Sophomore guard Jayde Wyett got an early start at basketball before going to Providence.
At least, that’s what he has been told.
“I played with a smaller ball,” Wyett said of beginning with the sport at only 2 years old. “Not that I remember. I was too young. But people said I had some skills.”
The people were right.
Wyett, who has developed into a top-notch player, led the Celtics with 15 points Wednesday night in a 46-40 loss to Wheaton Academy in a Class 3A Hinsdale South Sectional semifinal in Darien.
Senior guard Cade Styrsky scored 10 points for Providence (10-20), while Reece Kras added eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Tyler Anderson led Wheaton Academy (20-12) with 13 points.
Anderson erupted for 12 points on four 3-pointers in the opening 3:10 of the third quarter, helping to stretch a 14-13 halftime lead to 28-15. Providence couldn’t get closer than four thereafter.
Wyett, meanwhile, didn’t only learn to play basketball early. He likes being early, period.
“The kid shoots at 6:30 in the morning,” Providence coach Tim Trendel said of Wyett. “That’s how much he loves the game.
“He has a high ceiling. He’s got that basketball body. When he gets a little stronger, he’ll be able to operate on both sides of the rim with both hands. He has a great future ahead of him.”
Providence’s Cinderella postseason came to an end Wednesday night as Wheaton Academy advanced to play Wheaton St. Francis (16-14) at 7 p.m. Friday in the sectional final.
The Celtics, however, walked away with their heads held high.
“No one gave us a chance to be here,” Styrsky said. “But we believed in ourselves.”
Providence was the only one out of 128 teams in the state that started action this week in the sectional round with as many as 19 losses.
The eighth-seeded Celtics stunned second-seeded Oak Forest 39-36 to win Friday’s regional as Wyett paced Providence with 22 points. The Bengals had beaten the Celtics 57-37 on Dec. 15.
“He carried us Friday night,” Trendel said of Wyett.
Styrsky, who holds offers from St. Francis Joliet, Knox and Aurora, is a big fan of Wyett’s game.
“He’s very good and very hard to guard in practice,” Styrsky said. “He’s very shifty. He can pull up. He can shoot. He can get to the lane. He can pass it out.
“He’s just a very good player overall.”
Before Providence upset Oak Forest, just two of the Celtics’ wins came against teams with a winning record. One was a 68-65 overtime win over Class 1A powerhouse Ottawa Marquette.
The 6-foot-2 Wyett scored 21 points in that game.
Providence had loftier expectations this winter but Kelechi Enyia, who scored more than 500 points as a freshman according to Trendel, suffered a season-ending ACL injury in October.
“Jayde had to step up even more,” Trendel said. “We expected (Enyia) to shoulder much of the load but he was out. That’s hard for a first-year varsity guy, but Jayde was able to do it.”
Wyett, who split time with the varsity and junior varsity last season, was thrown into the fire. He knew it could be a rough season record-wise, but the Celtics were able to improve.
“I thought we were going to have a season of development,” Wyett said. “But we got a lot better after the Christmas break. Our practices were better. We worked harder. We competed more.
“It was a fun season.”
And Wyett plans to work harder on his game this offseason with the D1 Jets Illinois AAU team.
“I want to grow my leadership,” he said. “I need to work on my reads. I just have to be a better point guard.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
