By FRED KRONER
Ty Pence came into the basketball season as a varsity letter winner at St. Joseph-Ogden High School.
Most of his teammates were in the same club, with one major difference.
Pence is a freshman, who lettered in the fall as a receiver on a playoff-qualifying football team. Many of his basketball teammates were members of a 10-member senior class.
Pence eventually earned more than a letter in basketball. He gained status as the top boys’ basketball freshman in the state, regardless of size of school.
The honor was bestowed upon the 6-foot-4 Pence by Chicagoland Prep Hoops, an NCAA-compliant scouting service.
The football season was valuable, Pence said, but not from the standpoint of developing swagger as a varsity athlete.
“Football gave me the opportunity to meet most of the guys on the (basketball) team and I am very thankful of the way they took me in as one of their own,” Pence said.
“They gave me confidence and showed that they believed in me. We had many leaders on our team and they built everyone’s confidence, so that really helped me calm my nerves and perform to the best of my ability.”
Despite all of the adulation and the accolades, SJ-O head coach Kiel Duval emphasized one point about the standout freshman who started all 32 varsity games during his inaugural high school season.
“One of the cool things about Ty this year was we obviously pulled him up from the freshman team this year right away,” Duval said. “He still made a point to go to all the freshman games to support his classmates.
“Those are his guys. He still loves them. He knows that down the road they are going to be right there with him. Shows a lot about his character.”
Chicagoland Prep Hoops senior editor Seth Pote, who learned about Pence during the AAU circuit last summer, saw him play in person for the first time on Feb. 15 at the Riverton Shootout.
It only took Pote until the Spartans’ first points of the game were on the board for him to view Pence favorably.
“I was immediately impressed with the way he carried himself and his smoothness on the court,” Pote said. “The very first basket of the game for SJ-O was a Pence bucket.
“He started on the wing, drove the hoop and finished with a double-clutch layup.”
Pence, a shooting guard, didn’t stop there. He went on to score 28 points against West Hancock, a game SJ-O won 72-37.
“He has a knack for hitting shots with a high degree of difficulty and did so throughout the game,” Pote said. “He has a pretty well-rounded game for such a young player, but has the build, athleticism and room to grow that gives him a high ceiling as a college prospect.”
In his scouting report for Chicagoland Prep Hoops after the SJ-O game against West Hancock, Pote wrote:
“WOW! Ty Pence made possibly the best first impression a freshman has ever made on CPH. And that’s no hyperbole! 6-4 guard with size and lift on his jumper. Passing touch and feel on the wing already. Moves the ball well, gets a lot of hockey assists. Has plus game IQ and high skill level for his age. Great body control, showcased this on a steal and score in the open court with a finish off his off-foot and against solid defense. Really hit some tough shots. Handles will need to get tighter. Scored at all three levels. Can put ball on floor and attack from wing. Will get stronger as he gets older. Twenty-eight points for Pence, who will be a top five 2023 prospect in the initial rankings!”
To make sure that one game wasn’t an anomaly, Pote did additional research.
“I went back and watched some of his games on the NFHS website to further scout and research his ability,” he said.
“A few factors led to the decision to name him Freshman of the Year. He more than impressed when I was able to watch him in person, which left a lasting impression.
“He has the ability to be a very good college prospect, but his play on the court as only a freshman was a large factor.”
Pence finished the season averaging 12.9 points and 3.9 rebounds for the 23-9 Spartans. Pence hit 57 three-pointers for the season and made at least one three-pointer in 27 of his 32 games.
“He had one of the best stat lines of any freshman in the state,” Pote said. “Many of my trusted sources throughout the state also vouched for him as a player.”
Though Pence often made his play look effortless, he said the season offered difficulties.
“I was challenged every time I stepped on the court,” he said. “Guys were stronger and more athletic than anyone I had ever played against.
“I had to work every single play to succeed in our goals as a team. It was a tough experience and it pushed me to work as hard as I could every day.”
Pence didn’t have lofty expectations for his ninth-grade season in basketball.
“I accomplished my goal of contributing as a freshman,” he said, “and helping the team win.”
A major key to flourishing in his role, Pence said was the SJ-O head coach.
“Mr. Duval pushed me very hard to be the best, whether it was in the weight room or on the court,” Pence said. “He is a great coach and is going to lead us to success in the coming years.”
Duval regarded Pence as a potential varsity impact player even during the preseason.
“We had a good feeling we were going to need Ty this year because we knew he had an ability to score the basketball and his length and athleticism could help us out on both ends of the floor,” Duval said.
“We were really only bringing one scorer back from the previous year, and Ty gave us glimpses during the summer that he was going to be able to score at this level.”
The player’s overall effectiveness was due to the attitude Pence brought to the gym each day.
“He became a sponge,” Duval said. “He soaked everything up that we were talking about in practices to make himself a better player.
“I think there were times where at the beginning of the year that he started slow and people started to worry about him. He got better each game. By the end of the year, he established himself as a really good varsity basketball player.
“We told him from Day 1, ‘You are not a freshman anymore. You are a varsity basketball player. We are going to coach you that way.’ He took that in stride.”
The number of veteran players on the SJ-O roster helped keep Pence on his toes.
“With how many seniors we had returning, I knew that I would have to work hard to earn my playing time,” Pence said. “I was willing to step into any role they gave me.
