Olson: No regrets for tremendous seniors

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VERNON HILLS – No local boys basketball team boasted a pair of varsity players who had worked together longer than Johnsburg’s C.J. Fiedorowicz and Mike Dixon.

So it was fitting that the Skyhawks (27-3) were the last team to bow out of the prep basketball playoffs.

Johnsburg’s 66-54 loss to St. Viator in the IHSA Class 3A Vernon Hills Sectional final on Friday night wasn’t the outcome for which the players or fans had hoped.

But from the sports as a metaphor for life file, most sports teams must face their eventual demise. And all athletes eventually have to retire.

It’s what you have to look back on and how you handle it that matter most.

Dixon, who played in his last organized basketball game Friday, said he felt good about his team’s effort and about his four-year varsity career.

“I couldn’t look at it any better way,” Dixon said. “I mean, those are the best four years of my life. I love every single guy on the team, and, I mean, we came out and for my last game we played a hell of a game.

“For the last four years, our coaches, our community, Johnsburg, I couldn’t have asked for anything better. Everything was great.”

Dixon’s next stop will be the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, but he won’t be playing for the school’s team. Although he said he always would love the game, he said he wants to focus on academics.

For Fiedorowicz, it’s a slightly different story. He plans a move to Iowa City, Iowa in June, where he’ll prepare to play tight end for the University of Iowa. But he, too, has played his last basketball game for his school.

“I’ve been playing since fourth-, fifth-grade, and it’s been fun, but I’m never going to play competitively again,” Fiedorowicz said. “I don’t think I realize it right now. I was a lot more depressed after football because that was my first love, but I’m probably going to realize it after I don’t have to go to practice tomorrow.”

Fiedorowicz and Dixon were the most high-profile of a talented group that has played together for years, including senior Derek Talbot, who plans to play baseball in college, and Tyler Chambers, who likely will be on a college golf squad somewhere.

Fiedorowicz is an 11-time varsity letterman and at 6-foot-8, a powerful presence inside. But Dixon will be most missed on the hardwood. He was the point guard and a natural leader, not only because of his ability, but because of the way he kept his composure under pressure, and because of the way he carries himself with class.

Coach Luke Ravlin, who took over as head coach last season, praised all the seniors. He said he could tell the first time he stepped into the gym that the Skyhawks had a special group together.

“These guys have made my life easy from day one,” Ravlin said. “When you’ve got kids like Mike Dixon, C.J. Fiedorowicz, Tyler Chambers, Derek Talbot, Austin Vanderstappen, Kevin Betke, Tom Rocko, when you have kids like that, it makes the coach’s job fun, makes it easy.”

“... The great thing is they’re better people than they are ballplayers, and maybe it’s a little cliché but it’s true for this group,” Ravlin added.

The Skyhawks 27-3 record was the third best in school history. They put another regional championship plaque in the school’s trophy case.
And in their final game on Friday night, they gave their full-throated fans their money’s worth.

All in all, not a bad way to finish out a career.

“I mean, I dedicated my whole life to this, I really did,” Dixon said. “ ... No regrets. Never. Never regrets. Never.”

• Eric Olson is the Northwest Herald’s sports editor. Reach him at 815-526-4554, or e-mail eolson@nwherald.com.