Yorkville’s Jason Jakstys has emerged as one of the most intriguing players in the Chicago area. The 6-10 junior recently visited Illinois and likely will be the first Division I basketball player the school has produced.
Jakstys recently recovered from an ankle injury, so he played sparingly in the Foxes’ 45-39 victory Monday against Huntley in Geneva. But even in limited minutes, he flashed his tantalizing potential.
‘‘I’ve always been tall, growing 2 or 3 inches every year,’’ Jakstys said. ‘‘I’ve been hearing from college coaches since the end of the summer. It’s really fun and exciting.’’
LeBaron Lee, Yorkville’s other top player, missed the game because of a baseball opportunity. Lee is a talented pitcher and had a chance to work out Monday for the Texas Rangers.
‘‘Basically, most of our rebounds and points were out today,’’ Foxes coach John Holakovsky said. ‘‘So this was a great opportunity for some other guys and a glimpse into our future.’’
Bryce Salek came off the bench to lead Yorkville (18-3) with 16 points and nine rebounds. Jory Boley added 12 points and seven rebounds. All nine players who got into the game for the Foxes were juniors.
‘‘I kind of like coming off the bench,’’ Salek said. ‘‘It allows me to give the team some energy when we start to get down.’’
Huntley (14-5) opened a 10-0 lead and led by four at halftime. Yorkville tied the score at 30 on a post bucket from Salek late in the third quarter, then took control with a 7-1 burst to open the fourth.
The Foxes outrebounded Huntley 35-26, despite playing without their two leading rebounders for most of the game.
‘‘It was really huge to see my teammates step up like that,’’ Jakstys said. ‘‘It shows we have 14 guys that can play. We don’t have to rely on one or two.’’
It has been an interesting season for Holakovsky and Yorkville. Six players, including Boley and Salek, transferred in from Yorkville Christian during the summer. The influx of talent was welcome, but it took a little while for everyone to figure things out.
‘‘Some of the new guys I had talked to before but never actually played with,’’ Jakstys said. ‘‘At the beginning, we were sort of separated into Yorkville Christian guys and Yorkville. But everyone is together now.’’
The Foxes have won eight consecutive games and own victories against several good teams, including Dundee-Crown, Burlington Central, West Aurora, Naperville North and Romeoville.
Lucas Crosby led Huntley with 11 points, and Ian Ravagnie added 10 points and seven rebounds. The Red Raiders shot 6-for-33 from three-point range.
‘‘We shoot a lot of three-pointers, and we usually hit the rim occasionally,’’ Huntley coach Will Benson joked. ‘‘We couldn’t throw it in the ocean. It was just a weird game.
‘‘They are a good, athletic team and they didn’t have their best players. We lost our poise a little bit, which is what I was most disappointed in. The good thing is, we get to play [Tuesday].’’
