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Shaw Media | November 2021 | BASKETBALL PREVIEW

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LA SALLE-PERU BOYS

By Kevin Chlum Many of the 10 seniors on the La Salle-Peru boys basketball team have been playing together for years, even before high school.

The Cavaliers are hoping that experience — along with plenty of varsity minutes for three-year players John Riva, Michael Jereb and Sean Whitfield — pays off this season.

“Our team chemistry, our basketball IQ and our raw athleticism are probably our biggest strengths,” Whitfield said. “Our chemistry and basketball IQ come from playing together when we were younger. We all feed off each other. A lot of us played travel ball with some of the coaches who are coaching the varsity level now. We’ve been practicing the same game plan since we were 12 or 13.

“It definitely helps when adversity strikes. In a big game down two, we’re not going to start pointing fingers and be selfsh with the ball. We’re going to get the best shot we can.”

Riva and Jereb have been varsity starters since they were sophomores and should play a prominent role this season.

“I think our experience is going to help in various ways,” L-P coach Jim Cherveny said. “Not just with tempo and style of play, but leadership-wise.

John Riva, Michael Jereb and Sean Whitfield have played up since their

sophomore year. They’re not just ordinary second-year players. They’ve seen the ups and downs. They took their lumps as sophomores. They got a little bit stronger last year. The put a lot of time and effort in this offseason and got even stronger for this season.”

Offensively, the Cavs need to replace 1,000-point scorer Drake Weber.

Riva is the team’s leading returning scorer after averaging 10.9 points per game last season, while Jereb is a dangerous outside shooting threat.

“We’ve been running this offense for two or three years,” Riva said.

“We’re disciplined. We trust each other.

“We have a lot of guys who can do a lot of different things. We have our spot-ups. We have guys who can make plays. We have guys who can score inside.”

Junior London Cabrera was set to take over at point guard but was injured in practice. Cherveny said he doesn’t know when Cabrera, who he said “has the ability to shoot the ball and drive and kick,” will return.

With Cabrera out senior Ozzy Hernandez may play point guard, or Riva could reprise the role he’s played the last two seasons.

Sophomore Josh Senica, who played on the varsity as a freshman, will provide the Cavs with an inside presence on both ends of the court.

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La Salle-Peru’s Josh Senica (22) takes a shot during a game last season. The sophomore is expected to provide an inside presence after gaining varsity experience as a freshman.

“It’s great,” Jereb said. “We missed it last year only having half a season that got cut short. It’s good to be back.”

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“Josh has the ability to really dominate down low,” Cherveny said. “It’s going to take 100% concentration for 100% of the game, but he has the ability to really make a difference underneath. He has the ability to block shots. He can score up at the rim. If the defense collapses, he can kick it out, and we have some guys who are skilled who can shoot the ball.”

Along with Senica, the Cavs have several players who have some length that will be an asset on defense like Riva, Jereb, Whitfield and senior Tyler Wrobleski.

“Being big, we’ll have our arms up, we’ll be able to get in passing lanes pretty easy,” Riva said. “When shots go up, we’ll be able to contest and box out and get boards.”

With an experienced roster, the Cavs have several goals throughout the season.

“We have a lot of goals, starting off with winning the Thanksgiving tournament (the Dean Riley at Ottawa),” Riva said. “We want to win conference this year, do well in our Christmas tournaments (Hall’s Colmone Classic and DeKalb’s Chuck Dayton) and see how far we can get (in the postseason).”

After last season was shortened and then ended early due to a COVID-19 pause at L-P, the Cavs are excited for the opportunity for a full season and postseason this winter.

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This year’s L-P Cavaliers loaded with experience

3

La Salle-Peru girls to rely on speed, aggressive style

By Kevin Chlum

Sarah Peters remembers when she used to be one of the faster players on the La Salle-Peru girls basketball team.

That’s not necessarily the case anymore.

“I find myself having to push myself harder, because we have a lot of fast girls out there,” Peters said.

With a lack of height on the roster, the Cavaliers plan to use that speed to their advantage this season on both ends of the court.

“Our strengths are going to be, hopefully, defense and getting it and going,” said L-P coach Hollis Vickery, whose team was 5-5 last season and 17-14 in 2019-20. “We have girls who like to get up and down the court.

We’re not a team that likes to sit and wait for their shot. Hopefully, off steals and rebounds, we get it and go.

“The less we have to set up the offense is probably the better.”

While the Cavs hope to score about 40% of their points in transition, when they are in their half-court offense they’ll rely on outside shooting and dribble penetration.

“We’re going to take what we can get,” Vickery said. “We like the post person to touch the ball as much as possible. We have some guards who can drive to the basket and kick to set people up. They need to do a good job of that.

“When we’re in four-out there are certain rules we have, but it’s designed for drive and kick, drive and dish and drive and whatever you can. We have the guards to do that this year. We have people who can shoot 3s too.”

Junior point guard Brooklyn Ficek, a NewsTribune All-Area pick last year after averaging 14.2 points and 3.3 assists last season, will be counted on to score and create opportunities with penetration along with Addison Duttlinger and Avah Moriarty.

Vickery said he hopes to get 7-8 points and 7-8 rebounds per game from Peters in the paint, while he expects Angela Smudzinski to play a key

role on offense after shooting 42 percent from 3-point range last season.

Avery Urbanski and Taylor Martyn also can knock down outside shots.

Jenisis Greening brings experience, while Hannah Salazar, Cora Holloway and Lily Ficek are newcomers who will make an impact.

“Our speed is an advantage,” Peters said. “We working on technicalities like setting proper screens and getting open.

“We have a lot of guards this year and a lot of 3-point talent. We’re going to be trying to get it in and kick it back out to them.”

Defensively, the Cavs hope to use their speed to create turnovers and set up their offense.

“We seem to be hyper aggressive,” Vickery said. “I worry about being too aggressive at times, which I’ve never had to worry about before. We need to be more poised with our aggressiveness and be more fundamental with it. We can’t be wild and grabbing and reaching.

“As soon as we learn to control that aggression, the better we’ll be.”

The Cavs will play man-to-man defense with some 2-3 zone mixed in.

“We’re going to have to work extra hard because we are so short, but I think we’re going to be quick on defense,” Smudzinski said.

The Cavs also will have to work hard to rebound, which can potentially make or break the season.

“If we can control the boards or even just keep up on the boards, we have a great chance of winning the game,” Vickery said. “But if we don’t rebound, we’re going to be in trouble.

Last year, we had a few games where if we would have just got a rebound or two, we could have won two or three more games at least.”

The Cavs are hoping they can use their speed and get enough rebounds to improve their win total and be competitive in the postseason.

“For me, I would like to win at least 21 games,” Smudzinski said. “The most our girls have ever won is 17.

We’re going to try to break that record this year.

“We have to work extra hard and

try to make this team better every year.”

La Salle-Peru’s Brooklyn Ficek (4) goes up for a shot during a game last season. Ficek was a NewsTribune First-Team All-Area pick last year after averaging 14.3 points, 3.3 assists and 2.7 steals per game.

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ST BEDE BOYS

5

By Kevin Chlum He’s back.

A year after transferring to a school in Arkansas in order to get in a full basketball season, all-stater Paul Hart has returned to finish his career at St. Bede.

“It means a lot (to be back),” Hart said. “I wanted to finish my career here. I think we have a real good team. I think we can make some noise. A lot of people are already counting us out, but I think we can be one of the best teams in the conference.”

Hart scored 1,082 points in his first two seasons with the Bruins and sits just 377 points shy of J.A. Happ’s school record of 1,459 points.

“It’s real nice having Paul back,” said St. Bede coach Brian Hanson, whose team was 1-13 overall and 1-10 in the Three Rivers Conference East Division last year. “He scored about 800 points his sophomore year. When he went down to Arkansas last year, he played 33 games, so he’s continued to have court experience. A guy who can put the ball in the hole like he can, anybody would be fortunate to

have him.

“One player doesn’t always all of a sudden make you a contender for something, but it lifts people’s spirits. They have confidence in his game. A lot of guys are feeding off that right now.”

Senior Luke Story, who has been the starting point guard the last two seasons, will be counted on as the Bruins’ No. 2 scoring option after leading the team last year. Fellow seniors Duncan Lawler and Patrick Harmon played some minutes last season, while classmate Jake Braddick has improved and is looking to contribute this season.

Juniors Callan Hueneburg, Brendon Pillion, John Brady, Landon Jackson and Connor Brown will make an impact after a successful season on the sophomore team.

“We have some stability with scoring with Paul and Luke,” Hanson said. “Now we’re looking for people to show us they’re ready to get in that column too. It might be one guy one night and another guy the next.

“We had some guys who were on the sophomore level last year who are sharpshooters in Callan Huneburg and Brendon Pillion. Duncan

St. Bede senior Paul Hart (30) takes a shot during a game in the 2019-20 season. Hart played in Arkansas last school year but has transferred back to St. Bede for this season.

He is 377 points shy of J.A. Happ’s school scoring record of 1,459.

Lawler can score. Jake Braddick showed us a lot this offseason, and he’s a lot more confident on the floor.”

Hanson said a motto for the Bruins on offense this year is “simplicity,” meaning doing the essential things well and trying to get easy baskets.

“I think we have a lot of athleticism and experience from last year,” Story said. “We have a lot of good shooters. I think we’ll play very fast. I think we will have limited turnovers.”

Defensively, Hanson said the Bruins will look to “be scrappy and try to irritate people” using a mix of man-to-man and zone schemes.

“I think St. Bede has a notion of being grit and grind,” Harmon said.

“Maybe we don’t have the fastest, most athletic or strongest guys, but we have a lot of heart on defense.

I think we should be pretty sound defensively this year.”

The Bruins are looking to end a lengthy regional championship drought. St. Bede’s last regional title came in 1999-20000 with Happ leading the way.

“The last few years we’ve been under .500. We definitely want to eclipse that .500 mark,” Hanson said. “There was a lot of talk at (St. Bede’s) open house last week about banners coming down (off the gym walls) because they are adding some ink (titles, playoff appearances) to them. We’ve had a long drought, so we’re really focused on getting ourselves into position where we play well enough during the year to get a decent seed in our sub-sectional and have a legitimate shot at cutting some nets down.”

