Sharp-shooting Collin Greenlee muscles up for Woodstock

The skinny on slender Collin Greenlee is that he had phat shooting skills during those Dacy Street duals several years ago.

He fatted up on driveways with a basketball in his hands.

So says Max Beard, Greenlee’s Woodstock basketball teammate. The two hoops junkies were neighbors, about three houses down from each other, on Dacy Street in Woodstock.

“I’ve know him since about sixth grade,” Beard said. “I’d go to his house and we’d ‘1 v. 1′ for hours a day. We’d get as many kids as we could. He had a hoop in his backyard, so we would just play as long as we could during the summers.”

Fierce ballers balled.

“I used to win,” Greenlee, who’s two grades older than Beard, said with a laugh. “But he’s gotten pretty darn good. It was always fun. It was competitive.”

Here’s how much Greenlee likes a challenge. He says after his junior season last year, Woodstock coach Ryan Starnes looked at the 140-pound string-bean shooter and gave it to him straight. Starnes told Greenlee that he needed to get physically stronger.

“Coach Starnes said that I had to if I wanted to be good ... and play,” Greenlee said. “I knew it, he knew it, so I just did it. I just had to. All my skills were there, he said. I had to get stronger. I worked on it, and I did.”

Last week, with 10 pounds of muscle added on his 5-foot-11 frame, Greenlee made Woodstock basketball history. He sank his school-record 95th 3-pointer of the season in the first quarter against Woodstock North and added one more 3 in an overtime win, as the Blue Streaks wrapped up the regular season.

Evan Bridges’ 94 3-pointers in the 2017-18 season had stood as the school record.

“It shows that a lot of my hard work has paid off,” said Greenlee, who plays the point and has shown volleyball-line range on his jumper this season. “It’s really cool knowing that I’m always going to have history in the high school.

“Until someone else breaks it,” he added, grinning.

After last season, Greenlee hit the weights at home, at school and at a local gym. He soon realized the muscle helped him increase his jump-shot range and made him less likely to get bullied on the court.

Starnes considers the first-year starter one of his team’s best defenders. Greenlee and the sophomore Beard have been the Streaks' top two scorers all season and have helped the team win 20 games for the second year in a row.

Woodstock (20-11) opens the state tournament Wednesday against Rochelle (10-19) in the Class 3A Freeport Regional.

“A lot of it, I’d say, is on defense,” Greenlee said of the benefit of his added muscle. “A year ago, on defense, I would get pushed around. I’d get scored on a lot. Now, I’d say I’m one of our good defenders. I can hold my own.”

Greenlee was the Blue Streaks' sixth man last season and was productive in the role, but his potential wasn’t going to be reached unless he committed to adding healthy weight.

“He came off the bench and drained 3s, left and right,” Beard said. “He’s always had a really nice shot. He’s always been really focused on basketball, but I think the weight room is what separated him. He got in the weight room, got his game up and still focused on basketball.”

Last fall, Greenlee joined Beard in training with Woodstock hoops legend and longtime coach Marty Dello. Greenlee said he’s worked on a lot on his shooting with Dello and still works with him on Sundays.

Starnes has seen the positive effects of Greenlee’s work at both ends on the court. Greenlee’s second half of the season has included a stretch of five 20-point-plus efforts in six games. And while hardly a bully at 150 pounds, he’s shown he’s strong enough to defend tough guards.

Basketball is the only sport Greenlee plays at Woodstock.

“He just controls the game, he handles the ball so well for us, and – and this is a credit to the weight-room [work] – he’s an incredible defender," Starnes said. “It’s a credit to him and the time that he’s put in. He deserves to play college basketball if he wants to. I hope he does, because I still think his best basketball is ahead of him.”