Yorkville Christian junior Jayden Riley is the Record Newspapers Player of the Year

Jayden Riley is a gifted scorer on the basketball court, from anywhere on the court.

But that’s not his best gift.

As a player, and as a person, Riley thinks of others. The Yorkville Christian junior is what was once considered an “old school” point guard, thinking pass first.

Riley averaged 23 points per game, and in December became the fifth Yorkville Christian player to reach 1,000 career points. But what sticks out to his coach the most were two wins that Riley didn’t take a single shot.

“He made it a goal to get other people involved,” Yorkville Christian coach Aaron Sovern said. “It is rare that you have a player of that caliber that will sacrifice like that.”

Riley did whatever he was asked.

He had huge scoring games, like his scintillating 39-point effort in the Plano Christmas Classic championship game against Kaneland. He set school records for assists in a game (20), and season.

He led Yorkville Christian to 21 wins, the championship game at Plano for the first time, and a regional final. Riley, IBCA Class 1A first team All-State, averaged 23 points, 8.5 assists, 4.5 rebounds, shot 53% from the floor and 83% at the free throw line.

He is the Record Newspapers Player of the Year.

Riley remembers his two games without taking a shot, especially his 20-assist game on senior night, and not for what it meant to him.

“It was senior night, I wanted them to have all the fun, I was trying to get everybody theirs so they could all have fun, so they could play like it was a good memory for them,” Riley said. “That might have been the last game that some of them played, they might not play in the playoffs. I wanted it to be a good night.”

That’s the kind of selfless, inclusive attitude that Sovern sees every day, and not just on the court.

“He is the kid that if he sees somebody by themselves at the lunch table he is going to sit with them,” Sovern said. “He is a leader in that sense. More so than anyone else, he is looking out for everybody, to make every everybody is included.”

Riley estimated that he first touched a basketball when he was 2 years old. His mom was his first basketball teacher, thought of it as a hobby that he might one day take seriously.

When he was 3 or 4 she taught him ball handling drills in the driveway. Drills that mom took quite seriously.

“She would make me dribble the ball and walk, and I would have to touch the ground at the same time, keep my hand on the ground while I was dribbling,” Riley said. “I couldn’t do it. She had me keep doing it. I did it a week or two later.”

In a third-grade PE class Riley noticed fliers for the Oswego Panthers feeder program, where he met current teammate Tray Alford’s dad, who coached.

“That was the first team I played on. I always played up with the older kids,” Riley said. “That’s where I fell in love with the game.”

Riley admits that he was not always the best shooter, so he would have to find different ways to score. As a freshman at Oswego High School, playing against bigger and stronger boys, Riley recalled having his shot blocked four times in a game.

“My coach after that, the whole practice was like ‘pull-ups,’” Riley said. “Things like that made it easier to score.”

Indeed, Riley has a medium-range game that would be a sight for sore eyes for old-school fans. And he’s very difficult to stop near the basket, whether finishing for himself or others.

“He’s not heavy, but he’s strong,” Sovern said. “He’s able to get his shoulders parallel to the baseline, finish off two feet, and he practices those finishes.”

Riley’s game beyond the arc has come over time. Sovern said when Riley first came to Yorkville Christian as a sophomore defenders would routinely go underneath screens on pick-and-rolls against him. This year Riley increased his volume of 3-point shots made, and bumped his percentage from 30% to 33%. He made 7 of 11 threes against Kaneland.

“He is a respectable percentage and he had over 50 makes,” Sovern said. “That is the next progression, to make people pay underneath.”

Riley indeed said it would make passes easier, and open up the midrange game which is his favorite shot.

The improvement is a testament to Riley’s work ethic. Sovern said it’s commonplace for Riley to be in the gym at 6 a.m. by himself getting up shots.

“I’ve found that it’s fun going in the morning, nobody is there, working on the little things to get to the next level, things I need to do,” Riley said. “My goal is to play Division I basketball. I need to find ways to separate myself.”

Riley heeds his mom’s reminders to stay motivated. He holds scholarship offers from Northern Illinois and Western Illinois. Sovern thinks the recruiting will blow up in the spring.

Riley is hopeful, and not just for himself.

“Really big to play in college,” Riley said. “It’s just me and my mom. I don’t want her to pay for college. I want to make sure she’s happy, and I’m happy. I think it would be pretty cool if I’m in college and she didn’t have to pay. She could come to the games and just sit and watch.”