Marquette senior Max Willoughby has played football since he was 10 years old.
He didn’t play organized basketball until he was a freshman for the Blazers.
At that point, Willoughby, received encouragement from some of his older friends.
“They basically said, ‘You need to play. You’re a big kid, strong kid, you need to play,'” Willoughby recalled. “So I said, ‘Why not?'”
As Marquette coach Donovan Garletts said, “The rest is history.”
The 6-foot-4 forward has been part of a program that has won four straight sectional titles, with a Class A state championship in 2014 and a runner-up finish in 2015.
With Marquette not having a football program, he also has played four seasons at LaLumiere as a wide receiver and outside linebacker.
The Blazers (17-9) face Churubusco (17-8) in Saturday’s semifinals of the Class 2A North Judson Regional, with the winner playing Roosevelt (15-8) or Central Noble (14-12).
Willoughby has worked his way up the ranks, from the freshman team to becoming a key contributor for the Blazers. He spent his sophomore season and most of his junior season on the JV before getting a late call-up to the varsity.
Willoughby has alternated between coming off the bench and starting this season. He’s averaging 10.0 points and 4.2 rebounds.
Garletts has been impressed.
“His first sport is football, but I’d like to think he enjoys basketball too,” Garletts said. “It’s kind of scary to think what he could’ve been if he started in fourth or fifth grade like most kids. But even without that, he’s a pretty darn good basketball player.
“He’s very aggressive. He plays like a football player — it’s awesome. He’s athletically gifted, a great rebounder. He has a beautiful outside shot. He’s one of those kids, when it goes up in the air, you expect it to go in. He’s a good defender as well.”
Willoughby hasn’t for a second regretted his decision to play basketball.
“Now I couldn’t imagine it any other way,” he said.
Nor could Garletts, who described Willoughby as the epitome of the Blazers’ laid-back attitude.
“He’s a goofball — they’re all goofballs,” Garletts said with a laugh. “This is without a doubt the goofiest group of kids I’ve ever had, and he’s the leader of that. They’re fun-loving, don’t have a worry in the world. They’re happy-go-lucky all the time.
“There’s something to be said for playing loose, and these guys definitely play loose.”
Still, don’t mistake Willoughby’s easygoing nature for lacking toughness — far from it for the 175-pounder.
He had 19 catches for 385 yards and six touchdowns, adding 38 tackles with three interceptions and three fumble recoveries for LaLumiere this season. He actually suffered a bone bruise to his lower back getting sandwiched on a punt return in the second-to-last football game, he said, causing him to miss the first five games of the basketball season.
The injury slowed him early, but he’s been going full bore since.
“I’m taller and more aggressive than most of the kids who play,” Willoughby said. “I’m not afraid to go get the ball, I’m a tenacious rebounder. I don’t let anyone push me around even if they weigh more than me. I just play the game and have fun doing it.”
Twitter @MichaelOsipoff