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BASKETBALL PREVIEW | November 2021 | Shaw Media

With Paul Hart back, St. Bede eyeing winning record, regional title

Shaw Media | November 2021 | BASKETBALL PREVIEW

6 ST BEDE GIRLS

Experienced St. Bede girls eying more postseason hardware

By Kevin Chlum Two years ago, the St. Bede girls basketball team put things together in the second half of the season and went on to win a Class 1A regional championship.

Many of the key players from that postseason run are now seniors, and they’re looking for more success.

“We’re all excited,” senior Renn Ludford said. “We’re all super hungry. We’re ready to take the ball and get that regional win yet again.

I’m very confident in our team and our abilities.”

St. Bede, which is seven wins from 600 as a program, also looks to be above .500 — a mark it hasn’t reached since 2015-16 — and compete in the Three Rivers Conference East Division.

“We definitely want a winning record,” senior Lia Bosnich said. “We want to be conference champs, of course. Everyone wants to be conference champs. I think with the motivation we have, it’s definitely a reachable goal.”

Offensively, the Bruins expect to

have the ability to score inside or from the perimeter.

Bosnich was a NewsTribune and Bureau County Republican all-area pick last season after averaging 11.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game.

She’ll provide a presence in the paint along with Ryann Stoudt, Jaden Hart, Rylee McGunnigal, Morgan Nawa and Mia Waters, who can also player on the perimeter.

“I think our (offensive) game is mostly to look inside,” Bosnich said. “Our posts our ready and reliable. We can always kick it back out. We do have good shooting guards. ‘Take the shot’ is our motto this year.”

Ludford, Leah Smudzinski, Grace Maschmann, Abbie George, Payton Giordano and Ella Hermes all have the ability to sink outside shots.

“We have some good shooting guards on the outside, and we also have some really good posts like Lia Bosnich,” Ludford said.

“I think she’s ready to come out

strong and dominate.”

The Bruins don’t want to just stand on the perimeter and shoot, they also want to attack the paint, get to the free-throw line and score in transition.

“One of our goals is to have a high free-throw percentage,” Smudzinski said. “I feel like sometimes we struggle with making our free throws in games.

“Another team goal we have is limiting our turnovers.”

Smudzinski said it will be a process offensively as the veteran players blend with the five juniors and one sophomore.

“It definitely takes some time to work toward because we have so many plays, and memorizing those can be difficult, but I feel like once we start playing and getting used

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St. Bede’s Lia Bosnich (21) battles for a rebound during a game last season. Bosnich averaged 11.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game last season. She’s part of a strong returning core that hopes to lead the Bruins to a winning record and a regional championship.

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to each other, it will all mold together,” Smudzinski said.

The Bruins also look to be strong on the defensive end.

“I think we are always aware of where the ball is at,” Ludford said.

“We’re always hustling to the ball and have a girl on the ball at all times. We know who is on our right and who is on or left and if anyone is crossing the lane or coming off a screen. We’re always helping our teammates and communicating.”

St. Bede head coach Tom McGunnigal has been placed on leave after “information has been brought to the attention of then administration that warrants a thorough investigation.”

Assistant coach Dana Jauch will coach the team in McGunnigal’s absence.

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BUREAU VALLEY BOYS

7

The Bureau Valley Storm have been rebuilding since making their Elite Eight appearance in 2018-19.

The major building blocks were centered around senior guards Carter Salisbury (6-1) and Adam Johnson (6-1), who return with two years as varsity starters under their belts.

Salisbury, who led the Storm in scoring (14.1 ppg.) and assists (1.9), adding 4.3 rebounds and one steal per game, was named First Team Three Rivers All-Conference last season.

Johnson was the Storm’s leading rebounder at 7.3 per game and was second on the team in scoring at 7.7 ppg. He received Three Rivers Honorable Mention in the spring season.

They are ready to take the Storm to the next level.

“Hoping to see their experience and hard work in the offseason pay off. They’re great leaders for us,” BV coach Jason Marquis said.

Other returning squad members are seniors Carter Balensiefen, Nevin Bolin, Layton Britt, Brock Foster, Brady Higgins and Bryson Smith.

One key for the Storm will be the return of Britt from a knee injury in football this fall.

“We need to get Layton healthy.

Hopefully, he’s cleared to start participating around Thanksgiving. His defense will be important for us to reach our goals,” Marquis said.

Marquis believes that Foster, a “great athlete and good teammate,” will take a leap forward in his senior year.

Bolin and Carter Balensiefen are also returning after logging some minutes in a shortened junior season.

Marquis said both have gotten bigger stronger and faster through hard work in the weight room.

Marquis said Higgins and Smith are some seniors who could fill roles as well.

The junior class is seven strong, a group consisting of Cooper Balensiefen, Isaac Attig, Brik Rediger, Parker Stier, Beau Spencer, Carter Wagner and Sam Wright.

They will all be vying for minutes to contribute, Marquis said.

“I’m excited to watch them compete in practice for the chance to be on the floor during game time,” Marquis said.

Cooper Balensiefen, Carter’s brother, was “streaky” this summer, Marquis said, but has the skills to be a contributor at the varsity level. Attig looks to build off the summer season in which he started some games based on his defense and work ethic, Marquis said.

Another player coming off injury is Rediger.

“I’m excited to see Brik continue to get healthy after a significant leg injury his freshman year that hampered his short season last year,” Marquis said.

Two areas Marquis expects the Storm to do well in this year will be defending and rebounding, while they look to shore up other aspects of their game.

“We’ll throw some new offensive actions in the mix this year to help scoring deficiencies that we’ve had the Bureau Valley senior Carter Salisbury (5) returns for his third year on past couple of seasons,” varsity. he said.

Three key members of the team, Marquis said, are Madi Jaggers, Stirling Horner, and Makenna Maupin, “who will keep us all organized as our managers.”

The Storm will open the season at the Wethersfield Thanksgiving Tournament, running Monday, Nov. 22 through Saturday, Nov. 27.

In Cambridge: “It will be nice to be back in a more normal fall schedule. We won’t be Mark Seabloom taking the opportunity for granted,” 800-808-1812 Marquis said.

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BASKETBALL PREVIEW | November 2021 | Shaw Media

Carter Salisbury, Adam Johnson back for 3rd year at Bureau Valley

Shaw Media | November 2021 | BASKETBALL PREVIEW

8 BUREAU VALLEY GIRLS

Wasilewski putting his stamp on Bureau Valley girls basketball

By Kevin Hieronymus

There’s a new head coach for the Bureau Valley girls basketball program, but it is a familiar face.

Matt Wasilewski, who served under two head coaches at BV, gets his time to put his stamp on the Storm program as the man in charge.

That familiarity will help the transition run smoothly for the Storm.

“Having coached these seniors since their freshman year, I know what to expect from them, and they know what to expect from me,” Wasilewski said. “Our practices are similar to prior years. I have taken what I observed and absorbed from both Coach (Jim) Nugent and Coach (Daniel) Sinclair and implemented it into what I have previously done.”

Wasilewski’s expectations for his team are simple.

“We expect to compete with every team every night,” he said. “Defensively, we will try and put pressure on teams in the half court and full court.

We lack size but have good quickness.

The players know they will have to be able to guard any person at any time, regardless of size.

“This has been the case in the four years I have been here. The players like to play physical, and we will be well versed in good defensive fundamentals.”

Offensively, the Storm will look to push the pace a bit and get easy buckets in transition.

“All of the varsity players will be able to play on the outside, and we will need to take advantage of post opportunities when possible,”

Wasilewski. “We have to be better at handling and passing the ball than in the past. That will be a focus for all players.”

There are 24 players in the Storm camp, including 15 underclassmen and nine juniors and seniors. Kyra Stoller, a 5-9 senior guard, heads a list of six returning letterwinners, including classmates Aspen Balensiefen (5-4/G), Kaleen Carlson (5-6/G), Jennifer Etheridge (5-9/F), Lexie Marquez (5-6/G) and Ashley Nordstrom (5-5/G).

Stoller returned for the final nine matches of the volleyball season after breaking her leg in the final summer league volleyball game.

“It goes without saying, Kyra’s performance on the court and her leadership is one of the keys to our season,” Wasilewski said. “She was able to get back in time to finish the volleyball season. That was a boost to her confidence. My focus early in the season is making sure she is 100% healthy.

“Kyra is a tremendous competitor.

This is great when she is near 100%, but can be a detriment if she is far less than that.”

Wasilewski said the rest of the seniors will need to play to their capabilities and accept the roles the team needs. Marquez and Etheridge are going to be called on to score more, he said, while Balensiefen will be looked upon to be a 3-point threat.

Nordstrom and Carlson both have the ability to be lockdown defenders, Wasilewski said, adding that Carlson is “good at attacking the basket,” and Nordstrom “may be our best returning rebounder.”

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Bureau Valley point guard Kyra Stoller drives around Princeton’s Taylor Quiram at Prouty Gym last season.

Junior Nikki Kerber (5-7/G) will the case for the ladies in the basket“need to be confident running the ball program.” point, and willing to look for more of The Storm will open the season at her own opportunities to score.” She’s the Princeton Tournament from Nov. joined by classmates Jillian Hulsing 15-20.

(5-9/F) and Alaina Wasilewski (5Wasilewski, 48, who teaches special 10/F), who the coach/father hopes education and leadership at BVHS, is returns from injury in early January to also an assistant football and baseball provide some height and a defensive coach. He recently coached boys baspresence in the lane. ketball at Gilman Iroquois West and The Storm coach said he is looking Peoria Heights. He was also head forward to seeing if any F/S players football coach at Iroquois West from will be able to fill roles at the varsity 2013 to 2018 and has been a head level. softball coach.

After the first couple of practices, He is being assisted by longtime BV Wasilewski said the girls were a bit staffer Bret Helms at the sophomore tired and sore, adding, “They go as level and BV alum Savannah Wall hard in practice as any athletes I have with the freshmen. ever coached. This has always been

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FIELDCREST BOYS

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Over 29 seasons and 800-plus games on the sidelines, you’d think Fieldcrest boys basketball coach Matt Winkler would have experienced everything high school basketball has to offer.

However, in what will be his 30th and final season in charge of the Knights — the only varsity boys head coach in the program’s history — he faces a new challenge.

