Chesterton junior Rob Czarniecki cherishes the challenge and the camaraderie too much.
Although the Kentucky baseball commit considered no longer playing basketball to focus on that primary sport in which he stars, he ultimately couldn’t go through with it.
“It was in the back of my head,” Czarniecki said. “But the guys, I’m not ready to give that up yet. That’s the main thing.
“Being out here with my guys, some of these guys are my best friends. Going out there and competing, that’s one of the main reasons. It just gets me excited for the season, making memories with them that we’ll be able to talk about for the rest of our lives.”
Chesterton coach Marc Urban, who recently set the program record for career victories, respects Czarniecki for sticking with basketball.
“He’s a guy that has found value in competing in another sport that’s not his best sport,” Urban said. “It says a lot about a kid that he enjoys competing. My hope, our hope, is that he’s a better competitor in his main sport because he’s playing a part in our program. That’s fun.”
Czarniecki, a 6-foot-1 forward, is averaging 3.4 points and 3.8 rebounds for the Trojans (15-8), who will play Duneland Athletic Conference co-champion Portage in the Class 4A Valparaiso Sectional semifinals on Friday. Chesterton split two games with the Indians this season.
“He obviously doesn’t light up the stat sheet with points, but he’s one of the best role guys you could ask for,” Urban said of Czarniecki. “He defends even though he’s undersized at his position. He has the ability to shoot.
“He just makes plays. He’s just the kind of kid you really want on your team because he’ll do whatever you ask him. He’s just enjoying competing and finding a way to win.”
Czarniecki also did a lot of winning with the Chesterton baseball team under first-year coach John Bogner last year. That included the Trojans’ first sectional title in the sport since 2018.
An outfielder and pitcher, Czarniecki hit .489 with seven homers, 38 RBIs, 31 runs scored and nine stolen bases, and he went 4-0 with a 0.73 ERA and 45 strikeouts in 28 2/3 innings. He was the DAC’s most valuable position player, and the Indiana High School Baseball Coaches Association named him to the Class 4A all-state team.
Czarniecki announced his commitment to Kentucky in September, having also considered Notre Dame.
“Throughout the whole process, talking to everybody down there, when I went down on my visit, I had a feeling it was the right place for me,” he said.
Chesterton also has proved to be the right place for Czarniecki, who is related to iconic Andrean baseball coach Dave Pishkur.
“We’re like third cousins or something like that,” Czarniecki said. “There’s a big branch of it all. Definitely my seventh and eighth grade years, Andrean was really in play for me. I just changed at the last minute. All of my friends were going to Chesterton, and it just seemed right to me. I told my mom, and she said, ‘Whatever you want to do.’
“Growing up, I’d go to all the Andrean camps, and I’d always be around those guys. We’d go to games. But I don’t know what it was, I just kind of thought Chesterton was the right place for me. It was a good move. I’m happy I made that decision.”
So, too, is Chesterton junior guard Logan Pokorney.
“He started at the beginning of the season, kind of our glue guy, bringing us all together,” Pokorney said of Czarniecki. “But coming off the bench, he plays an important role as well. He just really brings us together off the bench and makes sure we’re still flowing in our offense and just makes sure we’re doing the right thing. He brings a lot of value to the team.”
Czarniecki largely concentrates on doing the small things.
“I just try to bring some energy to the guys,” he said. “Just go and play good defense, rebound, score some points when they need me to. I just like to come in and improve the play of other guys and just do things that can help the team win.”
Czarniecki has managed to strike a balance among his activities.
“He still gets his baseball work in,” Urban said. “He’ll go home and hit in the garage and work on different things. Even with managing your time, doing schoolwork, we’re practicing long with our schedule, he’s still finding time to work on his game. Those are the things when you get to college, if you have that ability to manage your time, that’s big because your time is eaten up so much as a college athlete, and hopefully we’re helping him to be prepared when he gets there at that level.
“And if he ever gets to the professional level, his time management is going to be important as well. You talk about high school athletes and what you get out of it, he’s getting the most out of his experience right now, which is great.”