Freshman guard Jayden Alford may be Yorkville Christian’s young pup, but he’s proving to be more than capable of running with the big dogs.
Was he surprised to join older brother Tray, a junior guard, on the Mustangs’ varsity this season?
“A little bit, to be honest,” Jayden said. “I feel like I still need to work on my body and get stronger. During the summer, I wasn’t really comfortable, but I started lifting and doing my pushups.
“Now, I just feel more comfortable. I try not to let the crowd or people get in my head. Blocking out the noise and playing free is my goal.”
Jayden came off the bench Tuesday night as he usually does, leading Yorkville Christian in scoring with 11 points in a 66-53 loss to visiting Fenger of the Public League’s Red South.
Senior guard Jayden Riley and senior forward Carter Wells and junior guard Jordan Purvis added nine points apiece for the Mustangs (10-5), who suffered a third straight loss.
Demarion Clark led Fenger (8-9), which had three players score in double figures, with 16 points.
The youngest Alford brother, however, opened some eyes.
“Jayden does a good job of giving us a spark off the bench,” Yorkville Christian coach Aaron Sovern said of Alford. “Unfortunately, we need those sparks too much because our starts have been slow, even going back to the tournament we won in Wisconsin when we beat the No. 3 team in their state’s biggest class after trailing 14-3.
“From top to bottom, and I’m starting with myself, we have to get better. We had an off night in all facets. Fenger didn’t do anything we didn’t know about. We’ve played them three times in our history, and they play hard and get after it.”
Fenger never trailed in a game featuring nearly 20 turnovers and 20 fouls on each side. It was tied four times in the first quarter and finally a fifth — 39-39 late in the third quarter — before the Titans finally extended it above nine points midway through the fourth.
The 6-foot Jayden Alford is two inches taller than his older brother. Tray, a second-year starter after being the team’s sixth man as a freshman, isn’t surprised Jayden was ready for varsity.
They live in Oswego and have no other siblings, but Tray pointed to Jayden Riley, the Mustangs’ team leader and SIU Edwardsville recruit, as being like another brother in the family.
“We call them Big Jay and Little Jay,” Tray said. “Little Jayden has grown up playing with us.”
Both Tray Alford and Jayden Riley have “pushed me to be the best version of myself I can be,” Jayden Alford said. “It’s tough to guard Jayden in practice because of his strength and he’s shifty.
“In a game, people are doubling him because they know he’s the star player so he can look in the corner for me because I’m usually wide open. His passes do catch me by surprise sometimes.”
His coach has gotten more and more comfortable with the younger Alford.
“He just comes and plays,” Sovern said. “I’ve tried to ease him in a little bit. We didn’t want to throw him to the wolves. We have a tough schedule that doesn’t let up in the second half.
“You jump on that treadmill after Christmas and it doesn’t slow down.”
Games against Leo, a strong Unity Christian, as well as Metamora and Neuqua Valley remain on the schedule.
“Honestly, getting in there and rebounding and his defense are his strengths,” Tray Alford said of his younger brother. “He’s led the team in rebounding a couple games. He can shoot, too.”
That included three 3-pointers on Tuesday.
“His playing time has gradually progressed,” Sovern said. “It’s getting to the point where I have trouble taking him out.”