Tri-Cities boys basketball season in review

Aurora ChristianFinal record: 9-17.How season ended: Lost 61-46 to Westmont in Class 2A Aurora Christian regional semifinals.Key graduation losses: Dean Griffing, Solomon Kabongo-Kooper.Top returnees in 2010-11: CJ Schutt (so.), Josh Haugen (so.), Nick Marema (so.), Ryan Suttle (fr.), Jake Hanson (so), Grayson Roberts (so.).Last look back: See all those sophomores above? That was the story of the season, getting experience for the future of the program. In his first year as coach, Steve Hanson also received gritty play in the post from his two seniors Griffing and Kabongo-Kooper. The top three scorers - Marema, Haugen and Hanson - all return. It's rare for a loss to be a highlight of the season, but you would be hard-pressed to find two more exciting games than the two Aurora Christian played against Aurora Central - an 82-78 loss followed by a 79-74 defeat in two overtimes.First look ahead: The pieces are certainly there to see Aurora Christian take a big leap next season. Hanson has a list of what his returners need to do in the off-season. "We've got to get stronger and quicker," Hanson said. "And (better) ballhandling and shoot a little better. In our conference it's strength. We took a physical beating almost every night and we're losing our two strongest guys. To replace that is going to be tough."Aurora CentralFinal record: 16-12.How season ended: Lost 59-46 to Oswego in Class 3A Aurora Central regional championship game.Key graduation losses: Joey Guth, Steve Hollon.Top returnees in 2010-11: Joey McEachern (so.), Ryan Harreld (jr.), Kent Brauweiler (jr.), Paul Kaminski (so.).Last look back: Credit to coach Nate Drye to keep his program moving forward even after graduating Anthony Kelley, Mike Adams and company from last year's 24-4 team. Instead of relying on his inside game, Drye turned the team over to his backcourt of Hollon and Guth and did the two ever deliver. Guth drained 103 3-pointers while leading the area in scoring at 21 points a game. The Chargers stayed in contention for a SCC title until their final regular season game at Wheaton Academy before knocking off rival Marmion in regional play.First look ahead: Once again Drye has big shoes to fill but once again it looks like the Chargers are grooming a new group to take charge. McEachern Harreld, Kaminski and Brauweiler all averaged at least 5 points a game and will be counted on to take a step forward next winter.BataviaFinal record: 18-9.How season ended: Lost 63-53 to Oswego East in Class 4A Waubonsie Valley regional semifinals.Key graduation losses: Ricky Clopton, Adam LeTourneau, Levi Maxey, Sam Shump.Top returnees in 2010-11: Elliott Vaughn (jr.), Jesse Coffey (jr.), Cole Gardner (so.), Michael Clopton (jr.), Braden Hrack (jr.).Last look back: The season started in dramatic fashion - an Adam LeTourneau 3-pointer at the buzzer to beat King. Batavia won its first three games to take the Ken Peddy Windmill Classic, but a 61-55 loss to Geneva when the Bulldogs fell apart in the third quarter before a valiant comeback in the fourth foreshadowed some of the problems and strengths the team would have the rest of the season. The Bulldogs bounced back from that loss to play perhaps their best basketball of the season with three straight wins and the consolation title at the Elgin Holiday Classic. Another impressive victory followed over Joliet (which won a Class 4A sectional title Friday) as part of an 8-game win streak. A frustrating loss overtime loss at DeKalb when the Barbs tied the game at the regulation buzzer snapped the streak and mixed results followed the rest of the way - a last-minute win over Geneva balanced with a home loss to Kaneland. "I thought our kids did a good job as the season progressed fighting through some adversity," Batavia coach Jim Roberts said. First look ahead: The Bulldogs have the pieces for another good season, the inside-outside combo of Vaughan and Gardner with Coffey's scoring ability from the guard spot.GenevaFinal record: 19-10.How season ended: Lost 60-49 to Downers Grove South in Class 4A Geneva regional semifinals.Key graduation losses: Nolan Block, Brandon Beitzel, Scott Wendt, JP Landy, Michael Santacaterina.Top returnees in 2010-11: Dan Trimble, Will Doeckel, Alex Frederking, Dan Hince, Brad Bernhard.Last look back: The Vikings nearly started with another tournament title, falling in the championship game of the Hoops for Healing tournament to Naperville North after they had won the tourney the year before. Another DuPage County team - Downers Grove South - eventually would end the Vikings' season with a win on Geneva's home court in regional play. Between those losses the Vikings showed a lot of determination in the face of a spate of injuries, illnesses and other bad breaks. "If someone would have told me that we would have dealt with the kind of stuff that we had, I would have told them they're absolutely crazy we'd get 19 wins - especially because we had no returning starters from last year," Geneva coach Phil Ralston said. Credit goes to the Vikings bench for stepping up when called on, for point guard Block providing the glue on the court, and for pretty consistent effort on defense that is becoming Ralston's team's trademark in his second year. Landry also gave the team a spark in the second half of the season when he became eligible. First look ahead: With his size and his shooting range, there's no reason Trimble shouldn't emerge as one of the top players around next year. Geneva has several other pieces returning that should add up to another successful season. The Vikings lost to both St. Charles schools this season and will have added motivation to reverse that next year now that those will be Upstate Eight Conference games.KanelandFinal record: 17-10.How season ended: Lost 50-47 to DeKalb in Class 3A Kaneland regional championship game.Key graduation losses: Dave Dudzinski, Ryley Bailey, Donavan Williams, Steve Colombe, Sean Paulick.Top returnees in 2010-11: Chaon Denlinger (jr.), Tyler Callaghan (jr.), Taylor Andrews (jr.), Matt Spitzzeri (jr.), Zach Ringhouse (jr.).Last look back: