Adoni Vassilakis was done for the night with three minutes left in the third quarter and Marist rolling against St. Rita on Jan. 3.
The RedHawks senior had a productive, if abbreviated, night with 12 points, three rebounds and two steals in an 85-33 home win.
He wasn’t complaining, because it meant more rest for his ailing left knee.
In his fourth varsity season and recently having passed the 1,000-point mark, the 6-1 guard has been coping with patellar tendinitis for most of his career.
“Basically, since the beginning of my sophomore year I’ve been dealing with it,” Vassilakis said. “So yeah, it’s been a long time. It was a mental struggle at the beginning, but now I’ve learned to play through it. I’ve got to keep my head up high and have my faith in God.
“You know that everything — it’s his plan. … I’m able to keep working … I know that it’s building up for something greater.”
Vassilakis has a variety of treatments to make the process easier, including cryotherapy and icing after each game and practice.
“And I do a lot of different workouts before game and after game, just to make sure I’m good and I can play at least to get (to) 80%.”
It’s hard to tell from watching him that Vassilakis, who has Division II and III recruiting interest, has any physical issues. He’s part of a deep and talented RedHawks team that was 14-1 coming into this week and fresh off the Centralia Holiday Tournament title.
Other mainstays for Marist include De La Salle transfer Charles Barnes Jr., who had 17 points and eight rebounds against St. Rita; North Carolina State football recruit Stephen Brown, who scored 16 and grabbed eight rebounds; Kendall Meyers (11 points); and Ryan Lawlor (eight points).
It’s an understatement to say Marist coach Brian Hynes appreciates Vassilakis’ gritty approach to playing through pain.
“It’s hard to talk about it because he’s just so special to me,” Hynes said. “He’s like a son to me and I’ve probably been to 10 different doctors with him, five to 10 different treatment places. He’s gotten PRP (platelet-rich plasma) shots, he’s done everything he possibly can.
“We thought over the fall it was gone. Then the first day of practice, I looked over and it was emotional, and I knew it was back.”
But Vassilakis won’t take time off during what could be a historic season for the RedHawks, who have won just one sectional and no supersectionals in program history.
This year’s team, deep and talented all over the floor, came into the new year without a loss to in-state competition. The RedHawks’ lone defeat was to D.C. power Sidwell Friends by 12 at the Chicago Elite Classic on Dec. 6.
“He’s put off surgery because he doesn’t want to miss this,” Hynes said of Vassilakis.
“Everyone has bought into what we’re trying to do here, and that’s to win a state championship,” Vassilakis said. “And understand what each person’s role is. Because we have so many talented guys, no one can be scoring 20 every night. You never know whose night it’s gonna be.
“So being OK with that and (playing) for each other — can you play for each other, can you play hard, especially defensively? (If so), it’s very hard to beat us.”