Senior point guard LJ Kerr brings a football mentality to the basketball court for Burlington Central.
You don’t get the opportunity to play college football — Kerr has committed to play football at Wisconsin-Oshkosh — without toughness. And he tries to bring that to his second love.
“I love that grit,” Kerr said of taking his football approach into the basketball season. “I have to carry that onto the court, too. Every sport should be physical. That’s the way I view it.”
Kerr kept up with his steady ways Friday night, producing nine points, three rebounds, two steals and two assists for the Rockets in a 61-49 Fox Valley Conference win at Dundee-Crown.
Kerr also added a blocked shot for Burlington Central (18-7, 9-3). Those final totals in all categories Friday closely resemble his overall season stats.
Jake Johnson and Patrick Shell paced the Rockets with 12 points apiece. Caden West added nine. Jared Russell led all scorers with 20 points for Dundee-Crown (10-11, 4-8).
Burlington Central coach Brett Porto knows that Kerr has taken great strides this season. He hears it from other coaches across the conference, including Dundee-Crown’s Lance Huber.
“I’ve known coach Huber a long time and we were talking before the game,” Porto said. “Other coaches can see it. His development from last year to this year is just tremendous.
“What he does for us, his composure, his ability to guard, get us into our actions, do a lot of little things, some that don’t show up on the stat sheet and some that do, has just been tremendous.”
Despite knowing his future lies on the football field, Kerr put in a lot of time to make the most of his final basketball season for the Rockets.
“Obviously, you know I’m a football guy, but I love this sport, too,” Kerr said. “I definitely put in a lot of hours on my jump shot. I hit one three last year, so I really wanted to work on that.
“I grind in this sport. It’s not just football.”
That football mentality has permeated through the basketball program, according to Porto.
“Toughness in sports wins,” he said. “His toughness comes through us. He just takes it to another level. That’s how we want our program to play, as tough as he is on both ends of the court.”
Johnson and Kerr started off the second quarter with 3-pointers, giving the Rockets the lead for good. Kerr hit another three in the third quarter that pushed the lead to 42-28.
The Rockets shot 4 of 10 from 3-point range in the second half, allowing them to pull away.
“They hit a ton of threes in the second half and that was the difference in the game,” Huber said. “We missed a bunch of close ones, some of it our own doing, some of it their length.
“They just keep coming at you. Making the threes is a dagger, especially when you feel like you have Johnson in check.”
Kerr, who’s playing through a dislocated finger, will not compete in track this spring. That means this basketball season is his last ride for the Rockets, and it’s something he thinks about often.
“Me and my boys talk about it all the time,” Kerr said. “It’s very sad thinking that this will be the last high school sport that I play. I’ve been playing with the dislocated finger for a month and a half.
“I didn’t even know I did it. I just have to keep that toughness. I’m playing through it and we’ll see what happens afterward.”
His college football career is on the horizon, but it’s the furthest thing on Kerr’s mind.
“I’m so excited,” Kerr said. “I’m looking forward to it, but I’m focused on this 100% right now.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
