Rare and difficult accomplishments require something special.
Beecher beat visiting St. Anne 81-45 on Tuesday to finish the regular season a perfect 30-0. The Bobcats are the first area team to finish unbeaten in a full regular season since 2020 (Indian Creek) and just the second since 2017 (Fremd).
Beecher’s bit of special is senior Adyn McGinley.
“His work ethic is unmatched,” Bobcats senior Ethan Rydberg said. “Drive past his house in the summer or winter, doesn’t matter the weather, and he’s out there shooting. And if you don’t seem him out there it is probably because he’s in a gym.”
McGinley is a four-year varsity player and Beecher is 89-16 in his tenure. He would be a 100-win player in his career if not for the abbreviated COVID season when the Bobcats went 8-1.
“We are 41-0 in this gym in Adyn’s four years,” Bobcats coach Tyler Shireman said. “And we have only lost two conference games in those four years, and Adyn didn’t play in those. He’s a special player.”
McGinley was a big-time scorer last season, averaging 20 points. That’s what his team needed. This year he has facilitated more and is down to 16.
“He did a really good job as a junior making sure everyone else got up to speed and now we’re off and running,” Shireman said.
Shireman said he started discussing the undefeated record with the team after the holidays. That’s uncommon. Most coaches tend to ignore it or tell the team to ignore it. Shireman didn’t want it to become “the elephant in the room.”
“Junior year all these guys stepped up with me,” McGinley said. “These are my best friends. I grew up with them, at all of their houses. I always thought we could do something special together, but definitely not undefeated and 30-0. We never thought that big.”
Beecher is a small town and until the last four years never had been a basketball hotbed. The school has won just one regional, back in 2007.
“You can see it up there,” McGinley said, pointing to the regional championship banner in the gym. “To win a regional for everyone would be incredible. It would put us in the [school Hall of Fame] and 10 years from now, we could all come back and see each other. That’s what we are shooting for.”
McGinley has interest from smaller Division III schools and NAIA colleges but is focused on seeing the season out before he commits.
McGinley is a good shooter, ballhandler and passer, and he’s a lefty. And he’s a winner. But the most attractive trait to any college coach will be what Rydberg has to say about his close friend and teammate.
“Adyn was good in eighth grade but he didn’t think that meant he was always going to be good,” Rydberg said. “He always works for it. It wasn’t always easy for him. He battled injuries. But I’ve never seen someone work so hard in my life.
“We all trust him. He brings us together in the bad moments. He’s always the first one to say something. He keeps us in check and he’s the one that got us to work harder than we ever would have.”
McGinley finished with 10 points and 10 assists against St. Anne (15-13). Zack Johnson led with 19 points, five rebounds and four assists and Rydberg added 13 points.
Next up for the Bobcats is the Carver vs. Lisle winner in the Class 2A Westmont Regional semifinals on Feb. 21.
Beecher’s path to state goes through the Joliet Central Supersectional, where they possibly would meet Phillips.
