Geneva likes its options
Geneva returns a pair of top-line senior starters in swingman Dan Trimble and guard Will Doeckel.
That’s just the beginning.
“We have depth,” Vikings coach Phil Ralston stated. “As a coaching staff we have some hard decisions now, but we have depth and we have some competitiveness. I think we have the reckoning that at any given time we have three kids that can score, are physically strong and active defensively.”
Trimble is a confident 6-foot-8 player, stronger than a year ago, who can hit the 3 he made 56 of them last season on the way to averages of 9.9 points and 5.4 rebounds and causes mismatches with his size.
Doeckel played only 13 games last year due to injury, but when he was active he was consistent. He scored a high of 11 points against Naperville North in the title game of the Hoops for Healing Tournament, and averaged 7.7 points. Also a key defender, Doeckel is among Ralston’s options at point guard. If he were healthy all last year, Ralston believes Geneva could have added five more wins onto its total of 19.
Another injury victim was potential starter Brad Bernhard, a senior forward who is seen as a force on the baseline. Senior guard Dan Hince averaged 4 points but hit Rochelle with a career-high 24.
“After that,” Ralston said, “it’s wide open.”
Returnees Alex Frederking at the point, senior guard Marcus Stierwalt and junior Brendan Leahy are all in the mix. Ralston is unsure what senior forward Connor Quinn will provide, or when, after a leg injury in the Vikings’ second-round football playoff loss.
A Geneva trademark is stifling defense. The Vikings held opponents to 47.4 points last year and should be in that ballpark again if only by keeping people fresh.
“We have a steady flow of players that we can throw at people,” Ralston said.
Enough, he said, that a challenge may simply be finding the right ingredients, the right chemistry, to put on the floor to get the best results at any one time.
“I see the potential for growth... with a pretty solid group of sophomores last season that are coming up now as juniors,” Ralson said. “I think top to bottom we’re as good a group as there’s been here in the last three years.”
Quick facts
Coach: Phil Ralston (three years, 40-17; overall 148-119).
Last year: 19-10, 10-4, second in the Western Sun Conference; lost 60-49 to Downers Grove South in a Class 4A Geneva regional semifinal.
Players to watch: Brad Bernhard, sr., F; Will Doeckel, sr., G; Alex Frederking, sr., G; Dan Hince, sr., G; Brendan Leahy, jr., G-F; Connor Quinn, sr., F; Marcus Stierwalt, sr., G; Dan Trimble, sr., F.