Sophomore power forward Kyler Payne isn’t exactly an old school high school big man, and Waubonsie Valley coach Andrew Schweitzer is just fine with that.
Sure, the 6-foot-7 Payne can catch the ball down low, post up a defender and use his size and strength to score inside as well as battle in traffic in the lane for rebounds.
But he has additional shooting and ball-handling skills, and the Warriors are more than happy about that.
“The game’s changing,” said Payne, who’s two inches taller than when he walked into Waubonsie. “I have to learn how to do some of those things because I don’t think I’m gonna grow much more.
“I’ve always been the tallest in my class, but if I want to play at the next level, I have to learn how to do some of those things.”
Demonstrating those growing skills as the season progress, Payne caught fire in the second half Saturday afternoon as Waubonsie rallied from a 14-point deficit in the third quarter for a 57-50 win over Oak Park-River Forest at the Wheaton Warrenville South MLK Showcase.
Payne scored 12 of his 18 points in the second half and added nine rebounds and two blocked shots for Waubonsie (12-6). He led the comeback with juniors Kris Mporokoso and Evan Malushi.
Mporokoso, a 6-5 guard/forward, finished with a game-high 23 points and six rebounds. Malushi, a 5-9 guard, came off the bench to contribute 10 points, six rebounds and five assists.
Malushi also drew a timely charge in the second half.
“I told Evan he’s our Energizer Bunny,” Schweitzer said. “That’s what he does. He’s the smallest guy on the court, but he gets offensive rebounds, gets in the paint, creates for others.
“He’s a tough kid, man, and I can work with tough kids all day.”
Cameron Woods, a 6-foot senior guard, shot 6 of 8 from beyond the 3-point line and scored 22 points to lead Oak Park-River Forest (5-11), which played the night before.
Waubonsie hadn’t played in a week and then struggled early before rolling to a 54-39 victory over Rockford Jefferson in its second game of the day.
“We were a little rusty after a week off,” Payne said. “Before the (first) game, coach was telling us their record does not define who they are and how they play and that’s what we soon realized.
“At the first-quarter break, we’re like, ‘Oh wow, it’s going to be a game.’”
The comeback coincided with Schweitzer switching Waubonsie’s defense from its usual 1-2-2 zone to man-to-man.
“We had a great week of practice,” Schweitzer said. “But you can only do so much to simulate the game and they were more ready than us. They played with more energy.
“What’s the definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again.”
It’s a bit of transitional year for the Warriors, who lost six of their top seven players to graduation.
“We don’t have the same length so we need more activity level,” Schweitzer said. “We need some anticipation and (Saturday) it was slow. I’m not gonna sit there and watch that keep happening.”
That’s where Payne comes in. He showed some quick feet playing man-to-man and then again with 3:27 left in regulation. He made a spin move, scored in the lane and drew a foul.
Payne made the free throw to force a 48-48 tie. Mporokoso’s two free throws with 2:28 remaining gave Waubonsie the lead for good.
“He can shoot the 3-pointer — made four last week against Joliet Catholic,” Schweitzer said of Payne. “He can hit the midrange shot and finish most of the time.
“Sometimes, he even runs the point if we’re facing a team that runs a lot of pressure. That spin move? He has that in him. We’re excited about him and Kris. Our two best players are a junior and a sophomore.”