In the shortened spring season, Fieldcrest went a sparkling 12-1 overall and 11-1 in the Heart of Illinois Conference to earn a share of the league title. But that roster was made up of 11 seniors, which means — for the first time in his tenure — Winkler will have no returning starters or in fact any players on his roster who have scored a varsity point.

“Yes, we are a very young team, and we are spending a lot of time on the fundamentals,” said Winkler, an Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Famer with a 606-205 career coaching mark. “We have one first-year senior, four juniors, six sophomores and three freshmen that will play varsity, and just 17 players in the entire program. Our numbers are way down.

“The spring season seemed very rushed, and we didn’t have very much practice time. It was a lot of teaching and trying to get better in games, and that isn’t the best way to do things, but that’s how things were. I also don’t think a lot of kids played summer basketball the past couple years because of limitations due to COVID-19. I feel we aren’t alone in the fact everyone is about a year behind. Teams that have seniors on them are going to be a little bit ahead of everyone else, but we are in a different boat.

“We are going to coach them as hard as we can and help them get better each and every time we take the floor.”

The Fieldcrest roster features senior Kade Buchanan; juniors Aiden Harsted, Landon Modro, Parker Sidebottom and Trenton Topolski; sophomores Nathan Cook, Dallas Cook, Koltin Kearfott, Connor Reichman, Brady Ruestman and Noah Skaggs; as well as freshmen Jackson Hakes, Jordan Heider and Ed Lorton.

“We are doing a lot of evaluating each and every practice to see who may fit into certain roles,” Winkler

said. “I’ve told them, ‘Every time you’re going up and down the floor, we’re watching.’ Lando Modro was probably our best JV player last year, a 6-1 post player, and we will more than likely build around him this season. We’ll probably rotate about 10 kids early and along the way find the best combinations of kids that work well together.”

While the Knights have been known for their fastpaced, high-scoring offensive production over the years, that aspect may take time to develop. But the solid, keep-comingafter-you, always-hustling defense that has been a staple of Winkler-coached teams in recent years is something he’s expecting to still be the case despite the lack of varsity experience.

“We still want to get the ball up the floor, control tempo and play at our pace,” said Winkler. “That being said, we may have to slow things down a little bit, which is unusual for Fieldcrest.

This year, more than ever, each offensive possession is going to be very important, but I do know we’ll be tough as nails and hustle on the defensive end ... that’s something that won’t change.”

Fieldcrest boys basketball coach Matt Winkler will coach his 30th and final season this winter and will do Winkler admits this it without a returning player from the previous season for the first time in his Hall of Fame career. season, especially early on, will be a challenge, but for a coach who has led teams to 14 regular-season conference championships (279-66 in league play), eight league tournament titles, 14 regional titles, two sectional titles, 20 20-win seasons and 19 holiday tournament titles, it’s hard to imagine the Knights won’t be a tough team to beat when the postseason rolls around.

Dr. Eric Anderson “We’re going to hit the floor run& Dr. Rhonda For Better Health and Wellness ning, and we’ll see where we are at Marty-Anderson come the new year,” said Winkler.

- Pediatric Care - Geriatric Care Fieldcrest opens the season hosting Lexington on Tuesday, Nov. 30, then - Family Wellness - Sports / Fitness travels to Tri-Valley three days later.

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BASKETBALL PREVIEW | November 2021 | Shaw Media

Young Fieldcrest hopes to answer question marks in Coach Winkler’s final season

Shaw Media | November 2021 | BASKETBALL PREVIEW

10 FIELDCREST GIRLS

Fieldcrest girls return 4 starters, looking for another successful season

By Brian Hoxsey The Fieldcrest girls basketball teams have been tough to beat over the past couple seasons, finishing 11-2 last season and 28-5 with a postseason plaque in the 2019-20 campaign.

They hope to keep that trend going heading into the 2021-22 slate.

The Knights and seventh-year head coach Mitch Neally bring back four starters and a wealth of experience and talent all throughout the roster.

“We were so happy to get to play some games last spring, because we knew we had a super young team,” said Neally, whose club lost to Eureka in overtime to fall a game short of sharing the league’s title, finishing 9-2. “We lost one starter and senior — Laura Jaquet — but the experience the returning players got in the spring was big for us. Going into [last season], we were coming off back-to-back regional championships and had set a school record for wins (28) in a season. I really wasn’t sure what to expect, but I can say they truly exceeded even my expectations on the court.

“Yes, we bring back a lot of key players, but it will be how did they improve in the offseason? Pretty soon, winter will show what we’ve been up to in the offseason. If we can put all of our talents together, I think we will be a tough team.”

Senior three-year starter Ella Goodrich (9.8 ppg, 5.2 rpg, 3.1 spg, HM All-Heart of Illinois Conference) is a workhorse with long arms, according to Neally, and has started to develop herself both inside the paint and out.

Juniors Ashlyn May (12.8 ppg, 4.6 apg, 4.1 spg, 4 rpg, First Team AllHOIC, The Times and NewsTribune First Teams, NewsTribune Player of the Year, AP 1A/2A HM All-State, IBCA 2A All-State Special Mention), Haley Carver (13.2 ppg, 2.4 apg, 2.8 rpg, 1.8 spg, 41 3-pointers, Second Team All-HOIC) and Carolyn Megow (6.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg, HM All-Defensive HOIC) are the other returning starters.

Neally said May is “a very unselfish player that can drive to the hoop, dish it off, grab boards, can shoot it, an allaround great player,” Carver is “one of the best shooters in the HOIC”, while Megow is “matched up with every opponent’s best player.”

Rounding out the roster will be senior Delaila Gimed, juniors Cami Mangan, Abby Harris and Bella Tomlinson, sophomores Kaitlin White

Fieldcrest girls basketball head coach Mitch Neally gives his Knights squad instructions before the start of their Heart of Illinois Conference game against Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley this past season.

(6.3 ppg) “one of the first players off the bench last season and a good shooter”, Aliah Celis, Ava Marty, Clare Phillips and Vada Timmerman, as well as freshmen Keara Barisch, Myah Burns, Jessica Schultz and Emily Tooley.

Sophomore Riley Burton, who would have more than likely been a fifth starter or sixth girl off the bench, is expected to miss the entire season after tearing her ACL during summer, Neally feels the HOIC is one of the toughest small-school conferences in the state, one that prepares teams well when the postseason rolls around.

He said being successful in both the league and overall will start with rebounding.

“We are not a tall team, and I don’t think I’ve had anyone over 5-10 since I took over the program, but we will hopefully make up for that with heart and toughness,” said Neally.

“Rebounding, like it has been in the past, will have to be a group effort.

We want to push the ball up the floor, play fast and play solid defense, but rebounding will be a big key for both of those aspects. We want to attack teams on both ends of the floor.”

Fieldcrest opens Monday, Nov. 15, at the Integrated Seeds Classic hosted

by Flanagan-Cornell High School, playing Dwight before contests against Marquette and the host Flanagan-Cornell/Woodland Falcons. The Knights open conference play hosting Heyworth on Nov. 29.

Time to hit the hardwood!

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HALL BOYS

11

By Clark Teuscher Hall boys basketball coach Mike Filippini has some work to do replacing key members of his squad heading into the start of a new season, but the Red Devils’ cupboard is far from bare as Hall sets its sights on a postseason, which was not held last winter.

Among the graduation losses are unanimous All-Three Rivers East Division selection Trez Rybarczyk. The 1,000-point scorer put up 10.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and an area-best 4.3 assists per game a season ago. Payton Plym has also departed after a season which saw him total 15.2 points and 5.1 rebounds per contest and concluded with second-team all-conference accolades.

Junior Mac Resetich, the team’s leading scorer (15.3 ppg) and an honorable mention all-conference pick, heads a list of returners, which also includes Drake Garland and Ethan Plym, both starters on last season’s team as well.

“Those three are going to be the key,” Filippini said. “They’ve played a lot of varsity basketball, and they’re the guys we’re going to lean on this season.”

Filippini expects this year’s team to have much the same strength as in previous seasons, and will look to force a fast pace to take advantage of the Red Devils’ speed while negating a persistent disadvantage in height.

“We’ve always been a good scoring team,” Filippini said. “We’ve struggled to defend teams with size on the inside since most of our team is 6 feet tall and under. We’ll probably play a lot of zone to start the season then switch to some man-to-man later in the season once we have a chance to teach it a little bit and see which guys pick it up.”

One key addition that could help Hall compete with taller teams is the play of 6-2 junior Ryan Coble, who figures to help the Red Devils establish a presence in the paint.

“Ryan didn’t play with us last summer because of a baseball commitment, but he’s filled out to about 220 or 230 pounds,” Filippini said. “He should give us a dimension we haven’t had much of and give us a chance to defend and rebound better against bigger teams.”

Hall’s Mac Resetich grabs a rebound during a game last season. Resetich led the Red Devils in scoring last season at 15.3 points per game.

The Red Devils’ long-term focus is on a regional championship this season, something last year’s team did not get to pursue due to the shortened schedule.

“A conference title would be great, but our focus is on winning the regional,” FIlippini said. “That’s what we’ve set as our goal, and we’re going to use the whole season to prepare for it.”

Hall opens the 2021-2022 campaign Monday, Nov. 22 at the Seneca Thanksgiving Tournament.

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12 HALL GIRLS

Hall girls hoops hoping for more consistency

By Clark Teuscher A whirlwind of a 2020-21 season has left the Hall girls basketball program facing a 2021-22 campaign which figures to restore some routine to the Red Devils’ schedule as coach T.J. Orlandi looks to bring together a small group of returners in time to be a contender in the Three Rivers Conference East Division.

Hall faced lengthy gaps in its 202021 campaign due to COVID-19, which rendered consistency in practice and competition elusive.

The Red Devils finished 2-9 overall and 2-4 in the conference last season.

The challenges the Red Devils faced, however, could prove to serve as building blocks for the coming season.

“It was just tough,” Orlandi said.

“We couldn’t prepare like we normally do, and sometimes didn’t know if we were going to play or not. When that happens, you begin to learn how to keep yourself focused and mentally ready. It feels like we’re getting back to a little more normalcy, but we’ll find out if that’s really the case.”

