Scouting: Fox Valley area Upstate Eight teams
Bartlett
Coach: Jim Wolfsmith (second year, 22-7)
2007-08 record: 22-7 (7-3 Upstate Eight)
Top returning players: Seniors Kevin Gates (5-11, PG), Marc Little (5-10 PG); Juniors Mike Banks (6-0 G), Frankie Cleope (5-11 PG) Luke Labedzki (6-0 G)
Top newcomer: Junior Larry Whitaker (6-5 F)
Season outlook: Bartlett should enjoy more success in Year 2 under coach Jim Wolfsmith, but the manner in which the Hawks achieve that success will change. Last year Bartlett set a school record with 22 wins and made a sectional final appearance with the help of quality big men who balanced the contributions of its deep roster of guards. Every guard returns, led by leading scorer Labedzki (14.2 ppg.) and Little (13.1 ppg.), both all-area selections a year ago. Labedzki can score from anywhere on the floor, and Little has the ability to dominate a game in spurts with his scoring ability and no-look passing. Gates and Cleope are both natural point guards, which adds to the Hawks' overall ball-handling strength. Banks is experienced and talented, but he's still playing cornerback for the football team. Graduated are 6-9 center Kamil Janton (Eastern Michigan) and 6-5 Cory Hrynyk (St. Joseph's College). How many rebounds their replacements are able to pull down will define how much success these Hawks enjoy. "We're coming back with all of our guards and none of our bigs," Wolfsmith said. "If we can win the rebounding battle most nights, we're going to win the game. That'll be the key for us all season long." Tim Rendall (5-11 G), Mark McQuistan (6-2 F), Aaron Naper (6-6 C/F) and Jeremy Roszkowiak (6-2 F) are four seniors who didn't get much playing time as juniors but are expected to contribute to the effort on the glass. The athletic Whitaker put on 15 pounds since playing on the sophomore team last season and impressed Wolfsmith in summer-league play. He'll be a factor in the paint. There is an X-factor to Bartlett's season, and his name is Jacob Williams (6-6 F), who recently transferred from St. Patrick. He is rated among the top sophomores in Illinois by multiple scouting Web sites and would completely change the complexion of the Upstate Eight race if he's ruled eligible by the IHSA, However, Bartlett had not received word on his eligibility as of Wednesday. Bartlett should still thrive regardless. "There's a lot of talent," Wolfsmith said. "We're so deep at the wing and guard positions that I think we'll cause a lot of teams trouble with our speed and our athleticism. We have tremendous athletes all over the place. What we lack is front-line experience. We're going to run, we're going to pressure defensively and we're deep, so we'll rotate a lot of guys in. The capability is there to have the same record, but it's an entirely different type of team than what we had last year."
Elgin
Coach: Mike Sitter (second year, 21-10)
2007-08 record: 21-10 (7-3 Upstate Eight)
Top returning players: Seniors Marcus Redburg (6-4 C/F), Tom Roth (6-0 G)
Top newcomers: Junior Tim Newcombe (6-3 G), Mike Richard (6-0 G)
Season outlook: Elgin graduated most of the talent that paved the way to a Class 4A supersectional berth last season, which means the target that was on the Maroons' backs the last two years has been removed. "We've been hunted for a couple of seasons," coach Mike Sitter said. "Now we'll be the hunters, and we'll see how we handle that role." A cohesive nucleus of seniors who have played together since seventh grade as Jr. Maroons should allow Elgin to remain respectable if not surprise some teams. The only starter returning from last season is Roth, a versatile three-sport athlete who sank 32 3-pointers and averaged 5.8 points per game. Also back is Redburg (2.5 rpg.), who will be brought along slowly as he continues to recover from reconstructive surgery in June for a torn ACL in his left knee suffered during the AAU season. Sitter said a player to watch is Steve Edwards, a 6-foot-6 guard with a 7-foot wingspan. He was the Maroons' leading scorer over the summer and has improved tremendously, according to his coach. Others expected to see heavy minutes in the new motion offense are seniors Joe Wade (6-1 F), Gurveer Raju (6-2 F) and Alex Kanlic (6-2 G). The perimeter gets a boost from the addition of junior guards Newcombe and Richards, who will be part of the rotation. Elgin has athleticism but little varsity experience beyond practicing every day last season against the now-graduated seniors. "They didn't get a lot of minutes last year, but they got their butts kicked every single day by a really good group of basketball players and it made them better," Sitter said. "It's really showing this year. Now their coming out and kicking the butts of our juniors in practice. They didn't just sit on the bench last year. They were students of the game and they learned. They're all good athletes and they play well together. Hopefully, in a few weeks we'll be able to jell and play some decent ball and win a little hardware in March.
