Sophomore forward Colin Stack has seen a lot of Benet basketball games over the years.

He was only a toddler when his cousin Frank Kaminsky played for the boys basketball team. He later watched his sister Lauren, who played on the girls basketball team that won the 2016 state championship and is a fifth-year senior at American.

Lauren Stack gave him some good advice.

“Just keep your head up, play through everything,” Colin Stack said. “You can’t keep your head down during a game.

“I just go to the glass. That’s the Stack thing.”

Stack, who is the first 7-footer to play for the Redwings since Kaminsky, got his first varsity start on Tuesday and made the most of it. He scored 14 of his game-high 16 points in the second half and added four rebounds and two blocks to lead the visiting Redwings to a 69-49 East Suburban Catholic Conference win over Joliet Catholic.

Stack started in place of senior Parker Sulaver.

“I’ve been rotating guys in the starting spots,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. “We started three sophomores today. Colin is a good player. He got the start, and he responded. He played well.”

Stack made his only shot of the first half as the Redwings (7-0, 2-0) started slowly and led just 28-25 at halftime. But Stack and junior guard Blake Fagbemi got things going after the break. Stack scored 10 points in the third quarter, converting three putbacks and two layups.

Fagbemi, whose brother Brayden started on Benet’s Class 4A state runner-up team last season, made a sweet alley-oop pass to Stack that made it 49-37 late in the third quarter.

“He’s really hardworking,” Fagbemi said. “That’s No. 1. He’s able to get open really well for me. I drive, and often a defender will come up, and he’s a big target, so I’m able to throw it up to him. He’ll be able to catch it and finish.”

That’s what happened repeatedly early in the fourth quarter. Stark scored the first two baskets, one on a pass from sophomore guard Gabriel Sularski and the other off a Fagbemi feed, to extend the lead to 56-40.

“He had a big second half for us, not only on the glass but scoring around the rim,” Heidkamp said. “He really contributed a lot. It was a big lift. He was able to help us get some separation in the second half.”

Stack made 8 of 11 shots, turning two of the misses into putbacks. That figures to be a common occurrence, considering he will rarely face opponents his size. He expects to get a lot of opportunities whenever he’s on the floor.

“The guards are all really unselfish, and I usually make all my looks,” Stack said. “Even if I miss, I’m going to go back up because nobody is going to block my shot.”

Stack actually sees his strengths coming on the perimeter. He likes to catch and shoot from 3-point range and work pick-and-rolls. But he understands the Redwings will probably utilize him in the post.

“Obviously, I am just trying to play for my role, trying to win games and obviously do the things that we need to do to win,” Stack said. “But there’s still a lot of room to improve in what we need to do.”

Stack’s first start coincided with Heidkamp breaking Bill Geist’s program record for victories. Geist was 367-123 in 18 seasons from 1969 to 1987. Heidkamp, who is in his 16th season, is 368-96.

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While the Redwings have only two returning players with significant varsity experience, expectations remain high. Stack and Fagbemi could be two important players off the bench this season.

“We have a lot of expectations to live up to, so we’ve got to fight every day,” Fagbemi said. “(Stack) is going to be a huge player for us.”

That’s not only because of Stack’s height.

“He’s getting better every day,” Heidkamp said of Stack. “I wouldn’t necessarily assess his game at this point. I thought today he was a big factor in the game down the stretch, not only offensively, but he did a lot of really nice things on defense.”

Stack is looking forward to helping the Redwings accomplish a lot of nice things.

“It’s a fun environment,” he said. “I’m excited.”

Matt Le Cren is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.