“Our coaching staff does a great job scouting other teams, so our roles would change just about every game. We were all willing to fill in with any role they gave us day in and day out.”
Pence regards basketball as his favorite sport, but added, “I love baseball, too.”
When it came time for Pote to construct the blurb about Pence when the Chicagoland Prep Hoops announced its award winners, he wrote:
“Not well known outside of the central Illinois hoops circles, Pence is perhaps the most promising freshman in the state. He definitely had the most impactful season of any freshman, putting up 12.9 points and 3.9 rebounds a night for the 23-9 Spartans. Pence has all the tools to be the next big name out of central Illinois. The sky is the limit for the 6-4 guard.”
Pence said it’s important to give credit where it is due.
“I was very blessed to have the opportunity to play as a freshman and learn from all my teammates and coaches,” he said. “They are the ones that led me to be successful enough to win this award.”
Pence found himself in an unusual situation with SJ-O as a freshman. Often, when a ninth-grader gets a varsity uniform, it is out of need in a program that is rebuilding or else has a lack of veteran players.
The opposite was true for Duval’s program. He had 10 quality seniors on his most recent roster.
“Our guys love Ty,” Duval said. “He is a really good basketball player. He is an even better kid. He has a great personality. He is a smart kid.
“The players enjoy being around him. He is a very easy guy to root for. Our older guys knew from Day 1 they needed Ty. They knew that his progress was going to be essential to their success. They challenged him, but they were also his biggest fan.”
Pence worked his way into the starting lineup because his skills predicated that he should play. His performance demanded that he stay on the court.
Pence had the Spartans’ top rebounding performance of the season (12 against Cissna Park) and led (or shared) the team lead in scoring in 10 games and in rebounding in seven games. He was also the Spartans’ most accurate free throw shooter, hitting 79 percent of his attempts (49 of 62).
All the while, Pence carried himself like he belonged and displayed boundless confidence.
“I think some guys have this and some don’t,” Duval said. “We realized right away that Ty has the confidence to take any shot. He wants to hit that big shot at the end of games.
“There were multiple times this year where he hit a HUGE shot down the stretch that pulled us ahead of the opponent. It is nice to have a guy that has the guts to do it.”
Regardless of what the statistics reveal, Pence is not an athlete who makes it about himself.
“Ty is a multisport athlete that has made an impact on every program he has been involved with,” Duval said. “He is also an exceptional teammate.
“That in itself is a hard quality to find today with talented players. Ty wants his teammates to do really well.”
For all the good that Pence did, Duval said he is not the player he will be next year. Or the following year. Or the year after that.
“Ty has a very high basketball IQ,” Duval said. “He understands the game. He understands positioning. He moves like a basketball player on the floor.
“He had a good year shooting the basketball for us, and I think that he can be even better next year. Next season we are going to rely on him much more in two main areas. Rebounding and getting to the free throw line.
“These are areas that he is going to have to work on to become an elite player and really push his team to the next level. Both of these areas he is very capable of.
“He led our team in free throw percentage this year, so if he gets to the line, I like our chances for some easy buckets. There were also games where he had double digit rebounds. We know he’s capable of it. He is just going to have to do it with more consistency.”
Ty Pence is the third of Todd and Kendra Pence’s children to make a major impact on various SJ-O athletic teams. Jake Pence was an All-Area football player who started in basketball at guard for the 2016 Class 2A state championship team. Kenzie Pence was an All-Area softball player who started in the outfield for the 2017 Class 2A softball state runner-up team. She is playing collegiately at Illinois State University.
Ty Pence didn’t feel pressure to match his siblings’ achievements.
“I always looked up to them and now being in the position they were in is awesome,” Ty Pence said. “I think that being a freshman added the most pressure on me to succeed.
“Coach Duval told me at the beginning of the season that it would be a huge step from playing 13-14-year-olds in eighth grade to now playing kids that are four years older than me.
“To alleviate that pressure, I just tried to work my hardest in whatever I did and prove that I belonged out there with these older guys.”
Ty Pence recognizes that there is still more work to do.
“I feel like the best thing I did this year was developing as a varsity basketball player,” Pence said. “By the end of the season, I was fixing mistakes I had been making at the beginning of the season and becoming very successful.
“The area that I know I need to improve on is being a leader. Without the 10 seniors next year, we are going to need someone who can lead the team and keep everyone together.”
The list below shows recent Freshmen of the Year, as chosen by Chicagoland Prep Hoops. The 2017 recipient, Duke recruit D.J. Steward (now at Chicago Whitney Young), was chosen as the 2020 State Player of the Year.
Duval said there is a challenge that awaits Pence.
“(Freshman of the Year) is a big compliment to Ty,” Duval said. “He has put in the work to earn that recognition. I think now it is up to him to keep pushing and not be complacent.
“He needs to work to be even better next year and keep improving. The best players are grateful for their accomplishments, but are never satisfied with those.
“It is a lot of work to be great. Ty is a smart enough player to know that. He needs to keep finding ways to improve himself.”
Recent CPH Freshman of the Year Recipients
2020 Ty Pence SG St. Joseph-Ogden
2019 Kam Craft SG Buffalo Grove
2018 Max Christie SG Rolling Meadows
2017 D.J. Steward SG Fenwick
2016 Marquise Walker PG Westchester St. Joseph
2015 Kezo Brown SG Simeon
