Ethan Vahl’s 40-point game part of stellar June for Oswego sophomore guard

Ethan Vahl and his coach both agree that his first instinct is to pass the ball.

But Vahl can also fill it up.

The Oswego rising sophomore guard provided the latest evidence to that effect the last weekend of June at the Romeoville Live Summer Shootout.

Vahl in a game against Mount Vernon dropped 40 points, what he noted is his first 40-point game – at least in high school.

“It felt great,” Vahl said. “My teammates did a good job of getting me the ball and I was hot. They knew I was capable of scoring and they kept feeding me.”

It was the highlight of a strong June for Vahl, one of the state’s top prospects in the Class of 2028.

He’s a big reason why Oswego hopes to show further improvement this coming season in head coach Nick Oraham’s second year.

“He’s just a really really good basketball player for 15 years old,” Oraham said. “He shoots it well, he gets downhill, he makes plays for others, he’s a really good rebounder for his size, he uses both hands, finishes well around the rim, defensively he reads passing lanes. He’s just a really good heady basketball player.”

Vahl as a freshman averaged 18.5 points, 5.5 rebounds, three assists and two steals. He made 66 3-pointers and shot 80% from the free-throw line as Oswego tripled its win total from the year before.

The game against Mount Vernon was hardly an outlier. Oraham said Vahl put up 27 points the game before against Marist, had another 25-point game against a team from Missouri and topped 20 against Kankakee.

But that’s not the Vahl that Oraham sees when he suits up for his Mean Streets AAU team.

“He is absolutely a pass-first guy,” Oraham said. “You watch him with his AAU program, with other guys that can score and he’s much more of a facilitator. He might only be averaging eight or so points, but he’s putting up seven rebounds, six assists. But he’s capable of averaging 20 points a game.”

“I’ve always just been a pass-first kind of a guy, but also a scorer,” Vahl said. “I like to get my teammates involved and not a lot of people really do that. I like to separate myself.”

Colleges have started to take notice.

Vahl has scholarship offers from Eastern Illinois and Incarnate Word. Oraham said that Missouri is the biggest school that has shown interest.

Vahl said he’s worked to become stronger, quicker and faster since high school season ended, and it’s shown.

“Physically he has grown an inch plus, he’s every bit of 6-foot-3 now and a little more consistent,” Oraham said. “The game has slowed down. His decision making is better and he’s doing a much better job of rebounding. He has a nose for the basketball.”

Oraham said he had a number of guys step up in helping Oswego be competitive during the June live period.

Brayden Borrowman, a 6-foot-5 senior, shot it well, Oraham believed north of 40% from the 3-point line. Oswego didn’t have senior Mariano Velasco at all because of his football commitments and a broken finger and Oraham brought up sophomore MJ Johnson, Vahl’s cousin.

“MJ Johnson, he had a monster summer for us,” Oraham said. “He’s a bit on the smaller side but he’s incredibly savvy, gets us in our offense and he’s a solid defender. Scoring is not his M.O. but he’s capable of filling it up.

“He was a pleasant surprise. We didn’t know what we would get out of him but the way MJ played this summer I would be stunned if he didn’t start at point guard come November.”

Another football guy, Graham Schwab, figures to have a huge role as an incoming junior.

“When he did play we were a completely different team,” Oraham said. “The energy level that he plays with, he elevates us so much. He can score, he can shoot it, he’s smart with the ball and he has a different level of toughness.”

Oraham said that another sophomore, 6-foot-10 Cole Jansons, could be up with the varsity come the season.

Oswego’s schedule will be a bear. The Panthers are now headed to York’s Jack Tosh Holiday Classic after Christmas and added nonconference games with Brother Rice and Oak Park-River Forest.

“I think we should be very competitive,” Oraham said. “It’s good knowing more about these guys, relationships are better, guys are starting to focus on things we emphasize. Getting in the weight room is our biggest area of need.

“It’s a good group of guys that enjoy being around each other. Ethan is our best player, but he is one of the other guys in the group. You watch that, and you see his growth.”