Rockford Auburn's path to Illinois super sectionals fueled by a comeback kid
Rakim Chaney began his high school basketball career in bed next to his big brother.
He tore his ACL in his knee two days after his brother, Rob, tore his — for the second time. They wound up having their surgeries on the same day.
Two years later, Auburn (23-12) is a sectional champion for the first time in seven years, set to play No. 1-ranked Lisle Benet (33-1) at 7:30 p.m. Monday at NIU for the right to reach the state semifinals.
It's mostly because of Rakim Chaney.
He scored 22 points in a regional final upset of NIC-10 champion Guilford then poured in 30 Friday night as Auburn drubbed St. Charles East in a Class 4A sectional final.
“I couldn’t ask for a classier kid, who had to endure all he did with tearing up his ACL as a freshman,” Ott added. “What a great comeback as an athlete.”
More:2 brothers, 3 knee surgeries: Auburn basketball players overcame simultaneous injuries
Rakim’s dad, Auburn assistant Robert “Bo” Chaney, said he was “holding back tears.”
“To watch both of them go through what they went through,” their dad said, “and battle back and not look like it fazed them, it’s surreal.
“It’s always nice to see Rakim do good, especially where he’s come from. He tore his ACL and then his opposite knee has been swelling for the past two summers. He’s never had a summer to work on his game.”
Oh, yes he has. It may not be the way he wanted to work on his game, but Rakim found any way he could.
“Rakim is one of the most humblest, best players I’ve ever played with,” Auburn guard Adrian Agee said. “He’s a gym rat. For every second you see him on the basketball court, he will be practicing all day, every day. If I had to give a guy the honors for being in the gym the most, it would go to Rakim Chaney.”
That constant work may have been why he was sidelined the last two summers.
“The doctors said I was working too much on the hurt knee so i had swelling on the other one,” Rakim Chaney said. “I kept going to the doctor to get it treated. It felt good on the court when the season started. I didn’t have any problems with it so I just said, ‘lets go with it.’ “
And even when he wasn’t able to go full-tilt, he found ways to hone his game.
“When I couldn’t work in the summer, I would do things as little as shooting free throws, or simple 3-pointers and shots standing still,” Chaney said. “And I take advantage of all the practices whenever I can get extra time in.
“My brother would do the same thing after he missed summer league going into his senior year. He would come in early every morning and stay late at night after games.”
While Chaney has always been in a hurry to return to health and work on his game, he’s never in a hurry to shoot. He is only Auburn’s fourth-leading scorer at 11.2 points per game. And even when he’s red-hot, he doesn’t go looking for his shot. He had 18 points on 7-for-8 shooting in the sectional finals, including four 3s, after only five seconds of the second half, then attempted only one more shot in the next seven minutes.
“He took what the defense gave him and he was ready,” Ott said. “He is just having a monster end of the year. He’s been such an unselfish player. He doesn’t ever force anything unless it comes to him.”
The 5-11, 130-pound Chaney thinks back to the days he spent lying in bed next to his brother, but the junior guard thinks of that fondly.
“I think back to building our relationship when we were both injured," Chaney said, "trying to get back on the court.”
Contact: mtrowbridge@rrstar.com, @matttrowbridge or 815-987-1383. Matt Trowbridge has covered sports for the Rockford Register Star for over 30 years, after previous stints in North Dakota, Delaware, Vermont and Iowa City.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Rockford Auburn's path to super sectionals fueled by a comeback kid