The Knights capped a 9-2 start to the season by winning the championship of the 47th annual Plano Christmas tournament. Dudzinski took home MVP honors with 32 points and 13 rebounds in the championship game. It was their first title since 1994. A tough 42-40 loss to Batavia followed, and that sent the Knights into a 3-6 skid that saw new coach Brian Johnson working different combinations into his rotation. Kaneland closed the season strong, with a win at Batavia part of a 5-1 stretch that took them into the championship game of their 3A regional. The Knights certainly played well enough to win but fell just short in a hard-fought loss to DeKalb, which brought the three local teams - Geneva, Batavia and Kaneland - to a combined 0-7 this year against the Barbs with almost every game being decided in the final seconds.First look ahead: It's tough to picture the Knights without Dudzinski, who will be off at Holy Cross after being named captain of this year's Daily Herald All-Area team. They are in good hands with their new coach Johnson, who earned praise from his DeKalb counterpart following the Knights' season-ending defeat. "I think Brian Johnson has done a great job in one year," Barbs coach David Rohlman said.MarmionFinal record: 17-10.How season ended: Lost 64-49 to Aurora Central in Class 3A Aurora Central regional semifinals.Key graduation losses: Mark Peters, Greg Askwith, Tyler Hlavac, John Mason.Top returnees in 2010-11: Eddy Grahovec, AJ Friedman.Last look back: The Cadets put together a fine 17-win season in streaky fashion. After a 1-4 start, Marmion won six straight and 9 of 10 games. Another 7-game win streak followed in January, with the Cadets playing good defense, getting exceptional play from the versatile and one of the most improved players in the area Peters (17 points, 8 rebounds a game) and timely 3-point shooting from their guards. But the streaky play went the wrong way to finish the season with a 1-3 record in their final four games, including a playoff loss to an Aurora Central team that the Cadets had defeated 54-47 in a shootout at the Sears Centre.First look ahead: Like a lot of teams Marmion is going to have some big shoes to fill. Grahovec, who came off the bench and became one of the area's best 3-point shooters, could be a good place to start.St. Charles East Final record: 12-15.How season ended: Lost 45-43 to Elgin in Class 4A Bartlett regional opener.Key graduation losses: Drew Vazquez, Jess Striedl, Zack Burns, Colton Kumerow, Bryce Barry.Top returnees in 2010-11: Charlie Fisher (so.), Spencer Motley (jr.), Kendall Stephens (fr.), Dan Ditusa (jr.).Last look back: With no returning player who averaged more than 3 points a game last year, it was hard to be too optimistic about the Saints' chances coming into the season. Yet St. Charles East shook off a 3-8 start to push their record all the way to 12-10 when they knocked off South Elgin. Unfortunately for the Saints, they seemed to run out of steam and ended the year on a bit of a sour note with five straight losses, including to Elgin in the regional play-in game. Seniors like Vazquez, Striedl and Burns really stepped up their games this season, helping St. Charles East secure impressive wins over St. Joseph, Geneva and South Elgin.First look ahead: It's not often you see a freshman play so many minutes like Stephens, who showed flashes that he's going to be something special by the time he leaves St. Charles East. His development after averaging over 6 points a game certainly will be something all Saints fans can look forward to watching next season.St. Charles NorthFinal record: 16-12.How season ended: Lost 40-36 to Bartlett in Class 4A Bartlett regional semifinals.Key graduation losses: David Johnson, Beau Blakeley, Ryan Brown, Scott Hedges.Top returnees in 2010-11: Josh Mikes (jr.), Kyle Nelson (so.), Chris Conrad (jr.).Last look back: The North Stars opened the year by beating Downers Grove South, a victory that looked more impressive as the season went on and the Mustangs played so well. The North Stars maintained St. Charles bragging rights with 7- and 8-point wins over the Saints, who have won six straight in the series. St. Charles North also knocked off Geneva and beat Jacobs in their first appearance at Night of Hoops. Once again the North Stars played well at Christmas, taking second at Jacobs for the third straight season. First look ahead: The North Stars have a solid nucleus returning in Mikes, Nelson and Conrad, a trio that should be fun to build around because it has everything - ball-handling from Conrad, muscle and skill inside from Nelson and a star in Mikes. The 6-foot-5 forward will be the top returning scorer in the area after averaging over 15 points a game this season. Look for 20-plus wins and a longer run in the postseason.West AuroraFinal record: 13-16.How season ended: Lost 66-62 in overtime to Oswego East in Class 4A Waubonsie Valley regional championship game.Key graduation losses: DJ Vaughn, Tyrone Carey, Garrett Wells.Top returnees in 2010-11: Juwan Starks (so.), Kyle Pilmer (jr.). Last look back: It was a tumultuous year for the program with suspensions, ineligibility problems and players being dismissed from the team. West Aurora started the season 1-7 and wound up with just its fourth losing season under coach Gordie Kerkman an first since 1992-93. Yet the Blackhawks managed to come together and knock off No. 4 seed Naperville North in the regional semifinals and take No. 5 seed Oswego East to overtime in the regional finals. Starks continues to impress, concluding the season with 28 points against the Wolves. First look ahead: The Blackhawks hope to make a quick return to their normal winning ways behind Starks and some talented youngsters who played on their sophomore team this season.False13452000While St. Charles North junior Josh Mikes (below) will be the leading returning scorer next year, there's going to be plenty of talent coming back all around the area. That includes, from left, St. Charles East's Kendall Stephens, Geneva's Dan Trimble, West Aurora's Juwan Starks and Batavia's Elliott Vaughn.Daily Herald file photosFalse