Scouting Lakes boys basketball

LAKES

Coach: Chris Snyder, 1st season

2009-2010 record: 14-18, 8-4 Prairie

2009-2010 IHSA tournament results: Lost to Johnsburg in regional championship, 60-58.

Key players lost: G John Androus (Luther College), F Tyler Swindle, F Marcell Kirkmanbey

Key players returning: G Tanner Blain, jr., F Nathan McMahon, sr., F Parker Blain, sr.

Top newcomers: G Jay-Jay Elvir, jr., C Justin Schneider, jr., G Direll Clark, soph., G/F Nick Hibbing, sr., G Jacob Brown, jr., F Justin Bergeron, soph., G Jake Kohler, soph.

Outlook: Although Lakes finished with only 14 wins and a sub-.500 record, last season ended with the kind of energy that any program would love to build on. The Eagles took a highly-touted Johnsburg team to the brink before losing a nailbiter in the regional championship game by a single bucket. Although Lakes will be missing its most instrumental player from that game, guard John Androus, who is now playing at Luther College, expectations for another exciting postseason run are high. Lakes returns sharper-shooter Tanner Blain, a sophomore who was called up midway through the season and wound up getting heavy minutes.

The Eagles are also getting a spark from newcomer Jay-Jay Elvir, a junior guard who transferred in from Zion-Benton. Meanwhile, the Eagles haven't missed much of a beat while ushering in a new coach. After all, Chris Snyder has been in the program since the school opened its doors five yeas ago. He was a sophomore coach for one year, the varsity assistant for one year and spent three years, including last season, as the freshman coach. “I think it's helped since I've been around these kids since they were freshmen,” said Snyder, who replaced Brian Phelan. Phelan decided to resign in order to spend more time with his three young children. “We're going to have some growing pains though as we try to fill the hole left by (Androus). That was a kid who was getting nearly a triple double every night. We probably won't have one guy like that, we're going to have to have a few. We're going to look for different guys to step up. A lot of guys will get their chance.”

Opener: Vs. Bartlett at Mundelein, 6 p.m. Monday