Scouting Graylake Central boys basketball

GRAYSLAKE CENTRAL

Coach: Brian Moe, 3rd season

2009-2010 record: 21-7, 12-0 Fox Valley Fox

2009-2010 IHSA tournament results: Lost to Vernon Hills in regional semifinal, 61-60.

Key players lost: F Andrew Sipes (University of the Cumberlands), F/C Josh Rappaport (St. Norbert), G Matt Murphy, G Cameron Nelson (Gogebic Community College)

Key players returning: G Jordan Taylor, jr., C/F CJ Stempeck, sr.

Top newcomers: C Casey Boyle, jr., G/F Caleb Longenecker, sr., G Kyle Shepard, sr., G Sayvonte McWilliams, jr., G/F Tyler Smith, jr.

Outlook: Coaches like motivational quotes and sayings. Old Irish proverbs work well, too. Recently, Grayslake Central coach Brian Moe shared some Irish wisdom with his team. “You've got to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather is.” Moe thought it was perfect for the Rams, who must prove themselves all over again in spite of the fact that they're coming off one of the best seasons in the program's history. Last year, Grayslake Central won the Fox Valley Fox Division championship by running through division play with a spotless 12-0 record.

“I just keep telling them that no one should care about what happened last year,” Moe said. “They can try to build on last year, on the success and on the situations we were in. But this year is this year.” And in many ways, this year's team is much different from last year's. The Rams lost quite a bit of its horsepower, including leading scorers, rebounders and defenders Josh Rappaport, Andrew Sipes, Cameron Nelson and Matt Murphy. “We lost a lot, but we also played a lot of kids last year,” Moe said. “So we do have kids back who have experience. I think we are deeper than we've been in the past.”…Two of the Rams' most experienced veterans are guard Jordan Taylor, who ran the point last year as a sophomore, and forward CJ Stempeck, who logged tons of minutes in the post. They now will be the focal point of Grayslake Central's offense. Each averaged about 6 points per game last season.

Opener: Vs. Mundelein at Mundelein, 7:30 p.m., Monday