Grayslake North’s Makayla Campbell puts her focus on basketball. Her ‘nerve-wracking’ move proves successful.

Grayslake North junior Makayla Campbell has taken a chance on basketball.

Soccer had been Campbell’s main sport for years. But early last summer, she started allocating more time to basketball, and her solid play in the Knights’ camp convinced her to join an AAU team for the first time in the fall.

Soccer has become what she calls “a side sport,” and she stopped playing golf after being named an All-Northern Lake County Conference selection in her first two years.

“I was really nervous about changing my focus more toward basketball because I spent so much time in soccer, especially after playing travel soccer for five years and putting that many more years into soccer,” she said. “It was nerve-wracking. But I wanted to continue with basketball.”

Campbell’s shift has benefited Grayslake North, which moved into second place in the conference standings after beating leader Grayslake Central on Jan. 18. The 6-foot forward is averaging 7.5 points and 8.4 rebounds, significant contributions considering the Knights (17-9, 8-3) rely so heavily on star senior Peyton Gerdes.

The 6-1 Gerdes, a High Point recruit averaging 25.8 points, 10.8 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and 2.5 steals, said she started noticing changes in Campbell’s game after last season. Campbell averaged 3.0 points and 5.6 rebounds as a sophomore.

“Makayla put in a lot of time during this past offseason, and it really made a big difference in her game and her confidence,” Gerdes said. “She has stepped up tremendously this year for our team as a rebounder and someone we can count on to put points up for us.

“In practice, we occasionally get time to work on personal skills, and when we do, we always work together. She’s always eager to learn little things and asks me a lot of questions. Her confidence is way up.”

Grayslake North coach Brian Frericks said Campbell has made a 180-degree turnaround.

“Makayla has stepped up in a big way, been a lot more aggressive and physical and confident with the basketball,” Frericks said. “Last year there were times you could tell she didn’t want the basketball. This year she really wants the basketball and is a strong presence in the paint, offensively and defensively. She’s really confident with the basketball.

“She has made a huge step from her sophomore to junior year. The big thing for her, as she continues to get more confident and plays more basketball, she will get a lot better. She’s already been a solid force for us this year. I’m excited to see going forward what she will do next year.”

Campbell started 2023 with a big game, recording 21 points and 11 rebounds in a conference win against Lakes on Jan. 6. She scored 16 points in a key conference win against Antioch on Saturday.

With another offseason coming, Campbell said she wants to continue to make progress.

“Last year I was very nervous and not confident with my skills,” she said. “This year I feel more of a threat and am taking chances a lot more. My skills have definitely developed.

“I’ve had a lot of highs and lows this year. Overall, my knowledge of basketball has improved. Peyton has helped me a lot, showed me a lot of things, and I’ve learned a lot. My coaches, especially coach Frericks, have helped me and really made me love basketball.”

She said she doesn’t want to stop playing the sport anytime soon.

“I definitely want to play in college,” she said. “I was always thinking I was not going to play a sport because schooling would be hard, but I definitely want to now.”

Bobby Narang is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.