Jan 21, 2012
By Joe Szynkowski, Photos by Chris Kays
Chase Heins can post you up, back you down and overpower you to the bucket. The fact that he doesn’t have to may be the most powerful part of his game.
Trico’s 6-foot-7, 240-pound senior has implemented facets of finesse into his highlight reels, including a graceful hook shot that he can knock down with either hand. He is also shifty enough to go up and under his defenders and skilled enough to swish a spot-up jumper over them. This array of options makes Trico one of the top 2A teams in the region.
“He has great post moves,” said Pioneers coach Shane Hawkins. “A lot of high school basketball players don’t have the moves that he has. He’s always had a very soft touch. First we worked with the right-handed jump hook. Now I think the left-handed jump hook may be his best move.”
“That’s what they’ve been telling me,” Heins said of his left-handed hook. “We practice it every day. It’s something that I’ve been doing since I was a freshman.”
Steady hands and quick feet make Heins a mismatch under the rim. He averages nearly 13 points and nine rebounds per game – nearly identical numbers from last season (14.5 points and 7.5 boards). His power game has progressed tremendously from his freshman season.
“He came in and started as a freshman, probably around 6-foot-4, 260 pounds,” Hawkins said. “He really couldn’t go chest to chest with people. A lot of people were blocking his shots.”
That’s where the hook shot came in handy.
“He was very good at it, but maybe didn’t have the confidence to do it in a game,” Hawkins said. “Once he got a few in some games, we kept harping on him to work on that hook shot.”
Heins started as a freshman, experiencing a type of “baptism by fire,” according to Hawkins. The bulky center has also gained invaluable experience in AAU basketball, playing in 120 games one summer for the Illinois Bears. “It gives you the competition against the bigger, stronger people to go up against,” Heins said. “We get to travel to Chicago, Indianapolis, St. Louis, and Kentucky.”
Heins played AAU ball again this summer, but also poured sweat in the Pioneers weight room. He gained 15 pounds of muscle in the offseason to help handle the constant double-teams that his opponents use against him.
“I think he saw some success in the weight room from the early goings, and when you see those results it becomes enjoyable to you,” Hawkins said. “He’s been our leader in the weight room. He never cheats on sets or reps. He always gives maximum effort.”
Trico senior guard Dylan Witthoft can second that notion. Heins’ lifting partner throughout the summer says, “He pushes me like crazy.”
“He’s a load down low,” Witthoft said. “We don’t have anybody in practice who can even guard him … I get stuck on him every now and then, and when I do, I’m calling for help.”
Witthoft isn’t the only one calling for help, especially in games. Heins has been drowned in double-teams down low all season. The end result has been more open shots for Wiffhoft, Daron Meyerhoff and George Kuhlman.
“It can be frustrating sometimes, especially if they’re taller than you, longer and facing up,” said Heins, who scored his 1,000th career point early in the season. “I’ve tried to get better at seeing the whole floor and getting the ball to the open man.”
Hawkins says the size of Heins’ muscles matches the power of his mind. “He has a very high basketball IQ,” he said. “And he’s blessed with good size and very good strength, but he just has a very good understanding of how the game is played.”
While Heins was bulking up this summer, it was announced that Trico’s postseason schedule would do the same. The IHSA moved the school’s boy’s basketball team from Class 1A to 2A, which will probably lead to tougher competition come regional time. After a record-setting mark of 30-3 last year, Trico would have been one of the favorites to go to state this season in 1A.
“I think it may have affected our guys in the summer because the announcement from the IHSA kind of came out of nowhere,” Hawkins said. “It just took us aback a little bit.”
Not much has changed during the regular season for the Pioneers. They still loaded their schedule with 2A schools and tough tournaments, including the Carbondale Holiday Tournament at SIU Arena that they won last season. Trico won three out of its four games against bigger schools at this season’s edition of the long-running tourney, including its fifth-place game victory over Hazelwood West.
“Those tournament games help us immensely,” Hawkins said. “We’re not used to playing those types of teams that are so long and quick. It kind of takes us out of our comfort zone and we learn how to handle different situations.”
Heins averaged 13 points and 12 rebounds per game during the Carbondale tournament.
“It helps him to go against guys more his size, who are maybe a little longer or stronger than him,” Hawkins said. “If he has a fault, it may be that he is a little too unselfish. You get him the ball down low and he wants to kick it out and get everybody else involved. Sometimes he just needs to get a little more selfish with the ball.”
When Heins plays well, the Pioneers usually win. He was limited to six points earlier this season in a loss against Black Diamond West rival Sesser-Valier.
“He makes everybody else’s jobs easier,” said Witthoft, who has been playing organized basketball with Heins since they were six years old. “You know that if you get the ball down to him, he can go one-on-one with anybody.”
The Pioneers have lost in the 1A sectionals to Meridian in each of the past two seasons. The early exits from the postseason motivated Heins, and pushed him during his long workouts and countless hook shots over the summer. With the upgrade to 2A playoff competition, this year’s finish may ultimately rest on Trico’s ability to control the clock and win the battle under the basket. If it does, the Pioneers say they have their man.
“As a four-year starter, people aren’t going to do anything to him that he hasn’t seen before,” Hawkins said. “He understands that everything we try to do on offense is from the basket out.
“He’s also just an unbelievable kid to coach. He comes from a great family and he works very hard in the weight room, in practice and in games. You make a suggestion and he goes out there and tries it on the next possession or the next play in practice. A lot of kids in today’s society don’t like to be told what to do but Chase bought into our system from day one.”
Joe Szynkowski is a freelance writer for SISC. Send him a story idea, read more of his work or contact him through his website at www.joeszynkowski.com.
