Top-ranked Benet and its big 3 — Niko Abusara, Brady Kunka and Brayden Fagbemi — are shooting for big things

Benet star Niko Abusara doesn’t mind being in the catbird seat.

Neither do his teammates.

The Redwings are ranked No. 1 in Class 4A in the poll by The Associated Press heading into the playoffs, which begin Wednesday night. Benet (29-1), the top seed in the Bartlett Sectional, opens against 16th-seeded Addison Trail (8-22) in the Addison Trail Regional semifinals.

“There’s no pressure,” Abusara said. “We’re just playing basketball. We’ve just got to keep doing what we’re doing.”

What the Redwings have done is remarkable. They went 16-0 in the East Suburban Catholic Conference and are three wins away from breaking the program record for victories. Their only loss was a 52-49 decision to Simeon in the final of the Pontiac Holiday Tournament. Starter Andy Nash didn’t play in that game.

“The regular season was really fun,” senior forward Brady Kunka said. “It was a really great year for all of us. Nobody really expected us to be 29-1 except the guys in the locker room. We just came out there and did what we knew we were capable of and kept putting up wins.”

The key driver of that success was the big three of Abusara, Kunka and point guard Brayden Fagbemi. The senior trio proved to be a nearly unstoppable force of interchangeable skills.

Each racked up similar stats, and it was anyone’s guess who would have the hot hand on a given night.

Kunka led the team in scoring with 13.6 points per game and also averaged 6.7 rebounds and 1.5 assists.

The Dartmouth-bound Abusara averaged 12.3 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 1.3 steals and 1.3 blocks.

Fagbemi, a Johns Hopkins recruit, had a breakout season, averaging 12.1 points, 4.1 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 0.9 steals. He said togetherness was vital.

“We know we are at our best when we’re sharing the ball, we’re playing good defense, getting out in transition,” Fagbemi said. “The more stops you get, the more opportunities you get to run.

“And when we’re running, with the way we share the ball, it’s as (good) as anybody in the state.”

The Redwings have played tenacious defense and use their transition game and rapid ball movement to break down other teams.

The 6-foot-4 Kunka is a deadeye shooter who lit up then-No. 1 Kenwood for 26 points in a 67-53 victory on Jan. 21 and was the MVP of the St. Charles East Thanksgiving Tournament. He is uncommitted, although not for long.

“Brady is no secret,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. “Brady has been one of the best players in the East Suburban Catholic Conference for the last two years.

“He might be underappreciated by some, but he’s certainly not underappreciated by the people in our program and by me. We know how good he is.”

The 6-5 Abusara is Benet’s best all-around player, a slasher and rim protector who is comfortable in the spotlight but doesn’t seek it. He loves setting up his teammates.

“Usually when we play together, it’s not just really about me,” Abusara said. “It’s about the team as a whole, so it puts me in position to slash, shoot or pass.”

Fagbemi is the unselfish distributor who often puts his teammates in position to excel. Now the Redwings are in position to shoot for their first state championship.

But Fagbemi knows it will be difficult.

“There’s no do-overs, so everyone is going to come with their best shot,” he said. “Everyone is going to do what they need to do to win. That’s what we look forward to day in and day out.”

Heidkamp, who guided Benet to second-place finishes in 2014 and 2016, is just focused on the next opponent.

A win over Addison Trail would set up a regional final against eighth-seeded Bartlett (18-12) or ninth-seeded Batavia (16-14) on Friday. Fourth-seeded Metea Valley (21-9) and second-seeded Wheaton Warrenville South (26-5), which eliminated Benet in the sectionals semifinals last year, are likely sectional foes.

“We don’t overlook opponents,” Heidkamp said. “This is a veteran team. If we’re going to lose, we want it to be because we got beat, not because we weren’t prepared or we beat ourselves.”

Kunka said the Redwings are ready.

“We played against some of the best teams,” Kunka said. “We’ve been in every situation you could think of. We’ve been up, we’ve been down, but we’ve battled through all of it.

“It’s prepared us for whatever we’re going to see in the state playoffs because we know we’re going to get everybody’s best shot. It’s win or go home.”

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