Ivan the great: Cut twice, Najdovski rises for Naperville Central in his senior season. ‘That’s a story, man.’

Naperville Central senior Ivan Najdovski is the poster child for perseverance.

He didn’t make the team as a freshman. He didn’t make it as a sophomore, either.

Most kids would have given up at that point, but not Najdovski.

“It kind of put a chip on my shoulder,” he said. “I kept training every day, just imagining playing on that court. When I finally got the opportunity, I just tried to rise to the occasion.”

Najdovski finally made the team as a junior, although he spent much of the season glued to the bench.

Now the 6-foot-2 swingman toggles between starting and being the Redhawks’ sixth man. It’s a remarkable journey few could have predicted three years ago.

“Ivan got cut his freshman and sophomore years,” Naperville Central coach Pete Kramer said. “He came out his junior year, and I kept him because he busted his tail.”

How often does someone end up playing on varsity after not even making a freshman team?

“Not very often, not to a starter,” Kramer said. “That’s a story, man.”

It’s a story that keeps getting better with every chapter, the latest of which was written Monday night. That’s when Najdovski erupted for a career-high 27 points in a near-upset of visiting West Aurora, which had to battle hard to pull out a 72-65 victory.

Najdovski scored 21 points in the second half, including a game-tying 3-pointer late in the third quarter that completed a comeback from an 11-point halftime deficit.

West Aurora (6-3) answered with a 10-0 run, but again Najdovski rose to the challenge, driving for a 3-point play and later hitting a 3-pointer to pull the Redhawks (4-6) within 68-63 with 2:38 left.

He also sank both ends of a 1-and-1 with 1:37 remaining, cutting the gap to 70-65.

“Ivan just played hard,” Kramer said. “We’ve brought him off the bench because he sparks us, and then we started him tonight, and I think that kind of motivated him a little bit.”

Indeed, Najdovski didn’t shy away from the challenge of playing against the heavily favored Blackhawks. He aggressively, but not recklessly, attacked the basket and actually outscored West Aurora star Josh Pickett, who had 22 points and eight rebounds.

“I thought Ivan played under control,” Kramer said. “He made some good decisions, and I think when kids are playing hard, the decision-making and everything else just kind of flows.”

Things weren’t flowing for Najdovski in the early going against West Aurora. He missed five straight shots at one point in the first half. Then he made two free throws.

“We work on free throws so much,” he said. “Just seeing those go down put some confidence in me.”

It showed in the second half. By the fourth quarter, his teammates knew to feed him. When senior forward Michael Boyce grabbed an offensive rebound, he immediately passed to Najdovski for that fourth-quarter 3-pointer.

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“There were a couple times when I came down the court and I looked for him because he had the hot hand,” Boyce said. “I always have trust in Ivan to make the right decisions. But especially tonight, the dude was going off, so I had to find him.”

It was a situation Najdovski often dreamed about while working on his game alone.

“(Kramer) said just practice shooting, practice dribbling, so go in the gym every day and work on lifting too,” Najdovski said. “I listened to that, and it helped me to be the player I am today. It’s nice just seeing how I’ve evolved throughout the years.”

Boyce is happy to witness that evolution.

“I’ve known Ivan for a very long time, and I’m very impressed with the way he’s played,” Boyce said. “Honestly, I didn’t expect it, but I did at the same time because I know how hard he works.

“He always had a little chip on his shoulder from not making that team, but we needed him tonight. It was a breakout game. I’m really proud of the way that he played.”

Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.