On the surface, Adoni Vassilakis has had a career that has gone quite swimmingly at Marist. A four-year varsity player, he recently went over the 1,000-career point mark.
But it’s definitely been far from easy for Vassilakis. The senior guard has spent the last three seasons in a constant fight to stay on the court, battling with patellar tendinitis in his left knee.
“It’s difficult to deal with,” Vassilakis said. “Constantly playing on it makes it worse, but when the game comes, I’m ready.”
That was the case again Friday night. He hit three early 3-pointers and scored all 11 of his points in the first half as visiting Marist rolled to a 61-27 East Suburban Catholic Conference win over Marian Catholic in Chicago Heights.
Vassilakis also dished out seven assists, while Charles Barnes led the RedHawks (7-1, 1-0) with 18 points and six rebounds. TJ Tate and Kendall Meyers added nine points apiece and Karson Thomas contributed six rebounds.
The RedHawks played without star senior forward Stephen Brown. Marist coach Brian Hynes said the North Carolina State football recruit was out for “personal reasons.”
Cameron Daniels finished with seven points and seven rebounds for Marian Catholic (3-6, 0-3). Landon Mays added five points.
Vassilakis, meanwhile, has been consistently walking a tightrope between staying prepared to play and making sure his knee gets enough rest. He knows when he needs to take it easy in practice.
“Coach is really lenient with me,” Vassilakis said. “If I’m telling him it’s hurting, he’ll give me time off in practice. I get ice on it. I get treatment.
“I make sure I manage it so that when the game comes, I’m ready and my body feels the best when I need it to feel the best.”
Hynes has seen the struggles that Vassilakis goes through.
“He has to get treatment every day,” Hynes said. “It’s 50-50 whether he’s going to be able to practice. It’s tough seeing someone you care about go through that. You try to teach a kid that if you do the right thing, things work out. For him, that thing hasn’t gotten better.
“But he’s just a fighter.”
That made Vassilakis reaching 1,000 career points even more special for Hynes. It happened Tuesday night during a 66-23 win over Ag Science.
“Adoni is like a son to me,” Hynes said. “He’s battled that knee injury for three years. Just to see what he’s gone through and to see him get to 1,000 points, I gave a talk in the locker room after the game and I was crying like a baby.
“He’s just such a special kid who has a bright future on and off the court.”
Vassilakis feels his offensive game has blossomed in a big way over the past couple seasons. At the beginning of his high school career, he considered himself more like a scrappy role player.
“I’m so much more confident and I trust my game a lot more now,” Vassilakis said. “All the countless hours of work, over time it builds that confidence.
“As a freshman, I felt like I was really a defensive player. I still got some buckets every now and then. But now, I feel like I can really hit shots. I’m definitely a way better shooter.”
Vassilakis and his teammates pretty much all shot lights out Friday night. Behind his fast start, along with seven points in the first quarter from Meyers, the RedHawks jumped out to a 21-8 lead after one quarter and rolled from there.
Tate was thrilled with how Marist played. And he’s just as excited to see Vassilakis’ continued success.
“Adoni plays hard, he can shoot, he leaves it all on the floor,” Tate said. “He can do everything. I was very happy when he hit 1,000 points. That was a special moment.”