First family of Lyons Township hoops: Niego family carries on quite a tradition over the years

The unofficial first family of Lyons Township High School boys basketball is having an unusual winter.

With the high school season in Illinois on pause because of the COVID-19 pandemic, no games are being played in the Lyons Township field house.

Hence, for the first time in eight years, there is not a Niego playing varsity basketball for Lyons.

That remarkable run began with Harrison, now 24 years old, in the 2012-13 season. Two years later, when Harrison was a senior, his brother Connor and cousin Noah, both now 21, joined him on varsity as sophomores.

Nolan, now 20, joined Connor and Noah on varsity for two years. Nolan then played one season, 2018-19, with Grant. Last season, Grant, now 19, was the only Niego on varsity.

But he’s not the end of the line.

Jackson, 16, would be playing sophomore basketball if not for the pandemic. Given his pedigree, he’s a good bet to be the sixth Niego to play varsity basketball in the 2021-22 season.

So when Jackson is a senior during the 2022-23 season, one or more Niego will have played varsity basketball for Lyons in 10 of 11 seasons.

It’s an amazing run, one that may never be matched in school history.

And it feels like it was meant to happen.

The boys’ father Joe and mother Julie both played basketball in high school, Joe at De La Salle and Julie at Schaumburg. They both played collegiately at Lewis University.

The family tradition as teammates began when Joe and his three brothers were in the starting five at Lewis, snaring national media attention. Joe was drafted by the Houston Rockets in 1987, but didn’t make the cut.

While Joe and Julie may have been star athletes, they didn’t plan to have their own starting five.

“We didn’t want to be the screaming parents on the sideline, living their life through their kids,” Joe said. “We pulled away from sports all together. Then we have one son, then another, then five boys. They’re the ones who dragged us in.”

Harrison started playing with a Little Tykes basketball game in the basement. His brothers followed. A fuse was lit.

“They gravitated toward basketball,” Joe said. “Then you have a hoop outside and, all of a sudden, they’re paying together and the rest is history. That’s the one sport you can do together with smaller numbers.”

Harrison, who played at Indiana University for a year as a walk-on and then at Hillsdale College in Michigan, said it would have been hard to not become a basketball player.

“When you have [four] brothers who are also passionate about it, it’s hard not to get into it, especially how competitive we are,” Harrison said.

Nolan’s face lit up when he recalled winning a regional with his brother Grant.

“That was a special year,” Nolan said. “Not only did we have success as a team, but me and Grant got to play together. From fourth grade to eighth grade, we were on the same travel team. We knew each other’s games really well. I kind of knew what he was thinking before he did what he did.”

Grant smiled recalling their on-court connection.

“We did back-door cuts,” Grant said. “I followed him on threes. There were times I knew he was ready [for a pass]. There was a connection, for sure.”

That connection carries on. Grant and Nolan are both playing this season for DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana. Connor, who played three years for Holy Cross, is now at Lewis University. Noah played a year at Loras.

Jackson followed the examples he saw.

“A lot of people look up to NBA players, which is cool and all, but watching them play it’s like, ‘I can do that. I can mimic them,’ " Jackson said.

Julie said the sport led to a busy life.

“We’d never be home on weekends,” Julie said. “Never.”

Julie is a part-time teacher and Joe works in real estate. Both are busy with Chicago LockDown, a youth basketball program they started that has about 300 players.

The boys played in the program. Jackson still plays in the summer, coached by Harrison.

“He has a well-polished game,” Harrison said. “He’s definitely on his way to achieving what he wants. If you want to get where you want to go, this is what it takes. A lot of kids need to hear that. ... To play college basketball is a lot of work. I think it’s 1% of all high school players play in college.”

Four of the brothers and one cousin have played college ball.

“We put in the sweat equity to be the best we can be,” Nolan said. “It’s more of the focused goal rather than do something for a certain status. What it comes down to is we want to win. ... For us, it’s always been about winning, about playing with brothers.”

Not playing for Lyons this winter because of the pandemic has been tough, Jackson said.

“If we have a season, [I will] try to come back in the best shape possible,” he said.

If he’s like his brothers, Jackson won’t be nervous in a tied game with three seconds to play.

He’ll recall Grant’s advice.

“Act like you’ve done it before.”

And he’ll think of Nolan telling him to keep his cool.

“That comes from preparedness, from knowing you’ve gone as hard as you could in practice and you’ve given 110% to your game,” Nolan said. “So when that crunch time comes, you’re ready. It’s hard to be flustered when you’ve played so much.

“We’ve played so many games in our lifetime,” Nolan added. “Five-on-five in a team, three-on-three out back, we’ve been through the ringer in situations, especially playing three or four games in a day in travel ball. There isn’t much we haven’t seen.”