Jackson Munro has taken his game to a new level just in time for the postseason.
Munro, a 6-foot-8 senior forward who is committed to Dartmouth, has recently had some huge performances in New Trier’s wins against some of the top teams in the state.
Munro kicked off a crazy 11-day span in late January with 25 points in a win against Niles West (13-14) and followed that up two days later with 30 points and 13 rebounds in a victory against Glenbrook North (20-6).
Then he scored 26 points in a win against Yorkville Christian (14-13), which is led by Duke recruit Jaden Schutt. Munro had 20 points and 11 rebounds in a significant victory against Glenbrook South (26-2) and scored 25 points in a win against Rolling Meadows (24-4).
“I think starting when we played Niles West, I started to realize how good I can be when I’m super aggressive and try to get inside the paint all the time,” Munro said. “My teammates did a really good job finding me in that game. I think that game kind of set the tone for this run I’ve been on.”
Munro, who was averaging 16.0 points and 9.0 rebounds through Feb. 10, hopes he is peaking at the right time for the Trevians (25-3).
“As the season gets closer to the end, I think I have a much greater sense of urgency, just knowing what I’m going to have to do for us to get where we want to go,” he said. “I’m going to have to play really well. I’ve been trying to treat every game like it’s a state playoff game to try to get into that mindset.”
New Trier coach Scott Fricke is confident Munro will play his best in the biggest games.
That will be key as the Trevians start the postseason in the Glenbrook South Sectional, arguably the toughest Class 4A sectional in the state.
“In the past three to four weeks, our schedule has been a gauntlet, and that correlates with when Jackson’s performance has increased,” Fricke said. “He rises to the occasion, for sure. He’s a competitor.
“It’s not just him scoring a lot of points, it’s him doing whatever it takes to win. That’s the best part of it.”
A loaded field
Fricke and Munro know New Trier will have some big-time battles in the postseason.
The Trevians are seeded second behind host Glenbrook South in the 17-team sectional.
What stands out about the sectional field is its depth, with dangerous teams like Hoffman Estates (22-5), Maine South (16-11), Niles North (15-7) and Conant (14-11) seeded seventh through 10th, respectively.
“We’ve got teams that could have 16 or 17 wins seeded eighth or ninth,” Fricke said before the seedings were released. “There are 10 teams in our sectional who could all beat each other. It’s just going to be a hard series. We’re used to hard game after hard game. I think we’re ready for it.”
The top seeds in the sectional are all potential state championship contenders.
Glenbrook South has had an amazing season behind Elon recruit Nick Martinelli and Cornell recruit Cooper Noard. The Titans’ only two losses were a 57-54 defeat to top-ranked Glenbard West on Dec. 5 and a 51-45 loss to New Trier on Jan. 27.
Glenbrook South won 73-53 in its first meeting with New Trier on Dec. 9, which Munro said might have allowed the Trevians to become a bit underrated.
“We always knew we were really good,” Munro said. “It took a while, probably because of the early loss to Glenbrook South, for everyone else to realize how good we are.
“That allowed us to sneak up on some people and be under the radar a bit and just let us do our work on our own without any background noise.”
Rolling Meadows is seeded third, followed by Glenbrook North, Evanston (17-9) and Loyola (17-11).
“It’s going to be really great,” Munro said. “I think we’re in one of the best, if not the best, sectionals in the state. Glenbrook South, Rolling Meadows, Evanston, Glenbrook North — there are a lot of really good teams. It’s going to be a war every single game.”
Munro knows the Trevians can’t look ahead.
“The most important thing is taking it one game at a time and not overlooking anyone,” he said. “Anyone can beat anyone on any given night. You can have a horrible shooting night and end up losing a game you’re not supposed to lose. So you’ve got to lock in to every game as best as you can.”
A late start
Munro had played soccer and baseball for years when he became interested in basketball one fateful day at school when he was 10 years old.
“I remember one day playing basketball in recess at elementary school,” he said. “I had never really played it before. It was just so fun. I loved it right away. Ever since that day, I’ve loved basketball. I worked at it, and I became good.”
Munro didn’t always have the advantage of height, either.
“When I first started, I was taller than everyone, so that obviously helped. But toward seventh or eighth grade, I slowed growing a little bit, and everyone else caught up.
“That forced me to develop some guard skills, which are so beneficial to me now that I’ve grown again. It makes me a lot more versatile player. I think me not always being the tallest really helped me down the road.”
Munro said he grew the most from eighth grade to freshman year, when he went from 5-11 to 6-4.
He’s never been the bulkiest guy, though, and that’s something he tried to address before this season.
“I put on probably 10 pounds from last year to this year,” Munro said. “I could definitely add more weight, but I think even those 10 pounds has helped significantly because I’m playing a lot more inside this year than last year.”
Now opponents don’t have the simple solution of pushing Munro around to slow him down.
“I’m usually taller than a lot of the people we play against, especially in my conference,” he said. “But I’m not the biggest-looking guy, so I think a lot of opposing teams are like, ‘Be physical with him, bump him around, knock him off his spot.’
“I think with my extra strength, I’m able to resist that more and hold my position and just sort of let my height take over because they can’t really do anything about that.”
Fricke has seen Munro become a more complete player as a senior.
“He can score at all three levels,” Fricke said. “He’s a great 3-point shooter. He’s got an unbelievable mid-range game. Now he can score at the basket more by posting kids up. That’s hard to stop.”
Ivy League challenge
Munro, who committed to Dartmouth in November, was attracted to the Ivy League education as much as or more than the opportunity to play basketball.
“The biggest thing is how elite of a school it is,” Munro said. “It fits my academic profile, and that’s something that’s really important to me. I think it’s a great challenge, and I think my personality fits that challenge.
“I think New Trier has prepared me for that kind of rigorous lifestyle. Our classes here are really high-level, the teachers are amazing and they do a great job preparing kids for college. Plus, I enjoy a good challenge. So I’m looking forward to it.”
Playing college basketball was not something Munro thought much about until the past couple of years.
“I wasn’t one of those kids that always dreamed of playing in college,” he said. “I never really thought that far ahead. It wasn’t until sophomore year when people started asking me if I wanted to play in college, and I started thinking about it more.
“I love basketball, so why wouldn’t I want to take that to the next level? I thought about how fun that would be, so I started thinking more about my recruiting profile and working hard on my game. Luckily, it all worked out.”
Fricke is confident Munro will have success at the next level but wishes he wasn’t leaving.
“He’s one of our assists leaders, too, so he gets other guys shots,” Fricke said. “He leads by example. The team sees how aggressive he is and how unselfish he is, and they all feed off that.
“When you put that all together, that type of player comes around once in a generation. It’s too bad he’s a senior. He fits our system perfectly.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
