As a sophomore last season, Hudson Kirby ended up earning a spot on the varsity for Geneva, but he didn’t play a huge part in the action on the court.
What he did was learn from the seniors ahead of him — Jimmy Rasmussen, in particular — to prepare for what was expected to be an expanded role this winter for the Vikings.
“Coming in behind all the seniors last year, I knew I had to take a big step this year and just take my opportunities,” Kirby said. “They were super tough, super competitive.
“I loved playing behind them. I was absolutely ready for this year.”
Ready, willing and able, but make no mistake — Kirby is more than just a big body for Geneva. The 6-foot-5 junior forward also is a key ballhandler and playmaker.
He had it all Wednesday night in a 54-43 DuKane Conference win at St. Charles North.
Kirby picked up 12 points, seven rebounds, two assists, two steals and two blocked shots for the Vikings (8-9, 2-5). Luke Matan scored 13 points and Gabe Jensen added nine.
Parker Reinke led all scorers with 21 points for St. Charles North (6-10, 1-6). Jake Furtney had 11.
Geneva trailed 28-23 early in the third before closing the quarter out on an 18-2 run to flip the game. Kirby’s playmaking ability was crucial as the Vikings hit four 3-pointers, with two from Matan and one apiece from Jensen and Dane Turner.
Those conversions came on kick-out passes from the post as Geneva went inside-out to turn around the game.
“They play through him,” St. Charles North coach Tom Poulin said of Kirby. “On film you’re like, ‘Man, they start everything with him.’ Once he got it, we tried to take everything else away and push him to his left hand, but he got by us.
“When he gets by Jake, you need people there.”
Geneva coach Scott Hennig gives kudos to Kirby for taking the next step as a junior.
“He’s pretty skilled,” Hennig said. “It’s a credit to him and all the work he’s put in. He’s really developed his perimeter game. I thought he made some really nice plays.
“A strength of his is he’s a pretty good playmaker, good passer. He has good vision, can handle the ball and get to the rim. He just keeps getting better.”
Hennig also agrees with Kirby that being muscled around in practice all last season by Rasmussen and Tommy Diamond has fueled his breakout.
“I think having him play last year and having him practice and getting into games really helped him,” Hennig said.
St. Charles North, meanwhile, took a 26-19 lead with 2:00 left in the first half after back-to-back 3-pointers from Reinke. The North Stars were outscored 35-17 from there, however.
“The first half was just good basketball,” Poulin said. “We were just competing. We were playing hard.
“Third quarter, we didn’t get up and pressure. We didn’t play as intense defensively. We didn’t rotate fast enough and then we got beat in the middle, which led to those kick-out threes.”
Kirby knows his offseason work helped him take advantage of those situations.
“I take a ton of pride in that,” Kirby said. “I can’t be so one-dimensional. I look for my teammates all the time. I love finding my teammates in the corner. I know they’re going to hit it.”
Kirby is making his presence felt, and Hennig feels he’s only scratching the surface.
“His best basketball is a couple years down the line,” Hennig said. “He’s going to get stronger. He’s going to work on his game.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
