Tim McCrary

Last season, Tim McCrary had doubts if he would even make New Trier’s varsity team.

He had been a starter and a role player on the sophomore squad, but he knew fellow sophomores Jack and Peter Boehm were already up on varsity, there were a number of players returning to the team and there was a talented freshman coming – Alex Rossi – who would be filling another varsity spot.

Then, two things happened. One, he grew three inches going from a 6-1 complimentary guard to a more attractive 6-4 forward. Two, a few players opted to concentrate on football, leaving openings on the basketball team.

McCrary wasn’t cut, began the season on the bench, worked his way into the sixth man role and later made the jump into the starting lineup. He became the guy responsible for the all the dirty work.

Now a season later, McCrary, who has grown to 6-6, has pushed himself even farther in the mix and has become a major reason for the Trevians’ success.

“Some of it is luck that certain players didn’t come out,” McCrary said. “It’s also that I grew, but it’s also hard work. Just hard work, working hard every day at practice and doing the little things that I could do to get on the floor and help the team."

It’s those little things that have always looked big in New Trier coach Rick Malnati’s eyes.

Beginning with the summer heading into McCrary’s junior season, Malnati began to notice that whatever team McCrary was on during scrimmages or in summer tournaments, those teams always seemed to win.

“His team always wins,” Malnati said. “He’s a kid that brings a lot of intangible parts to help his team win. Get a rebound, deflect a pass, help someone out on defense, always hustling … all the tiny little things that go a long way. All the people in the stands don’t see those things.

“I think what makes him is he doesn’t allow himself to not play hard. He’s always playing. He has strong will power. He doesn’t allow himself to go half speed He has that gear not a lot of guys have.”

As a senior, McCrary has started to do things that everyone can see.

Everyone certainly took notice of him when squared off against Farragut and 6-10 All-American candidate Michael Dunigan. McCrary scored a career-high 20 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Just as importantly, he hit his perimeter shots – something he had put a lot of work into -- which forced Dunigan out to guard him and allowed the rest of the Trevians to score inside.

“I was really excited to go against Dunigan,” McCrary said. “He’s possibly the best player in the state. It’s fun to go up against highly-ranked players.”

McCrary followed up his Farragut performance with 12 points and nine rebounds against a ranked Lincoln Park team. He then led New Trier to a win over Waukegan with 19 points and 11 rebounds.

For the season, he’s averaging 10 points and seven rebounds -- numbers he never would have expected himself two years ago when he was worried about even playing varsity basketball.

“It’s really gratifying to know I’m not the fastest guy or most skilled guy, but I’m still putting up these numbers,” he said. “It shows if you never give up and you work hard you can succeed.”

McCrary plans to play in college. He expects to attend either Hope College in Michigan or Wheaton College. Both provide him an opportunity to play basketball and continue his Christian faith.

His faith is a major part of his life.

“You get to the point in high school where you have that faith or you don’t,” he said. “In high school, I turned it into my own. I had to decide if I was going to put my faith in God or go the world’s way. Around my sophomore year, I was questioning my faith and what I believed in. I studied the Bible, prayed a lot and decided to put my faith in God and trust in him.”

Said Malnati: “I think Tim’s a great kid to have on any team. He’s a kid who lives his faith. His faith in Christ is apparent in everything he does. He’s a strong kid with strong values and great integrity. He’s been a great success story.”