All-tournament selection leads Knights to three straight wins to finish 2017
PLANO – At 6-foot-4, Kaneland senior forward Blake Feiza is often asked to go to work on the block offensively giving up a significant amount of size.
On Dec. 30 in the consolation bracket championship against Mendota at the Plano Christmas Classic, that meant giving up eight inches to Trojans center Blake Stamberger. However, 7-footer or not, Feiza displayed the same fearlessness that he had all tournament.
“You really just have to take it at him and try to get him in foul trouble. You know he’s going to try to block shots, so shot-faking was huge today,” Feiza said after dropping 20 points in a 50-36 win.
And while the trophy Kaneland took home for finishing in 17th place might seem unnecessarily flattering, it symbolizes three straight wins to end the tournament for the Knights to help get their season back on track.
“We started a little rough because we lost to Lisle in a tough game and we definitely bounced back from that,” Feiza said. “Winning three games was huge. Senior year, it’s a great way to end it.”
A year prior, Feiza also led Kaneland in scoring averaging 9.8 points per game – but the team went just 1-3 at Plano. This season, Feiza more than doubled his scoring average with 20 points per game for the tournament.
“This year I’ve become more of our main scorer,” Feiza said. “So the mindset of knowing that’s my role has forced me to change my game.”