In his last year of competitive basketball, Braden Campbell is doing more than ever.
The Manteno senior is joining the Air Force after graduation. For now, he’s playing an expanded role as one of the few veterans on a young Panthers team.
Campbell had a double-double of 23 points and 10 rebounds as Manteno opened its season on Nov. 24 with a 43-39 win over Beecher in pool play of the Coal City-Manteno Turkey Tournament.
The Panthers went 2-1 in pool play, losing 47-31 to IC Catholic on Nov. 25 and beating Peotone 52-43 on Nov. 28. The placement games scheduled for Nov. 29 were cancelled because of the winter storm that buried the area.
Campbell, a 6-4 swing man, and 6-2 guard Eric Eldridge are senior starters for Manteno, which also starts three sophomores.
“I was kind of a role player last year,” Campbell said after the Beecher win. “And now I’m taking the step up and being a leader to all the younger kids.”
He’s also got a different place in the Panthers’ offensive scheme.
“Last year, I was playing more of a guard,” Campbell said. “But (now) we’re younger and smaller so I fill in a bit everywhere now.”
Manteno coach Zach Myers is comfortable putting a lot of responsibility on Campbell’s plate.
“Down the stretch (against Beecher, he) really started to make some plays and I felt confident with the ball in his hands,” Myers said.
“Last year he was much more of a guard. With the guys we have this year, he’s kind of playing inside and out and scoring a little bit more from the post. So he’s a nice player, he can score from all three levels and (is) just getting the confidence behind him to shoot the ball.”
Other scoring options for the Panthers include Eldridge, who hit a trio of 3-pointers and had nine points vs. Beecher, and 6-4 sophomore Dylan Polito, who scored eight points.
The game was tied at 26 after three quarters before Polito and Campbell hit 3-pointers to put the Panthers ahead to stay at 32-26.
“Both guys … hit the boards pretty hard,” Myers said. “… I expect good things from our big guys inside.”
Sophomore guard Duke Doran scored 11 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter to keep the Bobcats close. Beecher, which also starts three sophomores, lost 43-41 to Peotone on Nov. 25 and 72-33 to IC Catholic on Nov 28.
“We’re playing five underclassmen just like Manteno is,” Bobcats coach Tyler Shireman said. “And there’s some kids that are going through some growing pains and some kids who were sped up a little bit tonight just because it was their first game. …
“We’re gonna have to be patient. But I think when’s all said and done … we’ll be pretty competitive here in a month or so.”
Peotone went 1-2 in pool play. Besides the loss to Manteno and win over Beecher, the Blue Devils fell 58-43 to IC Catholic on Nov. 24 despite a double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds from Ethan McNeill.
Down 41-37 against Beecher with 8.4 seconds left, Peotone got 3-pointers from Alex Chenoweth and McNeill to pull out the win.