Joe’s Take: Lucky college coach “will strike gold with Ilderton”

Whoever signs Logan guard [player_tooltip player_id="153372" first="Peyton" last="Ilderton"] wins an absolute gem. Yes, siree. No doubt about it. An image of Ilderton should float nicely in a thought bubble when coaches talk about ideal players for programs. She competes and gives her all in everything she does. She winds sprints, like those in warm-ups before practices. She pummels practices right after winning those runs. She annihilates any task set in front of her. <img class="size-medium wp-image-153461 alignright" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pgh/uploads/2020/03/Peyton-Ilderton-e1583963991826-300x300.jpeg" alt="" width="300" height="300" />Make her choose between creating food baskets or being the class president with basketball full time and she’ll do all of it – all while maintaining a 4.2-grade point average. How could a university ask for anything else? There’s something we are forgetting … Oh yeah … So, why are you winning with Ilderton on the basketball court? Oh boy. Where to begin? Wildcats’ head coach Kevin Gertz starts with her competitiveness. “If you beat her at something she works her tail off so it never happens again.” Assistant coach Mike To the references her lock-down capabilities. “She prides herself on her defense and takes the challenge of guarding the other team’s best player every night,” he said. “You don’t hit your average playing against her,” Gertz said. She sure hits hers, though. “She constantly expands her offensive skill set. She’s a complete joy to coach and the more you push her the more she gives you,” Tothe said. She spends hours in the gym getting better while approaching Shaina Gore’s all-time scoring record for the school. She’s nearly there. After entering the year 250 points away, her performance shows she’s indeed stepping up yet again. It’s been nothing but defense and points for her. She’s pouring in 27 a game while guarding the likes of Pikeview’s [player_tooltip player_id="153385" first="Hannah" last="Perdue"], Wyoming East’s Maddie Clark, Wayne’s [player_tooltip player_id="379522" first="Brooke" last="Adkins"], Nitro’s [player_tooltip player_id="153429" first="Taylor" last="Maddox"], Ripley’s [player_tooltip player_id="375427" first="Sophie" last="Nichols"], and Sissonville’s [player_tooltip player_id="384095" first="Kynna" last="Britton"]. They’re all tall tasks but she does them all well. Heck, even on the nights where things aren’t ideal, it doesn’t get her down. There’s never any getting her down and you certainly won’t keep her down if you ever get to her. In the Wildcats’ last game against Wayne, she nailed a few open 3s then watched the Pioneers switch up tactics on her defensively. "She said ‘Heck with this, I’m getting you all in foul trouble,” Gertz said. And then her teammates and she enjoyed a nice night at the free-throw line in a 54-46 victory. Oh, and she scored 27 points. There’s nary an improvement needing made from what reads like another casual outing for the senior. Okay, so there’s always something being tweaked and worked on. Her work’s never done; not like she minds. There’s never a boring moment in her life. All of that sounds great, doesn’t it? Her coaches sure think so. “She’s hands down the best player in the state because she plays both ends,” Tothe said. “If she isn’t the player of the year, it would be a dishonor to the award.” “I’ve never coached a kid like her in 20 plus years in boys’ and girls’ basketball, and ten more in football,” Gertz said. “Whoever is lucky enough to sign this child will have struck gold.”