WC_032218

40 | March 22, 2018 | The winnetka Current sports
winnetkacurrent.com
Boys basketball Player of the Year
Cunningham uses
growth to achieve dreams
Michael Wojtychiw
Sports Editor
For athletes, the hope is
to improve as they get older,
with more experience
and better skills en route
to hopefully earn an opportunity
to play at the next
level, collegiately.
That was the route that
Loyola senior Kevin Cunningham
took during his
four years at Loyola, one
that saw him finish his
Rambler career as 22nd
Century Media’s inaugural
boys basketball Player of
the Year.
Cunningham said he
feels that every season has
been one he’s grown in.
“Freshman year was
tough for me because I
was hurt and didn’t play
the whole year,” he said.
“Sophomore year I got hurt
again and missed a couple
games but since then I’ve
just improved my whole
game. I don’t think there’s
a part of my game that’s
gotten worse or stayed the
same, I think I got stronger,
more aggressive and became
an all-around better
player.”
After having players like
Ramar Evans and Julian
DeGuzman as last year’s
go-to players, Cunningham’s
role changed this
year as a senior, not only
moving over to the point
guard position, but also
becoming the squad’s primary
leader.
“Ramar last year was
our big leader, well and
Julian too, but Ramar was
our captain, really led us
when times got tough,”
Cunningham said. “That
really helped me because I
Loyola’s Kevin
Cunningham evades a
steal attempt by Notre
Dame’s Troy D’Amico
during the 2017-18
season. 22nd Century
Media file photo
looked up to him last year
as a leader and he taught
me so much. He had a great
voice, through his actions
and how he played, he never
got rattled; he was just
always on top of his game.”
The change wasn’t always
easy for Cunningham.
“I think there were some
difficulties adjusting,” he
said, “I had to go over the
plays and make sure I knew
every position, because I
didn’t really know that one
game I could be playing
point guard, the next at two
guard. The difficulty was
being comfortable with it
because I didn’t play any
point guard last year.”
For the fourth time in
coach Tom Livatino’s nine
years at the Loyola helm,
and second consecutive,
the Ramblers finished with
20 wins and a regional title.
Both of those are hard to
achieve in general, but the
Ramblers play in one of the
tougher conferences in the
state and were in one of the
hardest, if not the hardest,
sectionals this season.
“[Coach Tom] Livatino
has a great system,” Cunningham
said. “Anybody
who plays for Livatino
has to buy into his system
or else it’ll be hard to get
many minutes. It’s just the
culture he’s built. Our team
revolves around defense,
getting good shots and not
rushing shots. It’s just buying
into the culture and I
think every guy in the past
two years did that. That
leads to success.
“One common misconception
is that Loyola
likes to hold the ball and
keep it low-scoring. If we
have open shots, we want
to take them, but we want
to make sure they’re good
shots. Sometimes, the
ball’s just not falling. Then
on defense, we want to
hold teams in the 30s, wear
them down. If we can’t get
a quick shot in transition on
offense, then we want to
wear a team down through
our motion and try to get
easy shots like layups. We
don’t think a forced shot
is going to be a good shot
for us, so if we can get out
in transition we will. If we
can find an open shot, we’ll
shoot it, the scores are low
but they got the job done.”
Next year, Cunningham
will take his talents to the
University of St. Thomas
in Minnesota.
“I’m a big fan of coach
Tauer,” Cunningham
said. “Their players I really
liked them and they’re
good guys. The school is
the perfect size for me and
I felt like it was the right
place.”
Girls basketball Player of the Year
Martinez earns inaugural
award after historic season
Michael Wojtychiw
Sports Editor
For most basketball
teams, the point guard is
another coach on the court.
They’re the ears and
eyes of what’s going on the
hardwood.
Loyola Academy’s point
guard, Julia Martinez, was
that and more for the Ramblers
this season. Thanks to
her efforts, the Loyola star
was named the inaugural
22nd Century Media girls
basketball Player of the
Year.
Martinez knew from a
young age she wanted to
play basketball and it was
all thanks to family.
“I’ve kind of played basketball
my whole life, but
probably started when I was
around kindergarten,” she
said. “I have two older sisters
who played, and both
my parents were coaches.
Ever since I was younger,
I always knew I wanted to
play basketball and would
play against the older kids.”
The 5-foot-10 junior
from Chicago averaged
9.9 points per game, 7.3
rebounds per game, 6.7
assists per game and 2.8
steals a contest, en route to
leading her team to a sectional-title
game appearance.
She came to Loyola and
earned a spot on the varsity
team right away, something
not easy to do at a school
like Loyola.
“I feel like when I was
younger, I was so confident
in my game, and I love the
game so much,” she said.
“I came in doing what I
normally do and actually
wasn’t that nervous when
coach Schoenecker said
Loyola’s Julia Martinez
drives to the basket
against Maine West this
season. 22nd Century
Media File photo
my name for the first game
my freshman year. I was
more excited than nervous,
I’ve always loved playing
against the big, older kids
because it’s more competition
and I’m very competitive.
I was very thankful for
the opportunity.”
Point guards are either
ones that are a true point
guard, and pass the ball
to their teammates before
anything else, or a scoring
point guard who isn’t afraid
to put up shot after shot.
“I’d probably say I’m a
pass-first mentality point
guard,” Martinez said.
“I look to find my teammates,
looking upcourt to
see who’s open, giving my
teammates the ball. My
teammates do a really great
job of finding an open shot
and being ready to shot or
attack once I get them the
ball and do my job.”
Colleges have taken notice
of Martinez doing her
job and she’s racked up
12 scholarship offers from
Division I schools, and on
March 16, Martinez committed
to Saint Louis University.
“I don’t want to go too far
from home,” Martinez said.
“I really need to feel good
with my coach. I’m a point
guard, so I’m an extended
coach on the court so I feel
it’s really important to have
a good relationship with
your coaches.
“The biggest aspect is
for me to feel comfortable,
where I see myself, where
I can see myself walking
from class to class to practice
and to the gym.”
But before she gets ready
to head off to college, she
has one year to help the
Ramblers continue to move
further into the playoffs,
something they’ve done
three consecutive seasons
now. Loyola has had a lot
of success during her tenure,
witnessed by Schoenecker
picking up his 200th
career victory this season
and his team winning at
least 20 games in a season
for the eighth time in his 10
years at the helm.
“During practice, we
work on a lot of different
aspects, we start off with a
ton of shooting, every single
spot on the floor,” Martinez
said. “We work on our
defense, then our offense.
It’s also very important to
know about the mental aspect
of the game.”
During the first half of
Loyola’s Jan. 30 contest
against De La Salle, Martinez
broke the school’s
career assist record, breaking
Laura Sobieszczyk’s
record of 507, set in 1999.
Martinez now has over 540
assists with a year to go.
With one more year, who
knows where Martinez and
the Ramblers will be next
season.