2023 All-Area boys' basketball Player of the Year: Pence puts on a show in prep finale

Apr. 9—ST. JOSEPH — Sports, at any level, are expected to include some semblance of fun regardless of the level they're being played at.

This is a big reason why Ty Pence eventually decided basketball — not baseball, not football, not golf — would be his go-to venture. He had the most fun playing it.

"Basketball is the sport I enjoy most," the St. Joseph-Ogden senior said, "and it's something I really like going out to do with my friends."

Once an athlete begins reaching certain heights in a sport, though, the story can change.

Pence found that to be true with basketball as his prowess and success led to an increase in college recruiting attention throughout his high school career.

"Basketball wasn't as fun during that, and I felt like I had a lot of pressure on me," Pence said. "I was kind of thrown to the wolves, and I had to grow up fast."

When Pence decided in July 2022 that he'd verbally commit to coach Ryan Pedon's Illinois State men's basketball program — a commitment he honored by signing with the Redbirds the following November — the story again could change for Pence.

And it did in his senior season with coach Kiel Duval's Spartans.

"That was pretty cool, to see him ... just (all) smiles and just playing ball, as opposed to kind of what was involved the year before," said Kendra Pence, Ty's mother. "That was one of my favorite things this year: I saw him smiling on the court again. I saw him having fun."

Freed from the burden of college recruiting, Ty let loose in his last high school hoops campaign. He's the 2023 News-Gazette All-Area boys' basketball Player of the Year as a result.

The 6-foot-6 guard averaged 26.6 points and 7.0 rebounds for a 27-win SJ-O team, which captured its second consecutive Class 2A regional championship and secured the State Farm Holiday Classic small-school championship along the way.

In that regional final versus Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin, Ty dropped a cool 45 points. It's the sort of performance that comes from simply being allowed to hoop it up, rather than worrying about who might be watching.

"It definitely was back to something that I loved again," Ty said. "I'm really proud of me and my guys this season. I feel like we went into practice every day wanting to get better, and I feel like that showed on the court."

Prepping for the future

Ty's senior year of high school could have looked far different, however.

He might not have worn the Spartans' maroon, white and Columbia blue at all.

"There were (colleges) in the recruiting process that wanted him at a bigger school, at a prep school," said Todd Pence, Ty's father. "We made the decision to stay here and be committed. We think that goes a long way."

The Pences found themselves surprised by the cutthroat nature of high-level college basketball recruitment, as well as the associated push from prep schools in which Ty could hone his basketball craft around like-minded athletes.

Kendra and Todd had helped daughter Kenzie decide on her college future, as she spent four seasons playing softball at Illinois State. But Ty's case was something new and entirely different.

"Some colleges even go as far as, 'We need this to happen or (we'll move on).' ... Especially prep school-wise, they weren't taking 'no' for an answer," Kendra said. "We were looking at having to send him to La Porte, Indiana, or Los Angeles or Atlanta. They kept calling."

Pressure became especially heavy in Ty's junior year and the summer before his senior year, prior to him picking Illinois State.

All along, he knew what his answer would be to any prep school that came calling, or any college that wanted to steer him toward one.

"It definitely was tough, but I didn't second-guess myself at all with that," Ty said. "I wanted to stay here because this is where I've grown up and this community has been great to me my whole life.

"To be able to play one more year with my best friends, it was just something that I'm super happy I got to be part of."

Pressure points

Of course, Ty became accustomed to pressure raining down on him in other ways as his basketball stock rose.

Pressure to adapt and improve his game, for example. Ty remembers one famous example, from playing in an AAU game with Gavin Sullivan's Midwest Prospect Academy program.

"I used to jump and pass the ball all the time. ... I jumped up and passed one time and turned it over, and (Sullivan) called a timeout," Ty said. "He yelled at me from the time that I walked to the huddle (to) when I walked out."

Ty doesn't take such happenings personally, whether they happen with Sullivan, Duval or anyone else who has amassed more basketball knowledge than Ty might possess.

"It is tough in the moment, but in the overall scheme of things, they're doing that for me," Ty said. "They want me to be the best player I can, and in those moments where they're teaching me ... (I) bring in everything they're saying and just listen to them."

Less helpful to Ty was the pressure and taunts he'd face from opposing fans. A common issue presented to many standout high school, college and professional athletes, but not always an easy one to deal with regardless.

"There were some games that I left (and) I would come home and go in the back room and I would cry because I was just worried about him," Kendra said. "Some of them are ruthless. So it was hard to watch him, knowing all that we were going through with the recruiting stuff."

"When it gets personal, that makes it hard. And then it's adults, too. ... It's something else out of that parents," added Todd, superintendent at St. Joseph Grade School. "We always tried to talk to him about it. It's, 'Really you need to take it as a compliment because they aren't yelling at the number 13 kid on the bench.'

"You just need to play the game and do it the right way."

Communication is an interesting talking point when it comes to Ty's high school basketball career.

Ty tended to keep to himself more often early in the college recruitment process. His parents wanted to hear what he was thinking in certain situations, in order to assist with any decision-making.

"Getting him to open up (with) what he's thinking, so we can be on the same page and be supportive," Todd said. "They're not just looking at the athlete. They're looking at the families, and there's lots of talent out there. They don't want to put up with crazy families."

