There’s a lot to be said for the game of Evan Frieders at Kaneland, but one stands out. He gets it. “I just like to win, honestly,” Frieders said. “I like to go out there, guard the best player and do what we need to do to win. If that’s score, I can do that. If I need to get rebounds or put up assists in a game, I’ll go out and do that. “I just like to play hard for my team and do what I can to help us win.” In his third year of playing on varsity, the 6-foot-5 junior guard is doing just that. Frieders scored only two points Wednesday but had six rebounds and six assists in just under three quarters of play for the host Knights in a lopsided 73-27 nonconference win over Hancock. Junior point guard Marshawn Cocroft scored 22 points and senior forward Freddy Hassan added 12 for Kaneland (14-1). Freshman guard Jayden Harris led Hancock (2-15) with nine points. Eleven days earlier, Frieders scored 18 points as all five starters for the Knights reached double figures in a 91-85 win over Yorkville Christian in the Plano Christmas Classic championship game. Wednesday’s effort then wasn’t a surprise, according to sophomore forward Jeffrey Hassan. Kaneland’s Evan Frieders (11) looks to pass over Hancock’s Isaac Villagomez (31) in the first quarter of a nonconference game in Maple Park on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (H. Rick Bamman / The Beacon News) “Evan is really unselfish and he will always look for the open guy,” Hassan said of Frieders. “He brings defense to this team. He’s our defensive stopper.” Freddy Hassan called Frieders one of the team’s hardest workers in practice. “Score hustle points and make the right plays — that’s what he likes to do,” Freddy said. “He’s always trying to make his teammates better. “He knows he can score but he doesn’t always have to.” Kaneland coach Ernie Colombe promoted Frieders to the varsity as a freshman. Frieders came off the bench as the sixth man, usually at shooting guard, for a team that went 26-6 and won the first of back-to-back conference titles. Frieders moved to point guard last season as a sophomore. Kaneland’s Evan Frieders (11) reacts to a basket against Hancock during the first quarter of a nonconference game in Maple Park on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (H. Rick Bamman / The Beacon News) “That’s not an easy transition, but that team had a lot of success, too,” Colombe said of another 26-6 record. “Evan is so versatile. He’s arguably our best defensive player and usually guards our opponent’s best player. “He’s worked on his shooting since freshman year and is just unselfish. The sky’s the limit, and his best basketball is ahead of him.” With Cocroft’s transfer from Aurora Christian, Frieders has moved back to shooting guard. Senior guard Luke Reinert, also a starter, has played the point previously on the lower levels and so has senior guard Preston Popovich. Combined with junior guard Isaiah Gipson, Colombe has a wealth of talented options for his backcourt, which he doesn’t mind at all. “We’re fortunate to have some height with (6-7) Freddy and (6-9) Jeffrey Hassan,” Colombe said. “But ultimately, I do believe the high school game is usually a guard’s game. “Year in and year out, the best teams seem to have the best guards.” Kaneland’s Evan Frieders (11) slips past Hancock’s Miguel Chaidez (1) and Joshua Baxter (25) in the second quarter of a nonconference game in Maple Park on Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2025. (H. Rick Bamman / The Beacon News) Frieders entered Wednesday’s game averaging 7.5 points, 4.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists. “The thing I love most about Evan is that he doesn’t care how many points he scores each night,” Colombe said. “That’s part of the reason he’s able to put up those games with big totals in rebounds and assists.” It pleases the coach to no end because he thinks in today’s society there’s often too much emphasis by players posting their numbers on social media. “We talk to the kids about it weekly,” Colombe said. “We’re big on, ‘How did you impact the game?’ “If you have an off shooting night, you can still impact the outcome of the game, and Evan Frieders is an impact player.”