Sophomore guard McKenna Christiansen, a Second Team All-TRC East pick a season ago after putting up 7.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game as a freshman, heads the list of returners for the Red Devils, who must replace all-area pick Jaclyn Cinotte (11 points, 5 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.5 steals per game).

“She had a really good summer season, and we played a pretty challenging schedule,” Orlandi said. “You can see the improvement from last year, and even since this summer, already in practice.”

Mia Mautino is the Red Devils’ lone senior, while junior Promise Giacom-

Hall’s Promise Giacometti and Mia Mautino fight for a rebound during a game last season. Mautino and Giacometti are part of a small group of returning players for the Red Devils. etti figures to contribute substantially after gaining valuable experience as a sophomore.

“Mia can shoot, and we’re expecting her to help out McKenna on the outside,” Orlandi said. “(Giacometti) got thrust into a lot more varsity action than we expected, but she really

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stepped up. She’s probably the fastest player on our team and got better and better as the season went on.”

Juniors Jaden Jones and Toni Newton and sophomore Brooke Spoonmore will provide depth as well for the Red Devils, who open competition in the Seneca Girls Thanksgiving

Tournament.

“We’re going to face some good teams right off the bat,” Orlandi said.

“I’m interested to see how we’re going to respond. We just want to keep getting better and be playing at our best when conference play starts.”

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PUTNAM COUNTY BOYS

13

By Charlie Ellerbrock The prep basketball season held solely in the late winter of 2021 was a physical and emotional roller-coaster both on and off the court, but a particularly up-and-down one for the Putnam County Panthers.

However, this year coach Harold Fay feels his club will not only have more ups than downs, but get to those ups and stay there a little more consistently if they rebound the way he believes they can.

Lost to graduation from the squad that went 9-8 overall and 8-6 in the Tri-County Conference are a few multi-year contributors to the Panthers’ varsity program, including News Tribune All-Area Third Team pick Luke Pederson and classmates Matthew Liebhart and Stephen Mecagni.

But the fact there were so few seniors on last season’s roster gave way to playing time for the younger players, and they took full advantage of the opportunity.

Leading those returnees is Jackson McDonald, who as a sophomore was a huge threat around the Tri-County Conference during the shortened twomonth campaign. The now 6-foot-4 McDonald averaged a team-best 14.5 points per contest along with 4.5 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.5 assists in his first varsity season, earning him a unanimous spot on the Tri-County First Team and a First Team nod for the NewsTribune All-Area squad.

“He’s a little taller than me right now, but that may be because I’m shrinking,” Fay joked. “With the shooters we had outside, it gave him the opportunity to do the things he wanted inside. He’s got his work cut out for him now, because they know who he is and he won’t be sneaking up on anybody. They’ll be gunning for him, and if you want to play that part, you have to be ready for it.”

In addition to the inside/outside/

Putnam County’s Jackson McDonald (23) boxes out Seneca’s BJ Hooker (11) during a Tri-County Conference game in Granville last season. slasher McDonald, also back is junior guard Andrew Pyszka, a solid shooter and defender on the perimeter.

“That group with Jackson and Andrew, if we could have kept them together, they would have had a pretty good JV season,” Fay said, “but it gave us the chance to have some other kids develop, so we’re looking forward to seeing what they can do this season.”

Joining Pyszka in the backcourt will be the club’s only two seniors — 6-0 Drake Smith and 5-10 Chad Olson, both expected to contribute significantly, along with 5-10 junior Austin Mattingly.

PC will also have some size in the paint with junior posts in 6-3 Wyatt

Grimshaw, a hard rebounder and defender and a solid shooter out to the elbow. Juniors Blake Billups, Spencer Voss and Lucas Wiesbrock are also in the mix for substantial court time.

How well the Panthers rebound will go a long way toward how well they compete in what should be a more balanced Tri-County, with solid teams like defending champ Roanoke-Benson, Marquette, Seneca and Midland all in the title hunt, plus league newcomer Dwight.

“Something that I stress to the kids every year is that everything will depend on how well we rebound on the defensive end,” Fay said. “Last year we gave up too many second-chance

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points, but I feel that if we can control those, we can contend in the TriCounty and maybe in regionals. We’re still working on it. We play good defense for a while, then stop when a shot goes up. We have to finish off those plays.

“We may have lost a little bit of size from last year with Liebhart at 6-6 gone, but I think we’re a little quicker at every position, and the parts are very interchangeable, so we can mix things up and hopefully create problems for other people. … I have good kids who play hard, and if we can rebound the ball and take care of it, we’ll be fine and a lot of fun to watch.

“It’ll be exciting.”

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14 PUTNAM COUNTY GIRLS

Putnam County girls eyeing up-tempo style after 7-10 season

By Charlie Ellerbrock Fans of the Putnam County girls basketball team might be a little surprised in what they see from the Panthers this winter — a smaller, more guard-oriented club that will get up and down the floor in a hurry.

With the bulk of their scoring and size gone from a year ago, coach Jared Sale’s squad will be abandoning the slower-paced, half-court style of recent years to fit their young, more backcourt-centered roster Leading the Panthers’ returnees are two starters back from last season’s 7-10 club, 5-5 sophomore Erin Brooker and 5-7 sophomore Zofia Uzella. They are part of a large second-year class that may experience some growing pains at first, but is familiar with the up-tempo method from their time in the abbreviated JV schedule of last season.

“In the past, we were a little more front-court heavy,” said Sale. “We would walk the ball up the floor and try to pound it inside as much as we could using that high-low (offense), try to keep the game in the 30s, but this year it’s flipped, and we’ll rely on our guards a little more.

“After (senior Renae) Ramey, we’re going to be small, with no one else over 5-8, so we’re going to get out and try to run, do some different things this year than what we have in the past. That will be a tough transition for us ... but the younger girls are more familiar with that, so we’re a work in progress.”

Brooker and Uzella last season were both solid role players who were not counted on to do much scoring.

The team had Caitlyn Cioni, Sophia Harris and Chloe Linton to do that, but they’re gone via graduation, taking about 80% of PC’s points with them.

While Uzella will remain a strong defender and rebounder, Brooker will be looked to for more scoring. Also counted on for points will be sophomore Eva Hatton, who was a Third Team All-Tri-County and a NewsTribune Honorable Mention selection after averaging 7.5 points as a freshman sixth man.

Juniors Gracie Ciucci and Mikenna Boyd, who saw a little bit of varsity time a year ago, will see much more time this year.

The wild card for this team might be Ramey. The Panthers will regain the services of the 5-11 senior center who tore her left ACL during her sophomore year, then in a freak accident while prepping for her junior season last fall injured her right ACL, causing her to miss all of the 2020-21 season.

She has remained with the team

Putnam County’s Zofia Uzella (3) grabs a rebound during last season’s Tri-County Conference game with Seneca. throughout and was cleared to play last week, so if she can shake off two years of rust and get back into the flow, she could remain with them now as a valuable contributor for PC in the post this season.

Sophomores competing for court time at guard will be Gabby Doyle, Sarah Johnson and Megan Wasilewski, while candidates at forward are Esmeralda Avila, Salina Breckenridge and Emma Henderson.

Key factors for Putnam County will be decision-making in the open court, knowing when to finish the break and when to set up, and the rebounding that will allow them to run. For such a height-challenged group, the hard work and fundamentals of boxing out and “doing what they have to do,” said Sale, to secure rebounds is imperative.

“I like where this junior and sophomore class is, and if we’re comfortable in what we’re doing by Christmas, I’ll

be happy,” Sale said. “We might be a year away, but we’ll be competitive in a Tri-County Conference that looks to be, with all due respect, a wide-open

race.

“We might take some lumps from good teams, but I’m confident we’ll be be competitive.”

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MENDOTA BOYS

15

By Don Baldin This year’s edition of the Mendota boys basketball team will see some familiar faces leading the way, as juniors Krew Bond and Rafa Romero are back for their third varsity seasons.

Senior Ted Landgraf played a key role last year, while junior Ryne Strouss and sophomore Izaiah Nanez also gained experience last season.

“Krew Bond was our leading scorer and assist man last year,” Mendota coach Steve Hanson said.

“He will be relied on heavily to continue to lead our offense. Rafa Romero was our leading rebounder last year and second leading scorer.

He will need to be heavily involved in the offense and defense for us to have a chance. Izaiah Nanez played some minutes as a freshman last year. He will need to continue to improve for us. Ryne Strouss played some minutes as a sophomore last year. He had a good summer for us so we are hoping he can provide support on the defensive end and on the boards.

“Ted Landgraf played a lot of minutes for us last year. With his key role on the football team we didn’t see him much over the summer. His athleticism will be an asset for us.”

In addition, Hanson is looking for couple of players new to the varsity level to step up in junior Isaac Guzman, who will be called on to handle the ball for the Trojans, and Ricky Orozco, who Hanson expects to help bolster the Trojan defense.

Bond will lead the way offensively for the Trojans after aver-

Krew Bond (1) helps defend during a game last season. Bond, a junior, is entering his third season on the varsity. He was fourth in the area in scoring last year at 15.1 points per game.

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16

aging 15.1 points per game last season, which ranked fourth in the area. The Second-Team NewsTribune All-Area pick also averaged 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game.

“Bond is our best offensive player,” Hanson said. “He is strong and can find a way to get to the rim. He has worked on his shot and if that improves he will be hard to handle. Izaiah Nanez will get a chance to score. He had a good summer for us shooting the ball.

Isaac Guzman is one of our most skilled offensive players and needs some minutes to get comfortable.

Rafa will be our ‘big’ presence and will need to get us some points in transition and in the paint. His athleticism should allow him to get 10-12 points a game.”

Hanson said several players will be key to the Trojans’ defensive effort.

“Bond is very good on defense due to his intensity,” Hanson said. “He competes on every possession and that is half the battle on defense. Orozco will need to be scrappy and create havoc for us. Rafa anticipates well and isn’t afraid to make plays on the defensive end. He will need to be a presence for us. Landgraf will be called on to guard athletes on the other

end so he will also have to contribute here.”

With a fairly young roster, the Trojans are looking to improve throughout their first season in the Three Rivers Conference East Division.

“Short term (our goal) is just to get better as a unit. We have a lot of soccer players that experienced great success, but that success means they didn’t play a lot of basketball this offseason,” Hanson said. “We will be very young again and will need to learn from our mistakes early on. I felt like we got better last year and played our best game of the year our last game. If we can do that again I think we will be in good shape. Our conference will be very difficult and our tournament schedules will be tough as well so we just need to stay focused on the little things that make us better.

