Sitting in his car in the high school parking lot, Beecher’s Adyn McGinley was bummed out Thursday while listening to “Wild Horses” by the Rolling Stones.
Earlier that night, the Bobcats had a 17-game winning streak snapped by Milford in a 72-64 nonconference loss. McGinley scored 27 points but missed the final three minutes.
Advertisement
For three straight years, injuries have been a problem for McGinley, who sat out at the end Thursday with a left ankle injury. It’s why, right away, McGinley had feared the worst.
He needed some alone time.
Advertisement
“I just looked off into the distance,” he said. “It wasn’t that long — a few Rolling Stones songs. I then called all my teammates and made sure they made it home safely.
“We talked about how the game went and what we could do to improve and get better.”
After a trip Friday afternoon to his doctor in Frankfort, McGinley found out the injury came to a muscle above the ankle. He would be able to play that night.
The 6-foot junior guard and his teammates could have used “Start Me Up” as the theme song in a 70-31 River Valley Conference win over Grace Christian in Kankakee.
The Bobcats (20-2, 9-0) have now won 20 games or more for just the seventh time in a boys basketball program history that dates back to 1949.
It has been a good season for Beecher, but a strange one as well.
On Christmas Day, there was a flood at the high school, turning things upside down for the Bobcats’ winter sports teams.
“They told me it was like half a million gallons spilled in about 20 minutes,” McGinley said. “It completely damaged our main floor in the gym.”
Advertisement
Practices and home games have been moved to the nearby junior high, giving the players a chance to go down memory lane.
McGinley had a 43-point game in that gym when he was in eighth grade shortly before suffering a season-ending ankle injury.
“It’s crazy because we had our last eighth grade game at the high school,” McGinley said. “Now we’re back and have come full circle.”
McGinley hasn’t matched that single-game performance this season, but he is averaging 21.6 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 3.2 steals.
Senior center Rio Llamas confirmed McGinley brings more than just scoring ability.
“He does score a bunch of points but that’s not all he does,” Llamas said. “His best ability might be passing. He sets up his teammates. On the floor, he knows where everyone is and where they should be.”
Advertisement
Beecher coach Tyler Shireman breathed a sigh of relief that Thursday’s injury was not as serious as originally feared.
Aside from missing a chunk of time in eighth grade, McGinley missed a part of his freshman year with an ankle injury and eight weeks of his sophomore year with a wrist injury.
“He’s a tough kid,” Shireman said of McGinley. “When you play so hard and so fast and so physical, injuries are naturally going to happen.
“He is leading us in scoring by a lot, but if there is a night we need him to score eight, nine or 10 points and play good defense and get a bunch of assists, he’ll do it. He just wants to win.”
Before losing to Milford, the Bobcats were ranked No. 7 in Class 2A by The Associated Press. It was the first time in program history the team has cracked the top 10.
“It was an eye-opener,” McGinley said. “We were all down after that game because we are a competitive group. But we stayed positive and won the next night.
Advertisement
“That’s what you have to do — stay positive.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
