Neuqua Valley guard Luke Kinkade hit 70 3-pointers last season, earning a well-deserved reputation as a great distance shooter.
The 6-foot-1 junior is more than that these days.
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“He’s just a bucket,” senior guard Christian Srbinov said. “Last year he was just a spot-up shooter. This year he dribbles, shoots off the catch, off the dribble, everything. He’s just a bucket.”
Indeed, Kinkade’s buckets are coming from all over the floor. He actually is struggling from beyond the arc, where he is shooting 28%, but he has made 58% of his other field-goal attempts.
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“I just feel like every team is playing my shot, so I can just fake, get an easy layup, maybe drive and kick and find my teammates,” Kinkade said. “I’m getting my rebounds. That opens up the court, which is great.”
Kinkade put his full repertoire on display Friday in a DuPage Valley Conference opener against visiting Naperville North. He scored a team-high 17 points and grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds to lead the Wildcats to a 59-42 victory.
That performance didn’t surprise Naperville North coach Gene Nolan.
“In scouting him this year, we’ve seen that he’s a terrific player,” Nolan said. “He can score at all three levels. He’s an unreal 3-point shooter, he’s got a great pullup game, and he can finish and pass at the rim. When you have a skill set like that, he is such a difficult cover.”
Kinkade knocked down three 3-pointers in the first quarter to give the Wildcats (4-2, 1-0) a 14-6 lead. All seven of his shots in the first half were from long range.
But Kinkade changed up his game in the face of fierce resistance by the Huskies (2-4, 0-1), who used the athleticism of junior guards Luke Williams, Bryce Welch and Cole Arl to deny him space.
Kinkade missed his only 3-point try in the second half but made all four attempts from inside the arc. He scored on a drive down the lane, a pullup from the right baseline and a drive from the same side during an 8-2 run to start the third quarter.
“When the second half opened up, he had like eight points straight and kind of set the tone,” Srbinov said. “We just kind of took off from there and I think played very well after that.
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“We don’t get points on the board without him, so he’s really important to the team.”
Neuqua Valley coach Todd Sutton said Kinkade’s shooting variety was a necessity against the Huskies.
“You have to because they close out so hard, so you’re not getting those threes,” Sutton said. “They really guard the 3-point line better than anyone we’ve seen, so we have to do something different.”
Kinkade has taken that challenge to heart. He started lifting weights in the offseason and estimates he added 10-15 pounds.
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He is thriving in his first season playing without his brother Nick, who graduated.
“It’s a little weird because last year he’d find me in transition and he’d hit me,” Kinkade said. “He’d always know when I’m open. This year I feel like I kind of took his role a little bit — ballhandling, find the open guy. I still shoot the ball. I can get rebounds and just do it all.”
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The Wildcats did it all despite missing five players who were participating in the school’s Christmas concert. Srbinov had 15 points, including nine in the final minute after the Huskies had closed within 45-40, and Nic Lendino added 11 points, five rebounds and three assists.
“I’m very impressed with (Kinkade), and congrats to Neuqua,” Nolan said. “They played a great game.”
Kinkade felt great after beating the Huskies, whom Srbinov calls one of the best teams in the conference.
“It feels like one of the best games I’ve ever played and we’ve played as a team,” Kinkade said. “It was just fantastic.”
Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.
