New roster, new coach for ECC
There are a lot of new components to the Elgin Community College men's basketball team.
Actually everything is new.
Former ECC player and assistant coach and longtime Jacobs High School athletic coach Reed Nosbisch has assumed the head coaching controls. Nosbisch, an assistant last year, replaced Greg Herenda, who took the head job at NCAA Division III Cabrini College in downtown Philadelphia.
Nosbisch played for ECC from 1990-1992. He played one year for current Jacobs head coach Jim Hinkle and played his final year under media favorite Joe Wharton, who is now the head coach at Wright College in Chicago. Nosbisch was also an assistant under Wharton during the 1995-1996 campaign.
The popular Nosbisch inherits a Spartans team that went 18-11 last year and finished second in the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference (9-5) and advanced to the region championship game for the first time in program history.
However, ECC's roster has undergone a complete overturn.
"Not a soul," said Nosbisch when asked who was returning from last year's team.
Instead, the Spartans have 14 newcomers on a roster loaded with local talent.
ECC has five players who are sophomores in age, but still have freshman eligibility.
That group features Dundee-Crown alum Ryan Harris (6-2, G-F), who played football at Millikin last year. Larkin's Carliss Henderson (6-3, F) and Derick Mills (6-3, F), along with Burlington Central's Phil Egler (6-0, G) also fit into that category, as does former West Alabama University football player Trenton Thompson (6-3, 245 pounds, F-C), who moved with his family to Elgin.
True freshman newcomers include guards Gordon Teegarden (5-7, St. Charles North), Kevin Kasinger (5-7, Jacobs), John Placeres (6-0, Burlington Central), Chris Parks (6-2, Burlington Central), Steve Bilisko (6-3, Wauconda) and Jon Suire (6-1, Elgin).
New forward-post players include Corey Rau (6-6, F-C, Burlington Central), Nick Nohling (6-3, F, Burlington Central) and Ryan McDonald (6-5, F, Larkin).
Despite an entirely new roster, Nosbisch has been pleased with the progress that has been made since he took the position.
"We had open gyms all summer and we played four exhibition games," said Nosbisch, whose father, Carl, is a former head coach at ECC. "They guys are comfortable with each other. But it's a situation where we haven't separated the high school and the college game quite yet. We're getting there. They are still realizing how physical the college game can be. We played those exhibition games and got a small taste."
ECC will employ a more perimeter-based offense.
"We don't have any true post players," said Nosbisch. "We will be more perimeter-oriented and play a faster-paced game and be more pressure oriented. We've got guys like Ryan Harris and Carliss Henderson and Steve Bilisko that are pretty good perimeter shooters. I think almost all of our guys are capable of knocking down a 3. So it's going to be a more up-tempo type of game where we'll spread guys out. The biggest thing right now is getting used to the game and the speed of it."
Rebounding will also be paramount with this group.
"Without a doubt," said Nosbisch. "If we give up second and third shots we will struggle. We will have to get after it defensively and on the glass. If we do those 2 things we should be OK."
And Nosbisch is happy to have a roster that numbers 14.
"We're pretty deep," said Nosbisch. "We don't drop off a lot up and down the bench. We just have to make sure we have the right combinations each night."
Most of the roster also hails from the immediate Fox Valley area, which Nosbisch views as a major plus.
"They are all from the area and they all know each other," said Nosbisch. "The talent level is pretty even."
Nosbisch will be assisted by former area high school players in Brock Wishowski (Larkin), Mark Sommerville (Jacobs) and Billy Lewis (Larkin).