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Schleeter keeps shooting

Editor
Posted 1/28/20

If the lights are on in the Fayette high school gym, you’ll probably find Kyle Schleeter inside. The Falcon junior guard loves putting up shots whether the bleachers are packed with fans or empty …

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Schleeter keeps shooting

Posted

If the lights are on in the Fayette high school gym, you’ll probably find Kyle Schleeter inside. The Falcon junior guard loves putting up shots whether the bleachers are packed with fans or empty and waiting for game day.

His practice has resulted in production.

Schleeter is averaging nearly 20 points per game over the first 12 contests of the season. His field goal percentage is up from 42 percent to nearly 50. His rebounding and steals have doubled from a second-team all-conference season a year ago.

“I felt like I have to pick it up,” Schleeter said after practice on Sunday afternoon. “A lot of seniors left and I have to step up. Score more, be more aggressive, attack more.”

Schleeter feels at home on the perimeter. He made 60 3-pointers at a 35 percent clip last year with Vince Roberts drawing defensive attention in the paint and creating open looks.

This year, the outside shots have been tougher. The looks aren’t as good, but the result hasn’t changed.

“We still talk about attacking the basket sometimes when we’re hanging out around the 3-point line a little too much,” coach Jon Bishop said. “He’s a shooter so we want him taking shots, we want him out there, so there’s a fine line.”

Attacking the basket is where Schleeter has made the biggest improvement in his game. He has converted 20 of his last 25 two-point attempts, shooting 66 percent inside the arc for the season.

His love of the game started at a young age, according to his mother, Lynn Schleeter.

“Kyle has loved basketball since the second grade,” she recalled. “He is very dedicated. I can’t recall when he has ever missed a practice or even a shootout.”

In middle school, the one thing that threatened to keep Schleeter off of the court was his grades. But he worked at that as well.

“He realized that he needed to get good grades to play basketball,” Lynn said. “So when high school came along, his grades turned from Bs and Cs to As and Bs.

“I love watching him play and I can’t wait to see where he goes to college. I will be there cheering for him every step of the way.”

Kyle’s highlights this year include a 29-point game against Brookfield, a 31-point game against Higbee and a career-high 32 points in a win over rival Harrisburg.

“It meant everything,” Kyle said. “I’ve got a lot of friends from Harrisburg and I just want to beat them.”

To add more highlight wins to his resume, Schleeter needs to step up in more areas as the season goes on.

“His game speaks for itself,” Bishop said. “I think we’re going to see a lot more success if we can play together, and sometimes it takes somebody being a little bit more vocal and showing that leadership. I anticipate we’ll get to see that later in the season.”

The Falcons are anxious to get back on the court. With postponed and canceled games due to winter weather, Fayette will have 17 days off between games played.

Fayette received the third seed and faces Pilot Grove in the first round of the Wildcat Classic on Tuesday, Jan. 28.

Schleeter has three more goals to reach over his last season and a half in a Falcon uniform.

“The first thing I want to accomplish is to reach 1,000 points this year,” he said.

“Then win districts and go to state.”

His goals are ambitious. But as long as the gym lights are on, you can bet he’s working to see them realized. 

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