Patrick Walsh might be overlooked. But Benet isn’t, in part because senior guard is ‘just trying to win.’

Benet guard Patrick Walsh has managed to accomplish the seemingly impossible.

Despite playing on one of the most high-profile teams in the state, the 6-foot-2 senior toils in relative anonymity, even though he’s a starter.

“My role is to do whatever it takes to win,” Walsh said. “If it means making 3-pointers, playing defense, grab a rebound, take a charge, whatever the team needs me to do, I’m willing to do it.

“I’m just looking to win. I don’t care about the stats or anything. I’m just trying to win as much as possible.”

Walsh has never put up gaudy numbers. He averaged 3.0 points last season, when he was a key reserve and spot starter as Benet went 35-2 and reached the Class 4A state championship game.

Those contributions were overshadowed by college-bound senior stars Niko Abusara, Brayden Fagbemi and Brady Kunka.

Walsh is a starter now and, along with center Parker Sulaver, one of just two seniors with significant varsity playing experience. But he’s still an afterthought on a team filled with highly touted sophomores and juniors — except in the minds of his coaches and teammates.

“He sometimes gets lost in that bunch of all of us,” sophomore guard Gabriel Sularski said. “He was on that team last year, so he kind of got (that leadership experience) from them, and now he’s kind of carrying that over to us.

“He’s pushing us every day. Like he said, we just want to win. That’s all we want to do.”

The Redwings (13-1) did nothing but win until their 69-66 double-overtime loss to Curie on Saturday, and steady players like Walsh are the glue holding a talented yet young crew together.

“Patrick brings a lot of leadership to the floor,” Benet coach Gene Heidkamp said. “He brings a lot of veteran play.

“We’re trying to figure out a lot of things as a team with rotations, and different games call for different people. But Patrick’s been a real consistent player, not only from an execution standpoint but from a leadership standpoint. So he’s been invaluable, especially when you’re playing with younger guys, as a senior who has got the right personality and also the experience.”

Walsh demonstrated his value as the Redwings rallied from a 15-point deficit to hold off upset-minded Naperville North 44-41 in overtime on Dec. 23.

The host Huskies led 18-3 in the first quarter, but Walsh helped hold them to 23 points in the final 29 minutes while scoring eight points himself.

Walsh made his last six free-throw attempts, including four in overtime. He swished two free throws for a 40-37 lead with 42.5 seconds remaining and repeated the feat with 20.9 ticks left to make it 43-40.

“I felt pretty confident, just like any other shot,” Walsh said. “I don’t really think about other times. Just step up, take a deep breath, relax and knock them down.”

Heidkamp was just as confident in Walsh.

“I’m always confident,” Heidkamp said. “Sometimes they go in, and sometimes they don’t, but with him shooting it, I felt as good as I could be.

“If he would have missed them, I wouldn’t have felt any different about it. It’s about putting yourself in position to win at the end of the game. He did that three times.”

The last came after Naperville North’s Luke Williams scored on a drive with 12.5 seconds to go. Walsh broke the press by firing a long pass just out of the reach of Williams to 7-foot sophomore forward Colin Stack for the clinching dunk.

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Sularski, a major Division I prospect, gave props to Walsh.

“I would give him player of the game,” Sularski said. “He stepped up a lot in that overtime.

“He was calm and hit his shots. Credit to him. He really solidified the game for us.”

That’s all Walsh is worried about doing. Unlike many of his highly touted teammates past and present, he won’t be playing in college.

“I’ve just got to step up when the time comes,” Walsh said. “We’ve got a good team, but being one of the seniors that plays regularly, we’ve got to talk to these young guys.

“They’re good players, and they’re learning and understanding what to do late in games.”

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