Prairie State Profile: Illini West’s Kirkham develops into area’s pre-eminent playmaker with guidance from basketball-savvy family

The Prairie State Profile will appear each week to highlight an Illinois area student-athlete.

CARTHAGE, Ill. — Technology has changed the method of delivery, but the messages are similar to what they were three decades ago.

The intent is the same, too.

It’s to give Caydee Kirkham all the knowledge she needs to succeed at the game she loves.

Her mother, Shannon Hickenbottom, was an all-state guard on the Carthage girls basketball teams that won state trophies in 1987 and 1990 and was twice named the Quincy Herald-Whig’s Player of the Year. She was blessed to learn the intricacies of the game from her father, Sci Hickenbottom, an influential girls basketball coach in Hancock County who imparted his wisdom at every turn.

That included leaving critiques taped to his daughter’s bedroom door.

“It was all these little things on a notepad every single night after a game,” Hickenbottom said with a chuckle. “I’d wake up and there it was stuck to my bedroom door. I could have had 30 points and there was still a list of six things I should have done better.”

Kirkham, the Illini West senior point guard, doesn’t find notes on her bedroom door these days.

She gets text messages.

“She puts so much pressure on herself trying to think things through,” Hickenbottom said. “So I’ve learned the less you say the more powerful it is. So before each game, the things I think are important I’ll share in two quick messages.

“Just like the other night, it was things like, ‘You can’t drive among the trees. So stop and pop. And do some step-back threes.’ I’ll send it to her while she’s on the bus. Or if I see a certain ref, I’ll be like, ‘Stay farther back on defense because you know how these refs are.’ Little reminders of things I see. That’s what I want to do for her.”

It’s working out quite nicely.

Heading into Thursday night’s showdown at home against Quincy Notre Dame — the Raiders were ranked No. 2 in Class 2A and the Chargers at No. 3 with a new state poll set to drop late Wednesday afternoon — Kirkham is the area’s pre-eminent playmaker.

She is averaging 18.3 points, 4.3 assists and 3.6 steals per game as the Chargers have built an impressive resume with a 23-1 record, 22 consecutive victories and back-to-back tournament championships with Kirkham being named the MVP of both.

“She is everything you want in a point guard,” Illini West coach Grant Surprenant said.

And in a leader, too.

‘Basketball is everything to me’

During the 2021 season, which was reduced to a five-week sprint by the Illinois High School Association because of the coronavirus pandemic, Kirkham emerged as the Chargers’ main cog by her development and out of necessity.

Two years ago, Illini West finished 26-5 and won a Class 2A regional championship and had its big three set to return in Megan Harrell, Karli Artman and Kirkham. Due to the pandemic and the limited opportunities to play multiple sports during the 2020-21 school year, the other two transferred to Burlington (Iowa) Notre Dame.

Kirkham stayed. And she adapted her game to being more of a scorer than a facilitator.

“She works extremely hard and is in the gym all the time,” Surprenant said. “She puts in the effort to make herself better, and she makes everyone around her better. She’s committed to the game. That’s a beautiful thing.”

It’s in her blood and it’s part of her soul.

Grandpa Hickenbottom has much to do with that.

“I kind of grew up around basketball,” Kirkham said. “I went to practices and games with him. He taught me when I was younger, and it just grew from there.”

He didn’t just teach her to shoot and score.

“He’s taught me the mindset of the game and how as a point guard to look for certain things,” Kirkham said. “It goes beyond the fundamentals.”

It showed knowledge is as much of a weapon as skill is.

“You have to know where to attack and know the opponents and what they do,” Kirkham said.

That goes back to those notes her grandfather left for her mom and the ones she receives today. It’s never been about being the leading scorer. It’s always been and continues to be about playing the game the right way, the smart way.

It’s helped Kirkham see how much she loves the game.

“Basketball is everything to me,” Kirkham said. “It’s what my life revolves around.”

Her mom sees it every day.

“She truly loves it,” Hickenbottom said. “She watches it all weekend long, all evening long.”

Like mother, like daughter.

“It’s indescribable to see she loves the game as much as I love the game,” Hickenbottom said.

‘That’s what people tell me anyways’

The comparisons are inevitable since Kirkham plays the same position as her mother. But as for who the best basketball player in the family is, Kirkham has an opinion.

“From the stories, I’d say my grandpa,” she said. “But I have to say me.”

She might be better than her mother.

“That’s what people tell me anyways,” Kirkham said.

As far as shooting goes, that’s probably true. Kirkham is shooting 57.6 percent from the field overall and 53.3 percent from 3-point range. She also is an 82-percent free-throw shooter.

When it comes to playmaking and on-court leadership, they are strikingly similar.

“I was super interested in assists and steals,” Hickenbottom said. “Numbers weren’t a big thing for me as far as points were concerned. She started out that way. She would love to get a steal, would love to get an assist. We’re very similar in that aspect.

“She likes to make some of the transition stuff and the tricky passes, like the no-look passes. I remember myself doing that and hearing the crowd go crazy because it’s a neat pass. When you see those plays happening now that she’s doing that, it’s like, ‘That was me. I remember those cheers.’”

There’s one other connection — making their father and grandfather proud.

Sci Hickenbottom isn’t as vocal as he once was, but he still critiques his granddaughter’s play and offers valuable feedback. He seems to do it in more subtle ways.

“He does it with a look or a shake,” Shannon Hickenbottom said. “It’s more of the non-verbal actions.”

Some of those non-verbal moments matter more than anything else and make the younger generations realize all the notes stuck to the bedroom door had deep meaning.

“It was all very much worthwhile when I was named all-state at the state tournament and I saw tears go down his face,” Hickenbottom said. “I will never forget that day.”

Nor will they forget the championship game of this season’s Beardstown Lady Tiger Classic when third-seeded Illini West made its run to the title, beating Unity 66-51 as Kirkham had 29 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.

She was named the tournament MVP.

“He was such a nervous wreck because he gets like that,” Shannon said of her father. “I kept telling him, ‘It’s OK, Dad. Either way, it’s going to be fine. She’s going to play her hardest and it’s going to be fine.’ The relief came with him being so excited.

“When she got the MVP, he kind of choked up. He couldn’t really say anything about how proud he was that she had gotten that honor.”

It’s the kind of pride only a grandfather and a mentor can feel.