Zavier Fitch might be the tallest player on the court at 6-7, but he doesn’t want to be pigeonholed.
So the Brother Rice senior worked on his outside game over the offseason.
“Last year, I didn’t want to be stuck in the post all the time,” Fitch said. “So I had to elevate my game.”
Mission accomplished, based on his output so far. Fitch scored 20 points and grabbed 19 rebounds, both game highs, as the No. 5 Crusaders stayed perfect with a 59-40 home win against No. 25 West Aurora on Friday night.
“Every game, he seems to take it another step,” Rice coach Conte Stamas said of Fitch. “This was obviously by far his best game.”
What makes Fitch a handful for opposing defenses is his ability to adjust.
“He’s a tough matchup,” Stamas said. “They put a smaller guy on him, we can pop him inside. If not, if it’s a bigger, lumbering guy, we can bring him outside. He can attack the basket on the dribble. He’s multidimensional.”
West Aurora coach Michael Fowler was aware of Fitch’s skill set. But knowing that and neutralizing it were two different things.
“He’s definitely a problem, just working the offense and rebounding the basketball,” Fowler said. “He can play inside and out, he’s a problem around the hoop. We knew that and unfortunately we didn’t care of it.”
Rice (13-0) pushed the pace early and used a 12-0 run to take control in the first quarter, leading 23-12 after eight minutes. It was 35-26 at halftime and West Aurora (9-3) didn’t get any closer than seven in the second half.
Shifting tempos is not a problem for the Crusaders.
“We can play at any pace, with any team, anywhere,” Fitch said.
Marcos Gonzales added 13 points for Rice, which also had nine points each from Tyler Wooten and Cale Cosme along with eight from 6-4 Caden Workman.
Workman’s inside presence is one of the reasons Stamas is comfortable moving Fitch outside.
“He’s always in the right place,” Fitch said of Workman. “And he always hits me [with a pass] when I need it.”
The undefeated record isn’t a surprise to the Crusaders, even if it might be to outside observers.
“For everybody else, I don’t know,” Fitch said. “But we totally expected it.”
What has made that possible is the Crusaders’ versatility inside and outside. Fitch and Workman are strong near the basket and both Gonzales and Cosme are capable of playing either guard spot.
But as good as they’ve been, the Crusaders still haven’t hit their ceiling.
“There’s things we can get better at,” Stamas said. “I wouldn’t say we’re playing our best by far. I thought that this was one of our better ball games. But we have some things to improve on.”
Jordan Brooks led the Blackhawks with 14 points. CJ Savage scored eight, while Terrence Smith contributed six rebounds and three blocks.
“I told them I’m not disappointed with them at all,” Fowler said. “One game isn’t going to define how we are. I told them [the Crusaders] just let us know what we’ve got to work on.”