“The long-term goals are to be ready to compete for a conference and regional titles again. I am not sure that will happen this year, but this group won’t settle for not competing, and that is very encouraging. I look for us to be playing our best basketball at the end of the season and gain confidence going into what should be a promising future.”

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MENDOTA GIRLS

17

By Don Baldin The Mendota girls basketball team is looking to replace a senior-laden 2020-21 team that went 4-10.

Seniors Paige Manning and Natalie Bodmer — who is out until Christmas with an ACL tear — will lead the Trojans, while seniors Eliza Salinas, Kya Delao and Isabella Tolentino along with sophomore Reanna Brant add varsity experience as well.

Juniors Naitzy Garcia, Flor Delao, Emily Stewart and Gracie Zinke. as well as sophomores Karly Reel and Grace Wasmer also will contribute.

Coach John Hansen said the team’s versatility and flexibility will allow him to mix and match lineups to create match up problems for opponents while keeping the Trojans fresh.

Offensively, the Trojans must replace Daisy Arteaga, a NewsTribune Third-Team All-Area selection last season who ranked sixth in the area in scoring at 12.4 points per game, along with point guard Jenna O’Donnell, who was fifth in the area in assists at 2.4 per contest.

“I’m truly expecting a different points leader most nights this season,” Hansen said. “I think we’re already doing a great job of knowing our roles in the offensive scheme and that we all can contribute at that end and have some success. I’m hoping for breakout seasons from Manning, Jenner, Brant and Tolentino on offense.”

Defensively, Hansen is looking for

Brant, Manning and Garcia to be a presence in the paint to make up for the loss of 6-footer Jaelyn Fitzgerald, who led the area in blocks at 2 per game while hauling in 7.5 rebounds per contest.

Brant was third in the area last season in rebounding as she averaged 8.1 per game.

On the perimeter, Flor Delao, Jenner and Stewart will be tough defenders who will replace O’Donnell (2.9 steals per game) and Arteaga (1.9 steals per game).

“Defensively Brant, Manning, and Garcia will have to play well in the post and Flor Delao, Jenner and Stewart are our quick on ball defenders,” Hansen said.

Hansen said the Trojans have a variety of goals both short-term like working on the group’s mentality and long-term such as having a strong showing in Mendota’s first season in the Three Rivers Conference East Division.

“Short term, I’m pushing hard on us believing in ourselves and working hard to get better each night,” Hansen said. “I just want us to focus on improving on our good basketball habits and weeding out our bad ones and competing each night.

Long term, we want to be in the mix in the conference and compete for a regional. Regardless of outcome, we want the program to be better as a whole at the end of the season than it was yesterday.”

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18 PRINCETON BOYS

Princeton excited to see football success carry over to the court

By Kevin Hieronymus The football season has created a buzz around Princeton this fall.

The excitement promises to carry over to basketball season.

The Tigers bring back a wealth of talent from a team many considered regional/sectional championship caliber last year. But the Tigers never got the chance to win any postseason hardware, the season reduced to a COVID-limited 7-3 campaign, 6-0 in Three Rivers East Conference play.

“I am pretty excited to see us play a full season after a full summer of work. I am pretty pumped that they get to play a full schedule this year. I think that they are, too,” third-year Tigers coach Jason Smith said.

Smith, who provides the color analysis for the stream broadcasts on Tiger Central Live for football, is happy to see the football team do so well with the impact it has on all the PHS athletes.

“Winning definitely breeds into winning. It’s a confidence thing,” he said. “Those football kids will come in with our group of basketball boys that have been there and will bring that expectation of winning with them. Coach (Ryan) Pearson has turned that program around. I have a lot of respect for him and pick his brain from time to time.

“Both group of kids hate to lose and will not accept losing. That is something that is special and so hard to find these days.

One player who will make an immediate impact on the hardwood

when the football season ends is junior guard Teegan Davis.

A quarterback in football, Davis excels with the ball in his hands in basketball, too. He averaged 12.7 points per game this spring along with 5.5 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.9 steals, named Second Team Three Rivers East All-Conference.

“He’s a high-motor kids, hates losing and is a leader,” Smith said.

A breakout player in the making is junior guard Grady Thompson, who has honed his game in showcase camps over the summer. An Honorable Mention Three Rivers East All-Conference pick, Thompson averaged 9.0 points, shooting 82% from the free-throw line this spring.

“He is an absolute gym rat. He works extremely hard to get better day by day, and it shows. He has a high basketball IQ and loves to compete,” Smith said.

Brothers Kaden and Kolten Monroe return for their second year back at PHS, returning home after a stay in Milwaukee. They both bring size and an all-around game, and Smith believes the best is yet to come from both of them.

Smith said the 6-7 senior Kaden Monroe, who averaged 7.2 points and 4.6 rebounds a game last year to earn Honorable Mention Three Rivers East All-Conference honors, has really good footwork for a big man and can shoot inside and out.

“I am not sure if he knows how good he can be once he gets into basketball shape. It is kind of scary, really,” he said.

The Tigers coach is looking for the 6-6 junior Kolton Monroe to

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Princeton’s Grady Thompson shoots against Newman last season at Prouty Gym. be more aggressive this year, both offensively and defensively. He is a great teammate, Smith said, that is too unselfish at times.

Smith is also high on senior guard Jackson Dressler, who said has worked his tail off for me and has been very coachable.

“He will be asked to do some different things, and I have no doubt that he will get the job done. He has really improved defensively,” Smith said.

Additional players are expected to compete for roster spots after football season concludes.

The Tigers coach said he has no doubt his guys can make baskets, but he is “more interested to see if we have the determination and the want to stop others from making baskets.” Smith anticipates an exciting season ahead.

“We have some talented kids with strong work ethic and that are very coachable,” he said. “These kids love basketball and love to compete. Most importantly, they are great kids. Hopefully, we have the kind of year that Tiger fans will be proud of. They have worked extremely hard and can’t wait to showcase it in front of a live audience.”

The season tips off in the Geneseo Thanksgiving Tournament with a game at East Moline on Wednesday, Nov. 24. The Tigers will play two games Friday, Nov. 26, first at Rockridge at 1:30 p.m. with a nightcap at 7:30 p.m. against host Geneseo. The tourney concludes Saturday, Nov. 27 with a date at Rock Falls at 4:30 p.m.

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Princeton Girls

19

By Kevin Hieronymus The Princeton High School girls basketball coaching tree continue to grow this year.

Jeff Ohlson made the move from Bureau Valley to serve as head girls coach at PHS in 2015-16. After one year, he turned the reigns over to his former Storm player and assistant coach, Tiffany Gonigam, who jumped from Bureau Valley to Princeton.

Expecting the birth of her first child, Gonigam resigned this spring after five seasons, and now her protege, Darcy Kepner, has taken over the Tigresses program.

Kepner played for both Gonigam and assistant Abbi Bosnich at Bureau Valley and coached briefly under them at PHS. She knows they are there for support when she needs them.

“To say I am grateful for these two is a complete understatement,” said Kepner, whose coaching style highly patterns Gonigam’s. “They have been my biggest cheerleaders in taking over this program. They are always there to support me and the girls in anything we need from taking stats, talking over strategy, scouting, etc.

“The transition has been so easy

because of the type of program they have created before me. I’m excited to continue to learn from them and build off the foundation they left here.”

The new Tigresses coach inherits a team ready for success. She has a core of four seniors to lead the way and an incoming junior class coming off back-to-back undefeated seasons in conference play at the sophomore level.

“The transition has gone better than I could have hoped,” Kepner said. “I am so grateful for the group of girls I have and their ability to be coachable and adapt to a new coaching staff.

They have really built off our key principles of bringing energy, effort, hard work and a positive attitude to practice each day. Their energy and work ethic is fun to be around.

“Overall, they are a competitive group who puts in the work. We are excited to see where that takes us as a group.”

The Tigresses had a scare on the third day of practice when senior Mckenzie Hecht rolled an ankle. Initially feared to be a break, it proved to be an ankle sprain, and Hecht is hopeful to bounce back quickly for the start of the season.

“She will fill a huge leadership role

for us on and off the court,” Kepner said. “She is our returning leader in points (9.2), rebounds (8), assists (1.3) and steals (3.2) from a year ago. I am so excited to have her back to lead our team this year.”

Hecht is joined by classmates Maggie Davis (G), who Kepner said “will Princeton’s McKenzie Hechts looks to pass under the heavy defenprovide us with sive pressure of St. Bede’s Teghan Tillman at the Academy. The a great defensive Lady Bruins won 38-30. presence on the floor,” Morgan this core group who Kepner looks to Coleman (P), Anastasia Mallery-Sond- “bring key contributions to our team.” geroth (G) and Gracie Reynolds (G).

Hobson and Gartin will be counted “They will bring us great leader- on to handle the ball this year, with ship, understanding of the game and May and Ibarra continuing to provide energy,” Kepner said. some scoring punch.

The PHS coach is also high on the The PHS squad also gained foreign highly successful junior class which exchange students Nellie Helmer moves up to the varsity ranks, some of and Nike Doose, of Germany, who whom have had a taste of varsity play. Kepner said have not played basketGuards Mariah Hobson, Veronica ball before.

Tirao, Olivia Gartin, Cayla Colby and The Tigresses will tip off their seaposts Erin May (6-0), Isa Ibarra (5-6) son in their own Holiday Tournament and Emma Kruse-Carter 5-8) make up from Nov. 15-20.

SENECA BOYS

Size, skill highlight Fighting Irish’s high hopes this season

By Bill Lidinsky Throughout Russ Witte’s 12-year tenure as varsity basketball coach at Seneca High School, the veteran bench boss (187-157) has not often been blessed with much size.

That will change during Witte’s 13th season at the Seneca helm, as the Fighting Irish boast a 13-player roster with six competitors taller than six feet and four who are 6-3 or better.

“We’re longer than we’ve been in an awfully long time, so when I say we go up to 6-3 and 6-5, we’re legitimate,” Witte said. “We also have a pretty decent skill set, but we’re young with only four seniors, so it will be interesting to see how all our size and skill mesh together.”

