Janeczek Builds Buzz for Crimson Knights

Kyle Janeczek distinctly remembers the sound from the Crimson Knights boys basketball home games during his sophomore season.

Well, maybe it was more the absence of sound.

“You could hear crickets in the gym,’’ Janeczek said. “We had games where there was one fan in the student section and it was a brother of a player, plus some parents. That’s a big difference between then and now.’’

That difference was palpable on Tuesday night at Wall, despite the team’s loss to rival Manasquan. There was a full student section and a large overall crowd at a program that has continued to make strides in the last three seasons at a school where a strong wrestling program has often cast a long shadow over hoops.

There are certainly many factors in Wall’s growth as a program, but one of them stands out from the rest.

“Our first year, literally there could be one or two kids sitting there in the stands, but now the buzz about basketball is completely different, and he’s a big part of that,’’ Wall head coach Michael Puorro said. “When they see Kyle Janeczek and 1,000 points and winning basketball games, he brings those kids in here.’’

A three-year starter, Janeczek recently crossed the 1,000-point mark for his career, scoring 10 points in a lop-sided loss to the consensus No. 1 team in the Shore Conference, Lakewood, on Jan. 25. Entering the Manasquan game on Tuesday night, the senior guard was averaging 19.8 points per game, putting him among the top 10 scorers at the Shore.

“Getting 1,000 points was a great individual accomplishment, but playing a team like Lakewood is a little rough,’’ Janeczek said.

Janeczek’s progression as a player has mirrored the improvement of the Crimson Knights’ program under Puorro, a former Point Pleasant Boro star who is in his third season as head coach. Wall won four games in 2008-09, seven games last season, and is 9-10 this season as it fights for berths in the Shore Conference and NJSIAA Tournaments.

“Changing the whole culture has been a difficult thing, but we’ve taken steps,’’ Puorro said. “I think when people step back and look at the big picture of what we’ve done, the progress is there.’’

The improved play of Janeczek is also noteworthy given that this fall was different than any other he has experienced in high school. It also illustrated just how dynamic of an athlete he is.

After three years of being nagged by good friends Steve Cluley and Will Avon, the starting quarterback and running back, respectively, Janeczek finally gave in and decided to go out for the football team as a senior.

“I was sick, laying in bed, and those two came to my house, dragged me to the car and made me go to the first weight room session,’’ Janeczek said.

All the varsity football novice did was become one of the revelations of the 2010 season, exploding for 32 catches for 898 yards, an average of 28.1 yards per catch. He also had 11 touchdown catches, and 34 percent of his catches went for scores, helping him earn All-Class C Central honors from the coaches. His raw speed made him one of the most dangerous vertical receiving threats in the area.

“A lot of it is footwork, so I think that’s how basketball helped me pick it up so fast, plus the coaches were great,’’ he said.

Wall finished 7-4 and reached the NJSIAA Central Jersey Group III semifinals, leaving Janeczek to ponder what might have been had he been yanked out of his bed by his friends as a freshman.

“It kind of makes me wonder what would have happened if I had come out earlier,’’ Janeczek said.

“There’s no doubt it surprised me,’’ Puorro said about Janeczek’s football season. “The football thing just shows how good of an athlete he really is.’’

While Janeczek said playing football threw off his technique a bit heading into basketball season, it also made him a more physical player able to withstand contact in the lane.

“I also think he kind of was able to bring that winning mentality over from the football team along with some other football players,’’ Puorro said.

In addition to promotions like handing out T-shirts with “Crimson Crazies’’ on them and having half-court shooting contests to help build the fan base, just changing the mentality at a program that has long been under the radar has been a major point of emphasis.

So far, it’s a work in progress, as the Crimson Knights came out of the gates at 5-0, but have since gone 4-10. They need to reach the .500 mark through games on Feb. 12 to earn a coveted spot in the Shore Conference Tournament field.

“I think at the beginning of the season we had a mentality that we were invincible,’’ Janeczek said. “We were down 16 to Brick Memorial (in the WOBM Classic), and we said, ‘Why not? Let’s make a comeback,’ and we did. That’s a mentality we’ve got to get back. We’ve talked about how we need to get the fire in our eyes back.’’

“There was a confidence to these guys that we haven’t seen, and it’s still tough to change the whole culture of kids not believing in each other, and not trusting each other,’’ Puorro said. “In the beginning of the season, they started to, and now that things have gotten tougher throughout the season, I think that (confidence) has kind of swayed a little bit.’’

This season has also been a challenge for Janeczek in two particular ways. The first is that he often faces double and triple teams from opponents knowing that if they take him out of the offensive gameplan, they have a great chance to win. The other is that Janeczek often has the dual role of scorer and point guard, so he needs to pick his spots to get his teammates involved while also knowing when it’s time to take the ball to the rim.

“I’m confused myself sometimes,’’ he said. “I don’t know which one I like better. I like being the point guard when our shooters are doing well, and when they’re not, I like being a two-guard.’’

“We rely so much on Kyle that guys get confused at times,’’ Puorro said. “It’s a fine line where sometimes he feels like he has to score and other times he feels he needs to get other guys involved. When other guys aren’t making shots, though, he has to force the issue. We want him taking shots.’’

That was the case in the loss to Manasquan on Tuesday night, as Wall had a rare game where it did not sink one 3-pointer, meaning that Janeczek often had to take it into the lane off the dribble into several defenders because the outside shooters were struggling to knock down open looks.

Janeczek has also worked hard on his pull-up jumper inside the 3-point line, which complements his driving ability. Add the increased confidence of being a senior and diligent work in the classroom, and you have a player who has drawn interest from New Jersey Athletic Conference schools like Montclair State, The College of New Jersey and Ramapo as well as high-academic schools like Colby and Bates. Some are recruiting him as a shooting guard and others as a point guard.

He not only has had an impact on the Wall program in the win column and as a prolific scorer, but he can leave knowing that Crimson Knights’ home games are no longer barely louder than a tennis match.

“The gym has been packed, and the students love it,’’ Janeczek said. “It’s a good feeling knowing that we’re building something great.’’