Sports

Oak Forest's Funkhouser Fires Away on Basketball Court, Too

Oak Forest senior Kyle Funkhouser has turned into the Bengals' jack-of-all-trades on the basketball floor. He can shoot the three-ball, handle pressure and play defense, too.

At one point near the end of Oak Forest’s run to a second-place finish in the Class 3A state baseball tournament last spring, fireball pitcher Kyle Funkhouser had to his credit 130 strikeouts in 75.2 innings pitched.

He built a reputation for blowing away opposing hitters with a 90-mph fastball.

Turns out, he can blow away folks on the baseball court, too.

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Funkhouser made five 3-pointers and scored a game-high 18 points in Oak Forest’s 63-54 victory over Lincoln-Way Central in pool play Tuesday afternoon in the Medieval Classic at Lincoln-Way North. He also dished off four assists in the fourth quarter. And he used his 6-foot-3 frame to help deny the ball when he was guarding Lincoln-Way Central’s Brad Foster.

Funkhouser was called on to shift inside when teammate Tim Loeding experienced foul trouble. The two biggest Bengals teamed to frustrate Foster, the Knights’ 6-8 senior center. Foster scored 15 points on 7-of-17 shooting, but he was not himself.

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Funkhouser, a senior guard and jack-of-all-trades, deserves a good deal of the credit for sinking Foster into his funk.

“He does a little bit of everything for us,” Oak Forest coach Matt Manzke said. “He can score. He can guard a big guy. He’ll handle the ball for us. He’s a very talented athlete and a very good basketball player. We’re lucky to have him.”

Up to now, Funkhouser’s basketball exploits have flown under the radar because of his baseball prowess. He already has signed to pitch in college at Louisville and many expect him to be drafted in June.

“He gets so much hype with baseball, but people don’t know he’s a darn good basketball player,” Manzke said. “He plays all the positions. That’s kind of who we are … we really only have one true post player, Tim (Loeding).

“And, then, beyond Tim, we have to fight and scratch and claw. Guys like Kyle (Funkhouser) and Tom (Zale), they go down there and they mix it up, Mario (Schaeffer), too. We’ve got a lot of guys that go down there and mix it up for us. I think our guys do a great job, especially for the size we are.”

Funkhouser is happy to do whatever it takes to help Oak Forest (6-4) win.

“That’s kind of my role,” he said. “I just do whatever the team needs. I’ll bring the ball up. I’ll guard the big man. If the team needs it, I’ll do it.”

His shooting was the catalyst in Oak Forest’s sizzling 11-of-14 performance from the 3-point arc against Lincoln-Way Central. And it came as a welcome turnaround following the Bengals’ 3-for-27 effort in a 36-35 loss to Lincoln-Way North.

“Yeah, I’ve scored about 18 before,” Funkhouser said. “But I haven’t really shot the ball that well. I came out, and it felt really good. Every shot was just in … it was money. I hit my first one or two. Every time I was open, I kept firing away because it was going in.

“They were sagging because our big man (Loeding) has been doing a lot work for us throughout the season. We’d swing it. I’m at the top of the key. No one was within five feet. That’s a shot I’m going to take.”

He is going to make his share, too.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


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