Seneca played a Tri-County Conference-only schedule earlier this year during the COVID-shortened campaign, finishing with a 7-5 record as Witte tried to make sure everybody — especially the seniors — received playing time as well as giving valuable experience to his underclassmen.

“You can throw most of the pandemic season’s numbers out the

window except for the seniors, who I felt very bad for,” Witte said. “We rotated all of our kids through each and every game. We just wanted to play basketball at that point. But now things are a little bit different this season, so we’ll go back to things like we normally would have done.”

Witte will look to three key senior returnees to shoulder the load as starters.

Guard Zach Pfeifer was the team’s leading scorer as a junior, notching 10.1 points per game.

Classmate Noah Quigley (5-9, G, 7.8 ppg) was next in line on the overall scoring list, while Given Siegel (6-3, F, 4.1 ppg) also figures to expand on a decent but abbreviated junior campaign.

“With those three, with their skill set and experience, hopefully they can lead us along the way, and I believe they can,” Witte said. “We hope we’ll be better considering all our added length to help them. But that added length comes from our youth, so we’ll have to see where that takes us.”

Up front, sophomore Lane Provance (6-5, F) will start as well

after playing junior-varsity and freshman ball earlier in the year.

The other big men that figure to see a lot of time are junior Dominic Traina (6-3, F) and sophomore Kysen Klinker (6-3, F), with Traina having competed in a bit of varsity time last season.

“Our bigs will be a work in progress this year, with the physical aspect of the game needing to be area we’ll hope to get better at as the season goes on,” Witte said. “So far during the first couple of days in practice it’s going fairly well, and I know we’ll get to where we need to be with the big talent we have.”

The point guard position will be handled by junior Braden Ellis (510) and promising freshman Paxton Giertz (5-11).

“We’ll split the time right now at the point between Bradon and Paxton. They’re very talented, and their offensive skill set is good,” Witte said. “We’re going to go back to what we’re used to doing at Seneca, and that’s playing good, hard defense and trying to find the best available shot we can, playing a little faster and a little more athletic than we have in the past.”

Seneca’s Zach Pfeifer blocks a shot last season during the Fighting Irish’s conference matchup with Marquette.

After a one-year hiatus, Seneca opens the 2021-22 campaign with its annual Turkey Tournament and a date with Newark on opening night — Monday, Nov. 22.

“Overall, if we’re the best we can be come February and the postseason, we know with this team we’ll be a tough out for an opponent, Witte said. “That’s the goal.”

BASKETBALL PREVIEW | November 2021 | Shaw Media

Darcy Kepner the latest in the Princeton girls hoops coaching tree

Shaw Media | November 2021 | BASKETBALL PREVIEW

20 SENECA GIRLS

As Holman takes over, Seneca’s girls hope to continue success

By Bill Lidinsky

Since the 2017-18 season, the Seneca girls basketball program has experienced a renaissance of sorts under the guidance of Ted O’Boyle.

During O’Boyle’s four-year tenure, the Irish compiled a sparkling record of 81-26 including a pair of Class 2A regional championships and Seneca’s first sectional title since 2001-02.

But O’Boyle resigned after the abbreviated season earlier this year — where the Irish finished 11-1 overall and 8-1 as Tri County Conference champs — to assume a new role as SHS assistant activities director.

Enter 2004 Seneca graduate Brain Holman, who .

“We’ve got a good structure in place,” Holman said, “so we’ll see what we can accomplish. The hope is to extend what Ted has done over the last four years with the press, get up and move and then do what I like to do, which is grind games out and continue to make girls basketball exciting at Seneca.”

Holman’s no rookie on the hoops bench by any means, having also enjoyed great success on the varsity level serving as head coach for one year at Newark (2013-14, 21-7) and then

five at Hall (2014-19, 103-44) which included four consecutive Class 2A regional championships from 2016 to 2019 before returning to his prep alma mater.

He will enjoy a talented, 18-player varsity roster comprised of eight seniors, seven juniors and three freshmen.

Of those, junior guard Kennedy Hartwig (5-5) who posted 13.5 points per game earlier in the COVID season as a sophomore, is expected to lead the way along with senior forward Carly Greve (5-9, 4.1 ppg), senior center Emma Smith (5-9, 2.5 ppg, 4.0 rebounds per game) and senior guard Addie Eltrevoog (5-7, 4-4 ppg).

“These four returning girls saw the most playing time earlier in the year during the short COVID season, and we’re fortunate to have our leading scorer back in Kennedy Hartwig,” Holman said. “We’ll rely on her for points and expect the other three to really lead us as we try to fit in some other good players along the way.”

Holman is hoping two talented freshmen point guards can work into his starting system quickly along with a junior sixth player off the bench.

Freshmen Alyssa Zellers (5-1) and Lainie Olson (5-5) figure to run the

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Irish show in their first years on the prep level, while junior guard Cassia Buchanan (5-2) should also play a pivotal role in the Seneca mix along with promising freshman center Ella Sterling (5-10).

“I’m going to give some freshmen a shot in the deep end right away, and I think they’ll do a great job for us and continue to grow as the season moves on,” Holman said. “I’ve done it before at Newark … and it’s not always smooth early on, but so far they’ve transitioned seamlessly.

“I know there will be some rough patches, but our freshmen will be Seneca’s Kennedy Hartwig (24) tries to save an errant tasked to run the show this pass during the 2020 Tri-County Conference Tournaseason. I’m banking on a ment. very successful season for us.” teams competing at Seneca and four Seneca opens its campaign Mon- at Flanagan-Cornell. day as one of two hosts of the newly The championship round will be minted Falcon-Irish Varsity Girls Bas- contested Saturday, Nov. 20, with ketball Tournament formerly known the title tilt set for approximately 5:30 as the Stone Seed Classic, where it p.m. will face Herscher at 7 p.m. with four

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STREATOR BOYS

By J.T. Pedelty

Streator boys basketball coach Beau Doty summed up his Bulldogs’ mindset toward the season ahead in a single, succinct sentence.

“Whatever outside people’s expectations are for us,” he said, “our expectations are higher for ourselves.”

Those would be some high expectations indeed, as this winter’s Bulldogs are forecasted to do quite a lot led by 11 seniors and an experienced, three-man core Doty calls as talented if not more so than any he’s had in his 13 seasons (176-150 record, second only to hall of fame coach “Pops” Dale’s 500 victories) at the helm.

Senior shooting guard Jack Starkey has been electric during his four-year varsity career when healthy; which he is entering the season, and looking better than ever. Sophomore point guard Christian Benning didn’t just fit in during his limited Streator’s Jack Haynes (23) grabs the basketball away from a pair of Manteno would-be rebounders at Pops Dale Gymnasium last season. minutes playing varsity as a freshman last “Jack Starkey is eager to show ev- utes,” Doty said, and three juniors Tournament (Nov. 22-27), a trip season; he stood out, both physically eryone exactly who he is. He’s one rounding out the varsity roster and back up Route 23 to face the Pirates and in terms of production.

(Dec. 11), a more concentrated Plano of the most dynamic players I’ve also expected to contribute.

And then there’s athletic, 6-6 forInside/on the wing with Haynes Christmas Classic (Dec. 27-30), a visit coached in terms of sheer ‘wow’ facward Jack Haynes, also a four-year tor when you watch him play. Injury will be the likes of seniors Tyler from La Salle-Peru (Jan. 11) and the varsity player and already a two-time shortened his season last year, but Luckey, Blake Ewing, Cade Stevens, usual Illinois Central Eight ConferTimes All-Area First Team selection through three games he was our best Dane Winterrowd and Alex Ward, ence slate. coming off a COVID-shortened 2020“We challenged ourselves with as well as juniors Jake Luckey, Cooplayer. ...

21 season in which he averaged 15.5 “Christian has really taken the reins per Spears and Austin Taylor. Com- our [summer schedule filled with] points, 10.6 rebounds and 1.1 steals and been solid for us. We’re asking a peting for time on the perimeter are shootouts and some upper-echelon per contest. At 593 points, he’s on a lot of him this season ... and I think 12th-graders Nolan Barr, Noah Col- teams we played,” Doty said. “It retrajectory to become the first Bulldogs his ball-handling, his ability to defend ter, Davey Rashid and Sean McGurk. ally opened our eyes. I think we have male basketball player to reach 1,000 “I think a lot of those guys, espe- an athletic group ... and we’re a team multiple positions and his physicality career points since school all-time cially the seniors who were juniors that has high goals for ourselves and are going to be huge assets for us. ... leading scorer J.J. Cravatta flew by the “We expect a ton out of those guys last year in a shortened season, are wants to challenge ourselves, because milestone 11 years ago. you want to be ready when you have leadership-wise and establishing the hungry,” Doty said.

“Jack Haynes has really come along With an eye on being prepared for a to face those teams. ... culture we want to build, establishing and developed his all-around game,” “We really want to be as ready as also the pace we want to play at and run at a postseason title, the Bulldogs Doty said. “He’s confident handling have bulked up their schedule. SHS we can and see everything by the time the way we want to compete.” the ball, he’s confident is his ball-hanWhile that trio is expected to be at added the St. Joe-Ogden Shootout February rolls around, and I think our dling, his footwork and his jump shot the center of what the Bulldogs do, (Jan. 8), DeKalb (Jan. 22) and Wash- kids are in a good frame of mind right looks great. He’s put in a lot of time they won’t be alone, supported by a ington (Jan. 29) in addition to a slate now when it comes to that.” to becoming an all-around, complete large senior class “competing for the that includes Ottawa’s season-openplayer. ... lion’s share of the rest of the min- ing Dean Riley “Shootin’ the Rock”

BASKETBALL PREVIEW | November 2021 | Shaw Media

Bulldogs expect big things on the hardwood this winter

21

Shaw Media | November 2021 | BASKETBALL PREVIEW

22 STREATOR GIRLS

Streator girls taking on new identity after first winning season in decades

By J.T. Pedelty Over the past four years, the game plans of the Streator High girls basketball team have focused on getting the ball to the school’s all-time leading scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker, Natali Haynes, and letting her go to work.

With Haynes — along with Times All-Area Honorable Mention point guard Dezirea Jordan — now gone to Pomp and Circumstance after leading the team to the program’s first winning season of the 21st century in the COVID-shortened campaign, this winter’s Bulldogs will be altering their focus.

