Aidan Akkawi does double duty, helps lead Downers Grove North past Downers Grove South

DOWNERS GROVE – Downers Grove North senior forward Aidan Akkawi does not have a nuclear reactor inside of him.

But nobody, including him, has figured out where he gets his tremendous energy from.

“I don’t even know,” Akkawi said. “I just try to eat as much as I can the day before and just hydrate and have fun with playing my sports.”

The 6-foot-4 Akkawi’s sports are volleyball and basketball, and he’s darn good in both of them. He’s committed to play volleyball at Lindenwood, a Division I school in Missouri, but he loves basketball so much that he somehow has found a way to compete in club volleyball while starting for the Trojans this winter.

“Sometimes I don’t even plan to take him off the floor, but then I realized that he’s played two or three volleyball games before and maybe I should get him some rest,” Downers North coach Jim Thomas said. “But he’s just unbelievably conditioned both mentally and physically.”

A typical weekend sees Akkawi literally going from one sport to the other.

“Last week, we played Friday at Oak Park, then he went up to Milwaukee Saturday morning and played a few games, came back and showed up for our 2:30 p.m. game at De La Salle,” Thomas said. “His efforts have just been unbelievable.”

Akkawi did double duty again this weekend. He played for the Trojans in Friday night’s loss to Hinsdale Central, then played a club tournament on Saturday in Bedford Park.

“I woke up maybe around 6 o’clock, got there at 7. We played at 8, 10 and 1 today, then I made it back for our walk-through and we just got right to it at this game.”

Akkawi wasted no time getting down to business after the 6 p.m. tip-off against crosstown rival Downers Grove South. In the first quarter, he made two free throws, got a defensive rebound and fired a long pass that senior guard Nolan Hurter turned into a three-point play, split a pair of free throws and final sank two more foul shots to give the visiting Trojans a 15-3 lead.

By the time Hurter made two free throws with 6:11 left in the second half, the lead was 21-4 and the Trojans rolled to a 59-41 victory.

Hurter was outstanding, scoring a game-high 19 points on 7 of 11 shooting, a team-high six rebounds, two assists and two steals. The point total was the second-highest of his career.

Senior guard Jack Crowley added 13 points, five rebounds and four steals for the Trojans (9-1), while senior forward Bobby Grganto added 10 points.

Akkawi made only one basket but finished with eight points, five rebounds, two assists and a block. Not bad for someone who barely had time to eat, let alone relax.

“It just means a lot because he doesn’t even have to be playing basketball this year,” Hurter said. “The fact that he’s able to make these sacrifices and literally get off a flight and then come play a game, or drive down from Milwaukee to play a game, it just means so much for our team.

“He’s always making big plays and he’s always playing hard, even if he’s tired. He’s an animal.”

One that won’t be tamed.

The Mustangs (4-3), who got 11 points from Adam Flowers and 10 points and four steals from Wyatt Wawro, cut the deficit to 29-20 at halftime. But the Trojans responded with an 18-8 run, capped by a great dish from Akkawi to Grganto, who converted a 3-point play for a 47-28 lead at the 5:51 mark of the fourth quarter.

Akkawi later made another free throw and scored on a putback of a Horter miss to make it 53-33.

“His efforts have just been unbelievable,” Thomas said of Akkawi. “My favorite part about him is he fit in so well with last year’s group and then he has a completely different role but fits in so well with this group.

“He’s just an ultimate teammate type guy, just goes out there and competes at a high level. I can’t say enough good things about him.”

Akkawi’s schedule will continue to be filled to the brim. He has been selected to participate in in the USA Volleyball National Team Development Program’s Boys Indoor Winter Training Series on Dec. 27-30 in Anaheim, Calif.

Those players will compete for spots on the U-19 national team that will compete at the 2025 Pan Am Cup next summer in Guatemala.

Akkawi has a bright future in volleyball, but he’s savoring his final season of basketball and relishing the chance to bring more smiles to the faces of his teammates and coaches.

“It’s my last time so I’m just trying to enjoy it as much as possible,” Akkawi said. “I come to practice with a great attitude. I want to be with my teammates all the time, so I just try to have as much fun as possible.”