Spotlight: Ackland's all-around game helping Hubs find success

Senior guard hitting nearly 40 percent of 3-point shots this year

Russell Hodges
Posted 1/17/19

Kaleb Ackland describes himself as an all-around basketball player who aggressively rebounds around the rim, guards on the perimeter and shares the ball with his teammates. The senior can also space the floor, and he’s knocking down almost 40 percent of his 3-point shots this winter.

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Spotlight: Ackland's all-around game helping Hubs find success

Senior guard hitting nearly 40 percent of 3-point shots this year

Posted

Kaleb Ackland describes himself as an all-around basketball player who aggressively rebounds around the rim, guards on the perimeter and shares the ball with his teammates. The senior can also space the floor, and he’s knocking down almost 40 percent of his 3-point shots this winter.

Ackland’s abilities have helped the Rochelle varsity boys basketball team turn its season around after the Hubs started 4-10 over their first 14 games. Ackland played sparingly during his first year on the varsity team, but the senior guard has upped his production this year, averaging 6.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.4 steals per game.

“I think I’ve improved the most on defense,” Ackland said. “Coach [Tim] Thompson really relies on me, Seth [Gould] and Noah [Knight] to be big defensive players on the team. Our season has gone pretty well, and it’s been a big step up for me playing on varsity and getting a lot of minutes. The game’s played at a higher speed than sophomore or freshman basketball, but I love the game and I think it’s a lot of fun.”

Rochelle (8-10) has won four consecutive games including a triple-overtime thriller against Rockford Christian at the E.C. Nichols Holiday Classic, where Ackland scored a season-high 19 points with eight rebounds and three steals to help the Hubs outlast the Royal Lions 91-88. Ackland has worked his way into Rochelle’s starting lineup, and with both Knight and senior Johnny Beck healthy, Ackland said the Hubs have a great chance to succeed moving forward.

“We fell down when we lost Johnny, but I think his absence helped us improve our teamwork and we’re figuring out how to play with each other,” Ackland said. “With Johnny back, we’re playing a lot better than we were before because we’ve learned how to play with each other… Johnny opens up our shooters, and when we get the ball into him and teams double down, he can kick the ball out to open shooters and that helps us knock down shots.”

Ackland started playing with the Rochelle Youth Basketball Association in third grade, and he played for the Steward Eagles and head coach Don Romes from fourth grade through eighth grade. He spent three years with Rochelle’s travel basketball program before beginning his four-year high school career with the Hubs.

“Steward offered basketball and pretty much everybody I knew played back then,” Ackland said. “Coach Romes was really good and he helped me figure out how to play the game. Since then, I’ve really enjoyed playing the game. I like playing with my teammates and I like playing before the Superfans and the big crowds we have on Friday nights. It’s been really cool to be part of the team and to be winning games.”

Ackland’s biggest basketball role models include Romes and Rochelle head coach Tim Thompson, and he said that both men have helped him improve his game in different ways. Ackland said that Romes still texts him often to check in and see how he’s doing, and he said the texts help motivate him to play the game.

“Coach Romes gave me the simple how-to things about playing basketball,” Ackland said. “Coach Thompson’s a really good coach too, and he really knows how to get us excited to play the game.”

Ackland and the Hubs are roughly halfway through their season, and with many of their toughest opponents behind them, Ackland said he and his teammates are striving for more wins as well as an opportunity to compete for a regional championship, something Rochelle hasn’t earned since the 2008-09 season.

“We want to win more games, and even though it’s too late for us to win the conference, we’re striving to win the regional,” Ackland said. “That’s the big picture for us. We haven’t won a regional in a while and it’d be really nice to win one of those.”