Scouting Libertyville Wildcats

Libertyville Wildcats

Coach Scott Bogumil (6th season)

Last year 11-16, 4-8 NSC Lake

Key players lost F/C Jeremy Letchford, F/C Julian Hill, G Josh Trees, F/C Miles Burton

Key players returning F Billy Meyer, sr., F John Colao, sr., G Tyler Schweigert, sr.

Key newcomers G Ryan Barth, jr., F Luke Mathewson, soph., G Ellis Matthews, soph., G Griffen Pils, soph.

Outlook Known for using a large rotation of players each game, Libertyville coach Scott Bogumil is never afraid to push tempo. He figures that his players shouldn't be tired. But last season, the Wildcats didn't play as fast as they normally do because a huge focus of the offense was the half-court skills of center Jeremy Letchford. "Last year, we were definitely more of a half-court set team just because Jeremy was so good there," Bogumil said. "I think we'll go back to being more up-tempo. We can get up and down the floor well and we've got a lot of players who can shoot the ball."-At the top of that list is senior John Colao, who averaged about 13 points per game last year. Bogumil believes he's one of the best shooters in the area. "John has great three-point range," Bogumil said. "He's always working on it, too. He's just a gym rat, to the point where our maintenance guys are always having to kick him out of the gym." Helping Colao on the perimeter will be Tyler Schweigert and two sophomore standouts, Ellis Matthews and Griffen Pils. And speaking of sophomores, Luke Mathewson has been impressive so far in practice. "He's the kind of player who can really mix it up," Bogumil said of Mathewson. "He can go inside or out. He can shoot and rebound. He'll be a tough match-up and he's already showing a lot of leadership. He was a linebacker on the football team and was even calling plays. He's going to be one of our starters on Day One."

Opener 6 p.m. Monday vs. Lake Park at Fenton tournament