If Marist coach Brian Hynes didn’t want to check his phone during the offseason, who could blame him?
“There was a couple rough days I was at work, and twice I just got pictures of X-rays,” Hynes said after the RedHawks raced past Hyde Park 62-31 on Dec. 7 at the Chicago Elite Classic. “So kind of ruined my day a couple times.”
What Hynes learned was bad news about senior Achilles Anderson and 6-foot-8 junior Stephen Brown. Anderson, a Harvard football recruit, will miss the entire basketball season after tearing his ACL. Brown is expected to be out eight weeks after breaking his collarbone.
“I had to kind of focus and say, ‘We’re going to coach the kids that we’ve got,'” Hynes said. “And it’s a great thing that we try and teach these guys, that life throws curveballs at you. And we always say that tough times don’t last and tough people do.”
One thing easing some of the RedHawks’ pain is the arrival of new talent, led by junior transfers Karson Thomas from Lincoln-Way East and Rokas Zilys from Vermont Prep. Thomas had 18 points and seven rebounds in the win over Hyde Park, while Zilys finished with 18 points and nine rebounds.
“I feel very lucky,” Hynes said, noting the connections between Thomas, Zilys and their new teammates. “Karson is very good friends with TJ (Tate) and Rokas with Adoni (Vassilakis), so that’s why they came to Marist.
“To come in to a group that’s been together for three years — they fit in perfectly. They play defense, they rebound.”
Thomas feels at home with the RedHawks, who improved to 7-0 with the win over Hyde Park.
“It’s been great,” he said. “Just getting better every day. Love my teammates, love my coaches. I love games like this. We stayed together. Our defense has been great the past few games.”
Even beyond his friendship with Tate that dates back to fourth grade, Thomas has known some of his other teammates since junior high.
“I knew how they play,” Thomas said. “I knew we were going to (have) good chemistry.”
Against Hyde Park, Marist shot 50% from the field (22 of 44) and 82% from the line (14 of 17) while holding a 33-18 rebounding edge. The RedHawks’ preseason preparation was key, Thomas said.
“We started the season with practice two weeks straight, no days off, building chemistry,” he said.