Like Neuqua Valley’s other seniors, guard Darius Brockington has seen limited playing time this season.

The Wildcats have flipped the usual script. They don’t start any seniors.

Brockington and his fellow seniors — guard Tyler Tepas, forwards Marcus Magee and Andrew Hoffmann, and center Darlin Aghomi — don’t play more than a couple of minutes at a time. Hoffmann is the only one who regularly gets on the court.

“It’s making the most of the opportunities that you get and then always having the energy on the bench,” Brockington said. “There are younger guys that play, so it’s just about leading and making sure that they know what they’re doing.

“They always do a good job and make it easy for us older guys coming in.”

The 5-foot-10 Brockington did a good job when he came into the game against host Naperville North on Wednesday. After Hoffmann scored inside to give the Wildcats an 8-7 lead early in the second quarter, Brockington made three consecutive 3-pointers.

Neuqua Valley’s Darius Brockington (12) looks for an open teammate during a DuPage Valley Conference game against Naperville North in Naperville on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (Jon Cunningham / Naperville Sun)

The last, which came off an assist from junior forward Luke Balgro, extended the lead to 17-12 with 3:12 left in the half, and Neuqua Valley eventually won 40-32 to cap an undefeated DuPage Valley Conference campaign.

Despite playing less than 10 minutes, Brockington finished with nine points for the Wildcats (29-1, 10-0). He shared game-high scoring honors with Balgro and Naperville North senior guards Carson Loughlin and Miles Okyne.

Incredibly, Brockington finished with more points than stars Cole Kelly and Mason Martin had combined. Kelly, a sophomore forward with an offer from Illinois and others, scored five points, and Martin, a junior guard who has committed to Illinois, had three points.

The Huskies (23-8, 8-2) used a triangle-and-two defense to limit Kelly and Martin and a patient offense to keep the game low-scoring. But the Wildcats were not surprised.

“All week (Neuqua Valley’s coaches) said they were going to be in a triangle-and-two and other people were going to have to hit shots,” Brockington said. “They told me I had to be confident coming in shooting the ball, and I think that’s what I did.”

Brockington made 3 of 4 shots. Neuqua Valley coach Todd Sutton thought Brockington could have shot more frequently.

“I told him if he would lock in, he could get 18 instead of nine,” Sutton said. “He’s a real good shooter.”

But Brockington doesn’t have a lot of experience in big games — or any varsity games, for that matter. Brockington didn’t play for the Wildcats in the previous two seasons.

Neuqua Valley’s Darius Brockington, right, passes the ball under pressure from Naperville North’s Max Steele during a DuPage Valley Conference game in Naperville on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (Jon Cunningham / Naperville Sun)

“I focused on AAU, and I played football as well,” he said. “But I really love basketball, and I knew that they had a special group of guys. It’s a really fun team. So I wanted to come back and play basketball for one more year and be a part of it.”

Brockington’s contributions have come mainly in practice, particularly early in the season as he got readjusted to Sutton’s expectations.

“He had a slow start,” Sutton said. “He hasn’t played since freshman year, so he’s really started way behind and has made big strides.”

Junior guard Carter Coviello, whose steal and layup with 3:31 remaining in the fourth quarter started a decisive 7-0 run that put the Wildcats up 37-27, has seen those strides up close.

“Darius is a special player,” Coviello said. “Toward the beginning of the season, he didn’t really get that many minutes. He worked his way up, just like everyone else, earned the backup spot, and comes in, hits some shots. He helps us in a lot of ways.”

But few could have envisioned the help Brockington provided against the Huskies, who were seeking a share of the conference title.

“It made me really happy because me and Darius are very close,” Coviello said. “I just want to see him succeed the whole time because when he’s doing good, that helps us.

“It lets us know how deep our team is and gives us more confidence that we can keep going, keep winning games.”

Neuqua Valley’s Darius Brockington looks to make a play during a DuPage Valley Conference game against Naperville North in Naperville on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2026. (Jon Cunningham / Naperville Sun)

The Wildcats have won 26 straight games. None were as memorable for Brockington as the latest triumph.

“I kind of thought about that, with missing those two years, this is our last conference game, one of our biggest games,” he said. “I knew that I wanted to come in here with energy.

“We knew what zone they were going to be in, I knew what type of shots were going to come, so I knew it was just about knocking down those shots.”

Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2026/02/19/neuqua-valley-high-school-basketball-darius-brockington/