what he scored this season, and less than his sophomore year.

But if you think that bothers Gaither much, you’re mistaken. As he decides on where he’ll play basketball in college, it’s the memories of playing in a loud, filled-to-the-brim Lancaster Gymnasium alongside his lifelong friends and teammates that are going to run through his head far more than any missed opportunities to set records.

“It’s been awesome playing at Lancaster with my friends,” Gaither said. “The energy in here is totally different than any other gym I’ve played in. It’s just packed with fans, and they’re all cheering, and it’s so different. It’s a big part of our success, and it’s been a fun four years playing at home.”

There’s no doubt when looking at what Gaither accomplished that he’ll long be considered one of the best to play for the Dukes. As a sophomore, he averaged 18.5 points, 7.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 3.2 steals per game; as a junior, it was 20.8 points, 8.4 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.7 steals.

This year, he averaged 21.4 points, 6.9 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 3.2 steals per game for a 16-11 Dixon team that finished in third place (6-3) in a tough Big Northern Conference, and went 5-3 in two tough holiday tournaments in Ottawa and Effingham.

In fact, Gaither has finished each of the last three seasons in the top 10 in the final area stats in all four of those categories, marking an impressive consistency throughout his career.

“It’s been really good having him here,” Harmann said with a laugh at his own understatement. “It’s super enjoyable, and the thing is, as good of an athlete as Jake is, he is a great kid to coach. He’s super coachable, he cares about what we’re doing, and he makes your job enjoyable to come to each and every day. I’m glad he’s been able to put together the career he has.”

And while the quiet kid who let his play speak volumes to wow fans and frustrate opponents is hesitant to talk about leaving a legacy, he hopes younger kids learn from how his Dukes have played the game the past few years.

“The unselfishness, just getting everybody involved, that’s what I hope people take away from my time here,” Gaither said. “No matter who it is or how you think they play, getting them involved and letting them prove to you that they can play is a big part of it. Give your teammates a chance to show what they can do, and be a player that makes everybody better by playing as a team. That’s what’s going to make you successful.”