Boys basketball: Kaneland senior Troyer Carlson is the Kane County Chronicle Player of the Year

Ernie Colombe did not need long to realize a quality in Troyer Carlson that will carry on after he graduates from Kaneland.

The kid is competitive.

Colombe, Kaneland’s boys basketball coach, saw that burning desire in Carlson going back to his freshman year when Carlson played up on varsity.

“It could be something as simple as a shooting drill that we chart every day,” Colombe said. “He does not like losing no matter if it’s a shooting drill or a four-minute scrimmage situation. He does not like losing. He has helped us raise the bar in the program for young kids growing up here.”

Indeed, with Carlson around Kaneland did a lot of winning.

This season, Carlson led the Knights to an Interstate 8 Conference title and sectional final, the program’s deepest playoff run since 1982. The back-to-back 26-6 seasons, the school record for wins, marked the most successful two-year run in program history. In February, Carlson became the all-time leading scorer in Kaneland history, passing Joe Fisher. Carlson finished his career with 1,588 points.

Carlson, an honorable mention All-State pick by Illinois Media who will play football in college at Wisconsin-Whitewater, averaged 18 points, 4.1 rebounds, 1.8 steals and 1.5 assists.

Carlson is the 2023-24 Kane County Chronicle Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

Carlson savored it all, checking off a list of accomplishments that ended with playing two sectional games on his home floor.

“It was surreal,” he said. “I love playing in front of people and our home crowd brings so much energy to the team. We played in front of a big crowd, student section was packed, the competition was there. It was awesome to be a part of.”

Carlson, forever wedded to both football and basketball, said his love for the game of basketball started at home.

His two older brothers played basketball, as did his older sister. Carlson’s older brother Ty in 2019 became the 34th player to score 1,000 points at Aurora University. Competing against his older siblings made Carlson better, as did going up against older kids as a freshman on varsity.

“It helped me out a lot playing varsity freshman year against seniors, playing bigger, stronger, more mature kids,” Carlson said. “It makes you want to cry at times, but it’s helped me out a lot.”

Carlson at 6-foot-2 is a modest size for a basketball player. There are players, even Carlson’s teammates, who probably jump higher or run faster.

But there are some attributes that cannot be measured.

That shown through in one of Kaneland’s biggest wins this season. Carlson scored the game’s final nine points, including a game-winning 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds left, in Kaneland’s 55-53 comeback win over Plano in the Plano Christmas Classic championship game.

Everybody in the Plano gym knew Carlson was going to take the last shot and he still made it.

“That Plano game, there was an example of a game where he kind of willed us. It was his will,” Colombe said. “It’s not just one skill. You can find guys who can jump higher or run faster. That will is something you have. He doesn’t shy away from shots and situations where pretty much everybody knows where the ball was going. He steps up at those times and he’s done that repeatedly.”

Carlson thanked his coaches for the opportunity to play both football and basketball on varsity as a freshman and for their faith in him.

The confidence from his coach filled Carlson with confidence to keep shooting, even through struggles. It was rewarded in that Plano win.

“That game, I didn’t have a good game at all, but coach told me to do what I do and make a shot. Coach has always told me to keep shooting, even if I was 0-for-9,” Carlson said. “When coaches tell you to keep shooting, your confidence goes through the roof.”

To hear Colombe tell it, he simply nurtured the confidence in Carlson that always was there.

When Carlson was an eighth grader coming to Kaneland’s high school camp, in terms of shooting he had no fear. As Colombe would find out, Carlson wasn’t afraid of the moment either.

In Kaneland’s sectional semifinal win over Belvidere North, Carlson made two huge baskets in the fourth quarter of a 57-55 win after missing 10 consecutive shots at one point.

“There are a lot of guys who shoot well in practice and pass up shots in games. It’s human nature. Not everybody is wired the same,” Colombe said. “You need kids that are willing to take shots at critical times. Everybody is the guy who wants to make the big shot, but there are a lot of players that do not want to take the shots. He has earned the mentality that not only will he make the shots, but he will take those big shots.

“It’s who he has been. It’s how he is wired. We are blessed to have had him for four years.”