A FAST CLIMB

Changes have made Rockford tennis champ even better

Ben Temple has been playing tennis since he was 4. “I played baseball and basketball too, but tennis is what I stuck with,” he said.

At 6-foot-4, he has always been a popular basketball recruit. ”I still get the pressure today,” Temple said. That height, and being left-handed, also are big advantages in tennis for the Rockford Lutheran senior.

“I wish I was as tall as him and had a lefty serve,” said Branden Metzler, a former NCAA Division III runner-up who gives Temple frequent private lessons at Boylan. “The game has transitioned to taller players. It’s become a bigger game. You need that length. You also need that speed. You lose quickness and agility the taller you go, but you make up for it with height and length.”

And power. Temple has always been able to blast a tennis ball. He can serve 100 miles an hour. He did win sectionals last year, helping Lutheran to its first sectional team title, but he’s never been a dominant local player.

Until, maybe, now. Temple is rapidly transforming into a new and better player.

Hononegah sophomore Braden Monson, the defending NIC-10 champion, is the top Rockford-area tennis player this season. Temple would be second — but might have the best chance at state next month because he plays in Class 1A while Monson is in 2A. The two practice together a lot in the offseason.

“I am still working on my backhand. My backhand used to be hard and flat. There was no spin on it with those old strings. it was just flat.” Ben Temple Rockford Lutheran senior

Boswell had a career-high 20 points on 8-of-19 shooting from the field. His 133 assists to just 63 turnovers ratio this season was the third-best in the Pac-12 this season.

Here’s a year-by-year breakdown of Boswell’s stats at Arizona:

● 2023-24: 353 total points, 133 total assists, 86 total rebounds, 52 total steals, 9.5 points per game, 3.6 assists per game, 2.3 rebounds per game, 39.4% shooting from the field and 38.0% shooting from beyond the arc

● 2022-23: 161 total points, 57 total assists, 55 total rebounds, 4.6 points per game, 1.6 assists per game, 1.6 rebounds per game, 45% shooting from the field and 39.0% shooting from the field

Kylan Boswell 247 rating

The 6-foot-2 guard, who finished with the most steals in a season (52) by a Wildcat since Kadeem Allen had in 2016-17, was the No. 22 ranked transfer in the portal this season by 247Sports.

He was a four-star recruit coming out of high school, ranking as the No. 29 player in the 2022 recruiting class per 247Sports’ Composite rankings. He was also the No. 5 point guard and No. 2 player from the state of Arizona.