Players united at Wheaton Academy

Some teams retool. Others rebuild.

Wheaton Academy did both simultaneously and in the process re-established dominance with a blend of faces new and old.

Bowing out of the Class 3A playoffs with a 68-53 loss to top-seeded Crane at the Riverside-Brookfield sectional, the No. 4-seeded Warriors finished with a stellar record of 27-2.

Following last year’s 24-3 mark led by Tim Rusthoven, in the stands Wednesday after his freshman season ended at William & Mary, Wheaton Academy is 51-5 the last two seasons.

“It’s been a good run for us,” Warriors coach Paul Ferguson said. “We were excited to get to this sectional game. I felt like we could have played a little better.”

Center Luke Johnson was the focus of Crane’s defense. No surprise there. Cougars coach Tim Anderson said: “I don’t understand why he’s not one of the best players in the state, probably the country. This guy’s very good.”

The 6-foot-9 Johnson scored a team-high 24 points with 6 rebounds and 4 blocked shots in his last prep game.

“We didn’t have enough intensity,” said Johnson, whose list of Division I suitors includes New Hampshire.

“We really wanted to win, of course, who wouldn’t,” he said. “We all played hard, our shots didn’t fall, theirs did. That simple.”

Melding this team wasn’t quite that simple.

Joining juniors Drew Sandberg and Lars Olson in Wednesday’s starting lineup were three players who transferred in over the last three seasons, Johnson, Luke Thorson and Wes Koral.

Larry Reynolds, who came off the bench to throw down a dunk among his 6 points, arrived at the West Chicago institution at the start of this, his junior year, from East Aurora.

“I think it was a really good group to be around,” Reynolds said. “As a team in the beginning of the year we had a little bit of a separation. From where we were to where we ended the season right now, I think we all jelled together as like more of a family.”

Koral, the senior guard who transferred from Joliet Catholic, investigated Aurora Central Catholic this summer before switching gears. His wild athleticism was something not often seen at Wheaton Academy.

“I know definitely that athleticism helped the team out because we could run different plays and we could play different defenses with me being, like, long and pretty athletic. I think it really benefitted the team,” he said.

Johnson transferred after his sophomore term at Aurora Christian. His coach, Marc Davidson, did not have his contract renewed. Davidson recommended Wheaton Academy.

“It’s worked out pretty well,” Johnson said. “Couldn’t pick a better bunch of guys to be playing basketball with. School-wise, the teachers at my school are phenomenal, I love it.”

Through all this change, there’s been Tate Fritz. Kept the varsity scorebook as a freshmen. Brought up midway through his sophomore season. Hit 3s on the baseline as a junior and, this season, took it inside.

“I’ve seen what you have to do in order to win and be successful, and it’s driven me,” Fritz said outside the basement locker room at Riverside-Brookfield.

“So looking back, it’s really cool to see how other guys set the standard for me and how I worked toward that and got to be part of a pretty good team this year,” he said.

A blend of old and new took Wheaton Academy among the last 16 teams in 3A.

“It took some time,” Ferguson said. “And I think one of the things that was most rewarding about this season was seeing where we could come to from where we started.

“I think one of the challenges of coaching is getting everyone on the same page, and it took some time with this group. But the end product was pretty good.”