“It’s going to be a culture change, for sure,” said Streator coach Beau Albert, entering his fourth season.

“We’re not going to sit back in a 2-3 zone and let the 6-2 girl get all the rebounds. We’re going to have to get out, press and rotate a lot of girls in. ...

“We’ve been telling the girls, you’ve got to buy in defensively to man-to-man. We’re going to struggle to score some nights, but offensively we’re going to be more up-tempo too. There are going to be times where we have five guards on the floor and try to get up and down, helter-skelter.

“It’s definitely going to be different.”

A pair of senior guards — Jeniece White and Anna Hoffmeyer — are expected to take center stage after playing key roles and showing moments of brilliance in supporting roles in recent seasons.

“Anna showed flashes last year,” Albert said. “I think her thing is going to be she’s got to take the ball to the hole more. ... Last year, I think she didn’t think that was her role, but this year we want her to take it inside more and finish, take

Streator’s Anna Hoffmeyer (4) drives through a trio of Herscher defenders during a pre-pandemic Illinois Central Eight Conference game at Pops Dale Gymnasium in Streator.

that leadership role.

“With Jeniece, we want her to take the ball to the hole too. She has to do it under control, but if she can I think she can be a real asset for us.”

Albert also mentioned junior guard Ellie Isermann as being especially impressive in the preseason, and sophomore Riley Talty — who will at least start the season playing up alongside fellow 10thgrade guard Bridget McGurk, both auditioning for varsity the opening week before the sophomore season begins — as perhaps the strongest fundamental point guard in the program and a possibility to take

over that position from the graduated Jozie Cole.

Juniors Alexandra Austin, Mia Granados and Cailey Gwaltney will also see time at guard. Listed at forward — what could be a key position for the team should one or more of them grow into being a strong paint presence — are seniors Ebony Pickens and Avary McCloskey along with juniors Marisa Vickers and Charlee Bourell.

“Only two of those seniors (Hoffmeyer and White) got a lot of playing time last year,” Albert said, “so it’s going to be a learning experience for everybody.”

As for goals this winter, Albert

believes improving toward competitiveness in the short term can lead to wins over the course of what will hopefully be a full, normal season.

“I don’t know [what our goal would be] as far as wins and losses go,” he said, “but I’ve told the girls if we can finish .500 in the [Illinois Central Eight] Conference, that’s a good goal for us right now. But really, our goal is basically to just get better each week.

“If we get better at guarding people, the offense will come, and let the wins fall where they will.”

Streator opens in the Princeton Tournament.

23

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24 WOODLAND BOYS

Woodland’s top goal? Beginning build of new, winning image

By J.T. Pedelty Fifth-year Woodland head coach Connor Kaminke will be looking to a five-man senior core to lead a promising, invested group of youngsters in what he hopes will be the start of building a new-and-improved image for Warriors basketball.

“We’ve got five seniors who have been with the program ... and I’m really looking forward to seeing these guys play their last season,” Kaminke said of guard Keegan Boldt, wing Phoenix Cooper, guard Glen Ruff, wing Carl Sass and post Chris Stasko.

“They’ve worked really hard these last four years to get to this point, and this is a year where I think they’re going to have some opportunity to make the most of it.

“Those five guys are going to be some of our main focal points.”

Beyond the enforcer-type Stasko (3.1 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.5 spg in 2020-21), spot-up shooter Sass (3.1 ppg), strong defender Ruff (2.8 ppg), leading returning scorer Cooper (10.0 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 1.7 apg) and Boldt, who’s impressed Kaminke with an outstanding preseason, however, the Warriors can go at least seven if not 10 men deep without losing a step, the coach believes.

Along with those seniors, that main rotation includes two juniors, expected starting point guard Carter Ewing (1.8 ppg) and the athletic Mason Sterling. Right behind nipping on their heels are players such as sophomore shooting guard Jon Moore (1.2 ppg) — who led last year’s JV team and has the promise to develop into a mainstay mainstay this winter — and freshman guards Nick Plesko and Connor Dodge.

Outside threat Tucker Hill and post players Brayden Follmer, Kenny Eutsey and Isaac Follmer — all sophomores — round out the season-opening varsity roster.

Kaminke is excited to see his team back in basketball shape and a regular routine, hoping that equates to a significant improvement over last season’s 3-9 record.

“Last year for everyone was unfortunately kind of a crapshoot,” the Warriors coach said. “It was a tough year for everybody. We played 12 games, which was 12 more than I thought we would, but we just got a

Woodland’s Keegan Boldt (1) passes around a defender during a Tri-County Conference game last season at the Warrior Dome. little experience last year. That’s the most positive take we could have.

“The guys are looking a lot more in shape this year, a lot stronger, a lot quicker. I think being back in their normal routines and habits has really helped.”

The Warriors are slated to open the season on their home court in their pool of the dual-site Route 17 Classic.

Woodland plays St. Bede at 8 p.m.

Monday, Nov. 22, followed by 8 p.m. opening tips the next two nights with Ridgeview and Flanagan-Cornell. The place games will be contested Saturday at the Warrior Dome.

Additional schedule highlights include the Tri-County Conference opener with visiting DePue (11/30), a visit from Seneca (12/10), the Marseilles Holiday Tournament (12/2730), the TCC Tournament (1/22-28), a trip to Marquette (2/11), playing Lexington at Chicago’s United Center (2/12) and the regular-season finale at Flanagan-Cornell (2/18).

“I don’t know if there’s a number, a baseline of wins or anything like that as a goal,” Kaminke said when asked what he’d view as a successful season this winter. “What we’ve been talking about coming into this season

is changing the Woodland basketball image. Unfortunately, these past few years and historically, we’ve struggled.

“We’ve always played hard and always been competitive, but winning has been something we’ve struggled doing. I think this is a group that has the opportunity and the ability to change that image — not only this year, but in years to come. I think the pieces are in place with a little mix of skill, some young talent, some competitiveness and some guys who take pride in trying to change the image.

“I think we have the ability to do that.”

BASKETBALL

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WOODLAND WARRIORS

25

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26 MARQUETTE BOYS

Finding points will be Marquette boys’ top priority in early-going

By Charlie Ellerbrock Much like the Marquette football team that only recently completed a successful season, the basketball Crusaders will be relying a lot on defense for their inroads this winter. But unlike their gridiron counterparts, where the points scored will come from is anybody’s guess.

Graduated from last season’s 11-4, Tri-County Conference runner-up squad are that team’s top three scorers — Lucas Hoffman, the leader at 12.3 points and 6.7 rebounds, Nick Melvin (10.2 ppg) and Luke Couch (8.6 ppg), plus one of the area’s most intimidating figures in 6-7 post Victor Mullen.

As many players were also members of the 9-2 Class 1A grid playoff team, Hopkins gave them a few days to recoup before calling his first practice on Nov. 10. He’ll work them back slowly into game shape to see what he’s got and find where this year’s scoring will come.

One thing he knows for sure now is that the Cru will be counting heavily on its most experienced player, junior Logan Nelson. Back for his third varsity season, the 6-2 junior was a capable assistant to the trio of graduated guards a year ago, but the coach admits it’s time for him to step to a lead role.

“Logan is going to have to put the ball in the hole for us this year, no doubt about it. He needs to take off for us,” Hopkins said. “While we won’t have players going off for 25 every night, it could be a different guy’s each night having a big game for us. …

“We have to score, but how we’re gonna score, I don’t know.”

Joining Nelson in the backcourt to help quarterback the club at point guard will be two of his fall teammates, who both have literally been quarterbacks: 5-10 juniors Tom Durdan and Alex Graham.

Marquette is expecting 5-10 junior Griffin Walker to provide solid perimeter shooting, 5-9 junior Gabe Almeda to shore its the defense and 5-10 first-year senior Nathan Kuykendall to give depth.

While MA has the guards, it can also go big starting with two strong,

Marquette’s Logan Nelson (in white) grabs a loose ball before Woodland’s Phoenix Cooper in Tri-County Conference action last January.

experienced posts in Beau and Brady Ewers, who are both 6-2 but play bigger, said the coach.

Marquette will not be relying solely on the twins inside. Also in the mix will be letter-winning, 6-3 senior Cody Ewers, the twins’ cousin, along with 6-4 Aiden Thompson, 6-4 Gavin Nussbaum, 6-1 Noah Barth and perhaps the most athletic of the group, 6-3 Caden Eller.

Eller, an acrobatic wide receiver on the gridiron before suffering a season-ending shoulder injury, should be cleared for hoops before Thanksgiving, giving MA a solid inside/outside threat and a stretch

defender on a smaller guard.

“Despite our size, we won’t be looking to walk it up the floor, because I don’t feel we can play like that,” Hopkins said. “There will be times we might have to, of course, but we’ll be looking to push if we have the chance to get some easy baskets. That’s always good. … It’ll be different than last year when we had three really good, experienced guards, but we can push or we can set it up.”

MA opens the season with DePue at home Nov. 23, the first game of what should be a wide-open TCC race with the likes of Roanoke-Benson, Midland, Dwight, Seneca and

Putnam County. The Crusaders will be tested throughout, from opening Hall’s Colmone Classic with Pontiac to facing Beardstown at the Eureka College Shootout to regular-season matchups with Rock Island Alleman, Aurora Central Catholic and Sandwich.

“First we have to get them to get used to going from the soft ground to the hard court,” said Hopkins.

“In a couple of weeks, we’ll be OK. Maybe not in tip-top shape, but we’ll get there. … Hopefully by the middle of January, Tri-County Tournament time, we’ll be getting into the groove and be competitive in the regional.”

MARQUETTE GIRLS

27

By Charlie Ellerbrock One can’t blame Marquette girls basketball coach Eric Price for being a little uncertain of what he’ll have to work with this winter. He said himself, “there are plenty of new faces” to go along with a few familiar ones.

Despite the fact they have four returning starters from last season’s abbreviated 4-4 campaign, the Crusaders will again be plenty young, filling in much of the remainder of the squad with sophomores and even freshmen at times when game situations dictate.

Gone from that team via graduation are six seniors — most notable Lauren Rayburn, Addie McConnaughhay and Paige Cottingim — but returning are the top three scorers, top two rebounders and a point guard now in her fourth season on the varsity at that position.

