Scouting Wauconda boys basketball

WAUCONDA

Coach: Scott Luetschwager, 2nd season

2009-2010 record: 6-22, 1-11 Prairie

2009-2010 IHSA tournament results: Lost to Grayslake North in regional play-in, 62-46.

Key players lost: F Eric Hartnett, F Matt Stonis, C Chris Woolridge

Key players returning: G Kyle Ryan, jr., G Tyler Gick, sr., G Mike Lovelle, sr.

Top newcomers: F Connor Rueb, jr., G Ryan Gick, soph., G Keith Blomberg, soph., F Shawn Sundquist, jr.

Outlook: There’s one room at school that Wauconda coach Scott Luetschwager would love to make off limits to his team: the training room. Last year, the Bulldogs were hit with several costly injuries that made gaining any traction especially difficult. Two of the team’s best players, Matt Stonis and Eric Hartnett were lost for big chunks of the season, one right after the other. Stonis went down with an ankle injury during preseason practices and then just as he was about to return, Hartnett blew out his knee, which forced him to the sidelines for the rest of the season. At the time, Hartnett was averaging more than 16 points a game and was on pace to set the school’s single-season scoring record. Meanwhile, starting guard Tyler Gick also missed some games with a knee injury. “We never played with our full team last season,” Luetschwager said. “That was really tough. We had to make a lot of changes and change a lot of people around. It seemed like luck was against us last year, but the thing I was proud about is that we just kept coming back from it and got quite a few of our wins with some of our better players out with injury.” The Bulldogs were forced to play younger players who may not have been totally ready for a prominent role then but are reaping the benefits from that experience now. Luetschwager says he has a big group of players who are now battle-tested and even more confident. Forward Connor Rueb was thrust into the lineup as a sophomore and wound up having a breakout season as a three-point wizard. He returns along with Gick, who averaged nearly 11 points per game, and guard Kyle Ryan, who averaged 8.3 points per game in a more expansive role. “We had some kids who got an opportunity to step up,” Luetschwager said. “Now those kids have a taste of what it takes to win at the varsity level.”

Opener: Vs. Grayslake North at Richmond-Burton, 6 p.m. Tuesday