For a three-sport athlete like Lemont’s Zane Schneider, not being able to compete for several months is agonizing.
So, when an arm injury sidelined him for the entire baseball season in the spring, as well as summer basketball and football practices, Schneider couldn’t wait to return to action.
“I was definitely amped up,” Schneider said. “I couldn’t wait to get back on the court and the field. I was really excited.”
Schneider’s basketball teammates and coaches are certainly just as excited to have him healthy.
The sophomore guard showed what a force he can be Tuesday night, coming off the bench to provide 18 points and eight rebounds as host Lemont pulled away late for a 65-35 win over Stagg.
Matas Gaidukevicius and Alanas Castillo added 12 points each for Lemont (4-1), while Gabriel Sularski had 10 points and Shea Glotzbach pulled down seven rebounds.
Omar Barakat poured in 17 points for Stagg (0-4). Noah Rhodes contributed 10 points and Mohammad Farhan chipped in eight rebounds.
Schneider, meanwhile, suffered a torn ulnar collateral ligament during offseason baseball workouts early this year. That cost him the entire season in that sport and set him back in basketball and football.
“It was really tough, for sure, especially mentally knowing you can’t play,” Schneider said. “Coming back was tough also. It was just battling through adversity.”
He returned to play football this fall as a wide receiver and defensive back.
Schneider provided an instant spark Tuesday night after a slow shooting start from Lemont, which trailed 10-2 late in the first quarter before Schneider came in and scored four quick points.
Schneider had four more in the second quarter as Lemont rebounded to take a 25-19 halftime lead.
“It was great,” Castillo said of Schneider’s performance. “That’s expected from him. He’s a great player. We weren’t shooting the ball well at the start. It was poor shooting from our main shooters, especially me and Matas.
“We needed someone to step up like he did.”
Schneider said when he sits on the bench to start the game, he tries to stay prepared for anything. He feels he’s versatile enough to provide help in many different ways once he gets into the game.
“I really just try to make my team better,” Schneider said. “Coming off the bench, I just try to do whatever we need at the time. This time, we kind of needed to score. We weren’t getting buckets, so I just tried to get in the lane and score or create easy looks for my teammates.”
Schneider earned a significant amount of varsity playing time as a freshman last season, which certainly prepared him for a bigger role as a sophomore.
“It definitely helped a lot playing at the varsity level and getting used to everything,” he said. “The biggest thing I learned is that the game is definitely faster and above the rim.
“I just had to keep working on my game and working on my vertical because you have to outjump people to score and rebound.”
Stagg went on a 10-0 run, tying the game 31-31 with just over two minutes left in the third quarter. Lemont responded with quite the knockout punch, scoring the next 20 points.
Lemont’s surge was sparked by back-to-back 3-pointers from Sularski and Schneider, with each of them assisting on the other’s basket.
Lemont coach Rick Runaas loved what he saw from Schneider.
“I was really ecstatic about the way he rebounded the ball, the way he moved on the floor and the way he distributed the ball,” Runaas said. “I was really happy with his game all around.
“After missing so much time, he’s just getting it back. This is the first time he’s shot the ball like that. I think it’s only going to get better from here.”