Larkin
Coach: Larry Hight (second year, 1-25)
2007-08 record: 1-25 (0-10 Upstate Eight)
Top returning players: Seniors Anthony Barracks (6-2 F), Brandon Cooks (6-0 F), Terrell John (6-3 F/C), Jeff Saurbaugh (5-10 G); junior Ryan Smith (6-2 G)
Top newcomers: Senior Ramadon Adili (6-0 F); juniors Niko Aguinagua (5-8 G), Brian Cooks (5-8 G), David Korth (6-2 G/F), Leandre Lee (5-9 PG), Drew Simonini (6-0 F), Alex Wahl (6-2 G/F)
Season Outlook: There's only one way to go for a Larkin program coming off a 1-win season: up. Losing leading returning scorer Deonte McFadden, who no longer attends Larkin, was a blow, but a determined, athletic core that experienced a difficult season last year returns with an eye toward improvement. Speedy point guard Saurbaugh is the leading returning scorer at 7.4 points and 4.3 assists per game. Wing shooter Smith averaged 4.3 points per game and finished third in the state in the postseason 3-point shootout in Peoria. Cooks (6.0 ppg.) and Barracks (3.5 rpg.) give the team an athletic post presence while John (6.4 ppg., 4.3 rpg.), the team's tallest player at 6-3, becomes the de facto center in the new motion offense. Simonini will play the wing along with a few promising guards. Versatile Korth has shot up to 6-2, is still growing and can play inside or outside. The Royals will play up-tempo when it's called for, but second-year coach Larry Hight is also concentrating in practice on meshing the juniors and seniors into a viable half-court attack. A good start would go a long way toward building the confidence of a program that didn't enjoy much success last season. "I think these kids are ready to roll," Hight said. "The most important game this whole year is the first one. It's not about looking down the road to a tournament or a rivalry game. The kids are upbeat. It's going good and there's some talent there. We're still about the same size as last year, but smaller teams can overcome size. That's the way the game is now with the 3-pointer, so when you're undersized you're not automatically beaten anymore. We're inexperienced but promising."
South Elgin
2007-08 record: 13-15 (3-7 Upstate Eight)
Coach: Chaz Taft (3rd year, 21-36)
Top returning players: Seniors Jordan Dobler (6-0 F), Jeffrey Lewis (5-10 F), Dan Lopez (6-9 C), Kyle Osborne (6-1 G), Alex Sanchez (5-8 G), Josh Smith (6-3 F); junior Erik Stade (6-0 G)
Top newcomers: Juniors Tommy Childs (5-8 G), Sheldon Chaney (6-0 G), Sam Jordt (6-3 G)
Season outlook: Year 3 for the Storm program holds promise with the return of three starters in Lopez at center, Sanchez at point guard and lunch bucket forward Lewis. Sacramento State-bound Lopez (6.4 ppg.) is South Elgin's top returning scorer and provides a shot-blocking presence in the paint at 6-foot-9. Sanchez is a three-year starter at the point. Lewis does the dirty work that helps teams win. He rebounds, dives for balls and energizes with his hustle. Also back from last year's rotation are Dobler, Osborne and Stade, giving third-year coach Chaz Taft maneuverability with his matchups. The team should also get a lift off the bench with the return of senior Josh Smith, who missed all of last season with a torn ACL suffered during football season. Smith was a key member of the program's inaugural 2006-07 season and blended right in with his teammates during double practices "as if he never left," Taft said. Scoring points will be a team effort this year after top scorers Adam Hodge and Josh Glenn graduated, but South Elgin intends to make up for that by playing team basketball: all-for-one, one-for-all. "We don't really have one player who is going to stand out from game to game," Taft said. "But we have really good team chemistry. I think we've built a good team atmosphere throughout the entire program, not just the varsity, where all five guys act as one. I love the enthusiasm and the work ethic, but I really don't know what will happen. We'll get after it defensively and offensively. We're working hard and getting better. I want the kids to really enjoy this season. This is the first senior class that has been at this school for four years. If we play hard and execute, things are going to take care of themselves."
Streamwood
Coach: Tim Jones (second year, 6-21)
2007-08 record: 6-21 (1-9 Upstate Eight)
Top returning players: Seniors Brian Brauer (5-10), Matt Cohen (6-0 G), Brian Domokos (6-4 F), Tem Esikiel (6-0 G), Ryan Kiesel (6-0 G), Jimmy Kaltinger (6-3 F), Zach Klein (6-4 F); junior Joey Hanover (6-0 G)
Top newcomers: Juniors Derrick King (6-2 F), Marcus Green (6-2 F), Marcus Lewis (6-3 F); sophomore Jerrold Ofiana (5-8 G)
Season outlook: The Sabres have good reason to be cautiously optimistic in the second season under coach Tim Jones. This is a program on the rise, led by returning three-year starter Esikiel (21.4 ppg.), the second-leading scorer in the area last season. He's rejoined by the majority of a rotation that gained experience last year. Domokos, Klein and Kaltinger can all play the post. Kiesel, Brauer and Hanover bring experience, grit and hustle to the perimeter. Fueling the optimism further for a team that reached the final eight at the Harper College summer league are three key additions who give Jones and staff far more flexibility than they enjoyed a year ago: Lewis is long and lanky and will play small forward; Green is a bulkier power forward who can run the floor; and Ofiana is a talented ballhandler who gained experience last year as a freshman after a late-season call-up to the varsity. Blended with the veteran cast of returnees, the new blood will allow the Sabres to match up better than they could a year ago while playing an up-tempo style that capitalizes on the team's overall speed. "The speed is a big difference from last year," Jones said. "We've got some decent size. We're not overly huge, but we're really athletic. So we're going to try to run and press and get up the floor. In a perfect world Tem might not average 21 points a game this year, but we might be a whole lot better with a team effort. (Ofiana), Tem and Lewis together can penetrate and they can dish. There's a lot of things we can do." King is one of the best athletes in the school but he'll be coming along slowly. Not only did King miss all of his sophomore basketball season due to a broken leg suffered during the football season, he is currently recovering from a case of pneumonia. More reasons for optimism program-wide? How about 48 freshmen at tryouts and a sophomore team that only lost 6 games and features a front line with two 6-5 post players. "I'm excited about the whole program," Jones said. "They're great kids from the varsity down to the freshmen. And I'm really happy about my coaches. The commitment is there." Streamwood will know its identity by mid-December. The Sabres play 11 games before the Wheeling Holiday Tournament, then the schedule eases up with only 3 games in January.