CHAMPAIGN — Benet guard Ethan MacDermot came to America for his senior year because he wanted the experience of playing high school basketball.
A native of Australia living with his aunt and uncle in Glen Ellyn, MacDermot picked the school in part because the Redwings were the defending Class 4A state champions, and he found American basketball to his liking.
MacDermot’s teammates took a liking to him, too, and he earned a starting spot in the backcourt beside classmate Jayden Wright, an Eastern Illinois recruit.
“I think it just kind of speaks to his character because he obviously can handle adversity really well,” Wright said. “Coming from Australia, he probably didn’t know what to expect, but he’s great.
“He’s a great player, but he’s an even better person. He’s one of my really good friends. When we’re out there, I feel like I can trust him just like all the people I’ve been playing with all four years. So I think he’s done an amazing job.”
Indeed, the 6-foot-3 MacDermot helped Benet win 33 games in a row and return to the state championship game at Illinois’ State Farm Center on Saturday night. He scored six points on two 3-pointers, but East Suburban Catholic Conference rival Marist took control in the second quarter and won 44-28.
“Ethan was great,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. “He had a great season, and we’re proud to have him as part of our program. I think he’s just one of the guys now, a good teammate and someone that’s helped us win a lot of games.”
The Redwings (36-2) got off to a good start in their bid to win a second state title. They took a 7-2 lead and were up 13-12 after the first quarter as 7-foot-1 senior center Colin Stack, a North Dakota State commit, scored seven of his team-high nine points.
But the RedHawks (33-5), who had lost to Benet on Feb. 17 in the last ESCC basketball game before the conference merges with the Chicago Catholic League, didn’t allow a single point in the second quarter to take a 23-13 halftime lead.
“The second quarter is what did us in,” Heidkamp said. “Once we got behind, we had to chase their guards on a big college floor, and they’re athletic all over. Even their bigs handle the ball like guards.
“So it’s tough sledding when our guys have to go out there and chase them and have to do things we haven’t had to do all year because they’ve got control of the game.”
MacDermot tried his best to wrest that control away from Marist. His 3-pointer from the top of the key was bookended by baskets from 6-8 junior forward Edvardas Stasys and Wright, whose fallaway jumper pulled Benet within 23-20.
But Marist responded with a 9-0 run. MacDermot answered with another 3-pointer with 58 seconds left in the third quarter to cut the lead to 32-25, but the Redwings went scoreless for 7:32 after that.
Despite the loss, MacDermot said he had a blast. He wants to play in college, so getting to compete on a Big Ten court was surreal to him.
“It was a one-in-a-hundred-million experience,” he said. “It’s something I cherish. It is something that will last forever.”
As will the bond MacDermot forged with the Redwings.
“I’ve loved it so much with coach Heidkamp and being able to make friends with everyone, just playing at a whole new level,” he said. “American high school basketball has been awesome.
“Being a part of this whole entire experience has been amazing. The friends that I’ve made will be friends for life.”
Although MacDermot played only one season at Benet, he cemented his place in the annals of a program that has won three state trophies in the past four seasons and six overall.
“He’s one of us,” Heidkamp said. “He’ll always been one of us. That’s kind of how it goes.”
MacDermot didn’t enter Benet with the current senior class, but he’ll exit as part of a group that made history, including the first state title. Stack and Wright are the team’s all-time winningest players, helping the Redwings go 96-14 in their three varsity seasons.
“These are guys that our school will look at 30 and 40 years from now and talk about what they accomplished,” Heidkamp said. “So I couldn’t be any prouder of our seniors and the juniors that are going to be back next year.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.