"The coaches aren't just calling him. They're calling us. They're calling his siblings," Kendra added. "Things change all the time ... so then trying to communicate all of that with each other got hard, because it was stressful on everybody."

Part of the maturation process Ty refers to included being willing to share college-related thoughts with his parents.

"I learned to be able to talk with people and express my emotions," Ty said. "I feel like I grew up a lot in the past year with having to go through all of that."

Support system

A younger Ty didn't have to contend with college recruitment as part of growing up.

Instead, it was older brother Jake challenging him in the family home's driveway or backyard.

"Jake didn't cut him any slack," Kendra said. "They played, what'd you call it, slam ball, where they would just go at each other. We had a hoop pulled up over the top of the net of the trampoline.

"Ty was never a kid that played with a bunch of toys. He played with his little Nerf hoop always. He'd drag it from room to room when he was 2 years old and play basketball."

Ty remembers participating in three-point shooting contests in the driveway of Logan Smith, SJ-O's point guard the past two seasons and one of the Ty's neighbors. Fellow Spartans like McGwire Atwood, Maddux Carter, Jack Wetzel, Alex Funk and Aidan Moberg would gather for these shootarounds.

"We were always super competitive, and it was fun," Ty said. "They challenged me."

Ty began to realize in the summer before entering high school that he might need to ramp up his attention toward basketball.

"That year is when I started playing AAU more seriously with a serious program," Ty said, "and I think that's when I really started to work super hard at it, and when I tried to push myself above other people."

The COVID-19 pandemic offered a fork in the road for Ty, as it did with other athletes throughout the state.

Ty recognized his good fortune in that he could access an otherwise-empty St. Joseph Middle School gymnasium thanks to his father's work. Ty also engaged in body-weight exercises that allowed him to alter his body in positive ways. Some helpful connections formed in the months and years to come. Such as one with former Centennial, Illinois and professional basketball player Trent Meacham. Ty began working with him in 2020.

"I don't deserve too much credit," Meacham said. "He's a very gifted athlete. He's just very smooth, very fluid. ... He's a hard worker. He cares. He wants to be great. And that's a good recipe for a good athlete and a good career in any sport."

Meacham said training sessions between the two would include plenty of skill work intended to make Ty an all-around stronger player.

"A lot of footwork, his handles, his shot, finishing around the basket — we worked on everything," Meacham said. "Trying to challenge him in expanding his game and becoming more efficient, become quicker, especially (becoming) more patient and balanced once he gets into the paint."

Kendra noted that Meacham also aided Ty with off-the-court aspects of basketball, saying the two sometimes would sit down at a restaurant to just talk.

"It's about enjoying the whole process. It's not about getting caught up in the noise around him, whether that's positive or negative," Meacham said. "That's what I've tried to encourage throughout the past few years."

Ty also worked last summer with another former Centennial and Illinois men's basketball player in Michael Finke. Kendra is a family friend of the Finkes.

"We worked on lots of skills with the wing position," Ty said. "It really helped me grow as a scorer, and I really enjoyed working with him."

Asked if there's one facet of the game in which Ty has most improved during the last few years, Meacham finds it difficult to narrow the list.

"He's a versatile player. He's not a one-dimensional guy," Meacham said. "This isn't a kid that's just, 'Oh, he's a shooter,' or 'He's a great athlete, but he doesn't have the skill.' He's growing in every area of his game."

Next stop: Normal

Kendra and Todd have been along for the entire basketball ride, as have Ty's siblings and other family members.

The Pences are a sports-loving crew. It likely was inevitable that Ty would travel some sort of athletics-centric path during his life.

"Growing up at travel-ball tournaments for my brother and sister ... that's another reason why I enjoy (sports) so much," Ty said. "I've just grown up around it, and I've really been able to watch them, Jake and Kenzie, as my role models and been able to see them succeed in their sports and want to be like them."

Kendra and Todd encouraged each of their children to try out whichever sports they wanted growing up.

Kendra formerly held Tuscola High School's girls' three-point shooting record, until 2023 News-Gazette All-Area Player of the Year Ella Boyer eclipsed it. Todd was a four-sport standout at Gilman High School, and he walked on with Illinois State's baseball team.

"Even our parents — (Todd's) mother and my parents — our whole family, both sides, everybody loves their sports," Kendra said. "(The kids) loved what we love, so we got very lucky because we didn't have to push them ever. I have never had to say to Ty or Jake or Kenzie, 'Go get in the gym. Go get in the cage.' They always just loved to do it and supported each other in it."

Ty appreciates the role his family played simply in allowing him to figure out that basketball was the right primary sport for him.

"They're able to support me through those things," Ty said. "Being able to talk to people who understand me and want the best for me was something that really helped me through (college recruiting), and really helped me find the place that was best for me."

Ty will report to Pedon's Illinois State program this coming June to begin life as a college athlete. It'll lead to a whole different batch of pressures being placed upon the soon-to-be SJ-O graduate.

"College is a whole new level," Ty said. "I have to work super hard ... just to be really determined from now until then."

Meacham is excited to see what Ty is capable of accomplishing with the Redbirds.

"I'm very high on his future," Meacham said. "His game is only going to continue to evolve. ... He's still just beginning because he's got a high, high ceiling with his physical abilities."