“We have three seniors, one junior, five sophomores and 11 freshmen in the program this year. At a small schools like ours, it goes in spurts that way sometimes,” said Price. “It’s kind of unique to have four starters back, even though we didn’t play a ton of games last year with just eight of them, missing all of the last two weeks because of COVID, and we’re excited about [the returners].

“The fifth spot is up for grabs with four or five girls who are under the microscope each day. But whoever starts, the others will probably all see time on a regular basis. … It’s going to be interesting to see how this team meshes and grows.”

Point guard is all set with versatile and athletic Josie Eager. The 5-5 senior last season was a First Team Tri-County Conference choice after averaging 11.9 points, 4.2 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.9 steals per contest.

“Really, having Josie back at point guard is like having a coach on the floor,” said Price. “Not only is she a very good ball-handler who’s grown a lot stronger physically each year she’s been in the program, but she brings a calming feeling to the team out there.

The game’s not fast for her, so she shares that to make everyone comfortable on the floor.

“We expect big things from her and from all the girls we have back.”

Joining her in the starting lineup will be another senior in 5-5 Izzy Garkey, a solid rebounder, defender and improving shooter; and the squad’s lone junior, Eva McCallum, a perimeter-capable 5-10 post who was a

Marquette’s Josie Eager (24) dribbles past a Roanoke-Bensen defender during the teams’ Tri-County Conference game last season at Bader Gym. Tri-County Third Team pick after averaging 7.9 points and 4.8 rebounds as a sophomore.

The fourth starter back is 5-8 sophomore Lilly Craig, a versatile performer who was first on the club in rebounds at 7.0 a game, second in scoring at 8.3 and was a Times ?Honorable Mention All-Area pick.

Vying for that fifth spot will be the third senior, 5-5 forward Kaitlyn Magoonaugh, a former Tri-County free-throw contest winner; 5-6 junior Darby Morganflash; and a letter-win-

ning sophomore, 5-7 forward Jaylyn Clairmont.

Among the freshmen who should see varsity floor time are 5-10 center Avery Durdan, 5-7 forward Makayla Backos and 5-5 guard Chloe Larson.

“We’re not the biggest team heightwise,” Price said. “Avery and Eva are the tallest at 5-10 and no one else is over 5-8. … I think we have enough ball-handlers to get more transition baskets than we did last year, but you can’t run if you don’t rebound.

“The freshman class is pretty big,

but at the same time it’s a pretty big jump from eighth grade to high school varsity basketball, the speed and the physicality of the game, but I think a couple of weeks in, after cutting our teeth a little bit and seeing what’s what, I think we can have some success. … Some of them have played varsity volleyball, so being around the older girls, seeing how they prepare and approach a game will help them, I’m sure. …

“It’s going to be fun.”

BASKETBALL PREVIEW | November 2021 | Shaw Media

Solid core, young faces make Marquette girls a threat

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28

® Relax, We’ll Take It From Here .

OTTAWA BOYS

29

By Brian Hoxsey The Ottawa boys basketball team, like every other team in the state, is back on a steady course this season after last spring’s shortened, and what felt like rushed, campaign due to the novel coronavirus.

Pirates head coach Mark Cooper, who enters his 18th season at the helm with a 290-163 career coaching mark, said while getting to play — albeit just 15 games — in the spring was a blessing, he feels the lost practice time will make for a slower start than in past years.

“We obviously, like everyone else, have been able to get back to our more traditional practice outline for the first two weeks for what you want to work on and when you put things in,” said Cooper. “We had games in the spring, but not much practice time. I’m seeing slippage in regards to that our sophomore and juniors in fundamentals and practice reps. That’s going to be the case for every program, I think, so it’s going to take time for us to truly get up to pace.

“We have a blueprint for the program and how we want to do things.

We don’t change a whole lot from year to year, we’re pretty consistent, so all the kids know where we want to be, and we’ll get there.”

Ottawa, which finished 14-1 overall (.933) and Interstate Eight Conference champs (12-1), had its first year ending with a win since the 1956-57 team placed third at state and the best winning percentage since the 1959-60 went 31-2 (.939) under Gil Love. The Pirates graduated eight seniors, including The Times Player of the Year and all-stater Anthony Cooper, as well as solid contributors in Zach Vogel, Levi Sholders and Evan Evola.

The Pirates roster will feature seniors Luke Cushing (8.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 2.5 apg, 2.6 spg, I-8 First Team, Times Second Team, second leading scorer in 2020-21), Damon Bailey, Aaron Threadgill, Javarius Whitifield, Hayden Marvin, Anthony Miller (4.5 ppg, 3.1 rpg, 1.7 apg), Zach Graham, Braiden Miller (2.7 ppg, 2.7 rpg) and Ramazan Ibishoski, as well as juniors Connor Price, Levi Sheehan, Matt

Ottawa’s Braiden Miller (34) shoots a jump shot in the lane over Plano’s Tristan Canfield (25) during the spring season. Miller, now a senior who averaged 2.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in the spring, will be expected to take on a bigger role for the Pirates in 2021-22 season.

Haerle, Aiden Mucci, Jonathan Cooper, Trace Roether, Payton Knoll and Rylan Dorsey.

“It always helps transitioning into a new season when you have a good mix of juniors and seniors, and we’ve been fortunate to have had that be the case for the past few years,” said Coach Cooper. “We always been a team where the seniors set the tone with their play, and that will be no different this year.

“We return senior kids that played significant minutes last spring, but also seniors that may have played a secondary role but are now ready to step in to a bigger role.”

One thing for sure is the Pirates will

play solid team defense. That’s been a staple for years, but after losing 70% of the scoring and 56% of rebounds, who will step up on the offensive end of the floor for the 2021-22 campaign?

“Last year we were fortunate to have a 24-points-per-game kid in Anthony, and we could count on him every night,” said Coach Cooper. “Figuring out where the points come from? We have guys that can score, we may not be as dependent night in and night out on one guy. We have some options. I think that is going to one of the things that organically develops for us as the season moves forward. I ‘m not at all concerned about that.”

This year’s seniors won 20 games

and a share of the league title as sophomores.

“Having kids that are used to winning is a good thing. But just because we had a good season last spring or the seniors now had a good season as sophomores doesn’t guarantee anything. However, these kids work extremely hard and want to carry on the tradition of good, solid Ottawa basketball,” Mark Cooper said.

“I’m excited to see how this group develops and what they are capable of doing.”

Ottawa opens the season at its own Dean Riley “Shootin’ the Rock” Tournament against Illinois Valley Central on Monday, Nov. 22.

BASKETBALL PREVIEW | November 2021 | Shaw Media

Ottawa aims to follow its blueprint to another winning season

Shaw Media | November 2021 | BASKETBALL PREVIEW

30 OTTAWA GIRLS

Ottawa girls boast experience, hope to be tough team to beat

By Brian Hoxsey The Ottawa girls basketball team has all the pieces — experience and potential, along with solid ball-handlers, shooters and a team-built defensive mindset — that could make for an exciting and winning season.

“I like to do quotes for the team, and the quote I started them all out with at the first practice was, ‘It looks like we should win, and we want to win, but we need to expect to win,’ ” said Ottawa’s seventh-year head coach Brent Moore. “It’s not to put pressure on them, but we have all the ingredients to win a lot of games.

“Winners expect to win, and hopefully they believe in themselves like I do that we can be a very tough team to beat this season.”

Ottawa, which finished 9-6 overall and 7-5 in Interstate Eight Conference action in the spring season, opens its 2021-22 campaign Nov. 15 against Indian Creek at the Illinois Math and Science Academy McIntosh Classic.

The Pirates will begin league play on the road at Morris Dec. 4.

“I think early the biggest thing will be conditioning, and a lot of our practice drills incorporate conditioning in them, so I feel we’ll be all right come our first game,” said Moore.

Ottawa returns four starters — all seniors — in point guard Gabi Krueger, No. 2 guard Ella Marvel (6.5 ppg, 3.1 apg, 2.0 spg, I-8 Honorable Mention, Times All-Area Third Team), forward Zoe Harris (7.0 ppg, 4.9 rpg, Times All-Area Honorable Mention) and sharp-shooting guard Brooke Waddell (10 ppg, 3.1 rpg, I-8 First Team, Times All-Area Second Team), “For our four senior starters, and other seniors Molly Buscher (G) and Madison Lineback (C), the first week of practices was just like hopping back on a bicycle,” said Moore. “They have everything down in terms of what we want to do on both ends of the floor.

They are hungry to get going and need a game. But you look at the rest of the group, some of them got some minutes last spring, but the newcomers will need to learn all of that, and it will take some time. With all that being said, we won’t be changing a whole bunch. We do what we do, but we are adding some things and adding

Ottawa’s Brooke Waddell (23) eyes the hoop on a shot while surrounded by La Salle-Peru defenders during a game at Kingman Gym last spring. Waddell is one of four returning senior starters back for the Pirates this season. to what we already do this year, and we’ve tried to keep a good balance to everything we are working on.

“In those six seniors, I’m looking to them to lead, and they will. They are all outstanding in the things they can do and the roles they play. I feel like they all are going to have great a final season in a Pirate uniform for us.”

Moore said sophomore post Cheyenne Joachim with be the fifth starter.

Joachim saw minutes last season as a freshman, but will take on a much bigger role this year.

“Cheyenne is going to be a big part

of what we do,” said Moore. “We want to get her touches inside, to either finish at the rim or to open up opportunities for the other four players on the floor. She’s a very good rebounder, the best on the team, and she has a chance to be the best rebounder in our conference. She will also be our anchor in the paint defensively and be a player like the bigs we’ve had in the past, like a Sloan Gayan, Regan O’Fallon or Julia Long. They were high-IQ players that understood how to disrupt teams down low.”

The Pirates also will return junior

guard Grace Carroll, who Moore says is “a smart, skilled all-around player that will have her role go up, be the first one off the bench, be the spark and another very good ball-handler.”

Rounding out the roster will be juniors Morgan Stone, Brynne Sember, Michaela Froisland and Gianna Leigh; sophomore Kendall Lowery, who missed spring season with a knee injury; and freshman Marlie Orlandi.

“I’m excited to see what this group can do,” said Moore. “It should be a fun team to watch.”

31

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