HOOPESTON  Just about every day last summer, Kevin Root or one of the other Hoopeston Area basketball coaches got a call from Aaron Fell. The soon-to-be senior was looking for someone to unlock the gym so he and other Cornjerkers could get in some shooting practice. "He worked hard all summer, and he''s always in the gym," Root said. "He''d call me or one of our freshman coaches all the time so he could get in the gym and shoot for an hour." Fell wasn''t alone in those summer workouts. Fellow starters Brad Cannon, Charles Crozier, Jonathan Smiley and Corey Inman and sixth man Devon McMillan all took their turns shooting, dribbling and working out. That might explain how a team that lost its top two scorers is off to a 7-1 start. "Some people are surprised, but we''re really not," Fell said. "We worked really hard all summer. The five starters and almost everybody else were in the gym four or five times a week this summer. Me and a couple of others were in the gym every night shooting." Fell was one of the ringleaders, and he''s helping lead the way this winter. The do-it-all guard leads his team in scoring, assists and even blocked shots. The 6-footer, who also plays soccer and baseball, is near the top of an honor roll of versatile Vermilion County guards that includes Armstrong-Potomac''s Ryan Bird, Salt Fork''s Andrew Johnson and Georgetown-Ridge Farm''s Travis Vice. "Overall, he''s played really well," Root said. "His defense is what surprises me. He''s got 25 steals, and we''re having him guard the other team''s best player." Fell was a starter last season, averaging about 11 points a game on a handful of shots. After Brian Bibb and Jordan Haley and their combined 29 points a game moved on, Fell knew he''d have to pick up the pace. He led the school''s summer team in scoring, and now he''s averaging 18.6 points a game on 14 shots a game. Fell''s also been accurate from three-point range, hitting 33 percent. "I feel like I''m playing pretty well," Fell said. "My shot is coming, but I''m getting double-teamed a lot. The first couple of games, I was trying to force it up there. But now I''m just letting it come. I am looking to pass, too." Fell said he likes the idea of being the "go-to guy" and having the ball "under pressure." So far, so good. "He''s stepped up," Cannon said. "He''s our leading scorer. He looks pretty comfortable." He might be comfortable, but he could get tired. Root''s leaning heavily on his top six players, and although the Cornjerkers are a strong transition team, they''re not deep. That''s another area where the summer work helped. "We''re just playing hard defense and taking our time on offense," Cannon said. Fell said he''s taking his time to get into the flow on offense, and he enjoys being the defensive stopper. He looks forward to guarding guys like Bird and CPCI''s Shawn Poppie. "I''m ready for the challenge," said Fell, who''s drawn interest from Eureka and Danville Area Community College. "I like it. If I get on a guy I know I don''t have to guard as hard, I don''t go as hard. I like to be on the tough guy."