South Elgin's Sutter excelling in lead role

South Elgin senior Sam Sutter is fitting comfortably into the big shoes he was asked to fill this season.

The 6-foot-1 guard enjoyed a successful junior campaign in 2009-10, scoring 337 points in 27 basketball games for an average of 12.5 per game. He also made 29 steals, dished 66 assists and was named to the Daily Herald's All-Area boys basketball team as a result.

Sutter accomplished those feats while playing second fiddle to dynamic then-senior Tommy Childs, who went on to be named the honorary co-captain of the 2009-10 All-Area team.

Once Childs graduated last June, Sutter knew it was time to advance from second fiddle to first chair.

"Last year my role was more just to knock down the open shots," said Sutter, who sank 41.4 percent of his 3-point attempts as a junior. "Tommy was more the leader and facilitator. I really had to step into my new role this year without Tommy. I had to be the Tommy I had to be the guy that can create and do that other stuff.

"The main thing was just knowing my role and knowing how to step into it. I was a good player off of Tommy, so this year we're seeing how it is without him."

Sutter worked tirelessly in the off-season to improve his midrange jump shot, all the while improving his ballhandling skills and working on his 3-point shot. He concentrated mainly on building strength and improving his conditioning and speed.

The results speak for themselves as the season heads into the stretch run. Of the 15 teams in the Fox Valley area, Sutter leads all scorers with an average of 18.8 points per game (320 points in 17 contests). He also averages 1.4 assists and 1.7 steals.

Sutter has made 54 percent of the shots he has taken this season (75 of 139), a nice trick considering 111 of those attempts came from beyond the 3-point arc, where he sinks 32.4 percent of his shots (36 of 111).

The 17-year-old Bartlett resident has taken well to his new role, just as his coach had hoped.

"I just wanted him to be more of an overall, well-rounded scorer for us," South Elgin coach Chaz Taft said. "I wanted to see him take the ball to the basket and get to the free-throw line in addition to making his 3-point shots."

Sutter has connected on 57 of the 80 free throws he has attempted (71.3 percent).

"He's very good off the ball screen, very good at knocking down shots," Taft continued. "Now he's added the teardrop to his repertoire and the pull-up jumper, which he's pretty darned good at."

Sutter and fellow senior Dillon Gardner have become adept at taking the ball hard to the basket in South Elgin's dribble-drive offense. That scheme which Taft openly admits he stole from coach John Calipari after watching practices at Memphis allows for drives off ball screens as readily as it allows for kick-out passes for 3-pointers.

South Elgin doesn't have a roster loaded with offensive firepower beyond Sutter. He has essentially assumed Childs' scoring average of a year ago, while Gardner (8.0 ppg) senior guard Martin Duarte (7.7 ppg.) and sophomore point guard Jake Maestranzi (6.5 ppg.) have combined to give the offense a modicum of unpredictability.

The Storm average 53.5 points per game, not far off their 2009-10 average of 54.1, but they allow an average of 54.9 points per game. That's why Taft stresses perfect execution on inbounds plays and other set pieces. To the Storm, every point matters.

"Defense is really the key to everything," Sutter said. "Maybe we're not the most talented team on offense, but the teams that score 80-86 points a game, we like to keep them down to what we average on offense. When we keep teams between 40 and 60 points, it gives us a real good chance to win."

Taft said this hardworking team shows glimpses of its ultimate potential but still suffers from mental lapses it can ill afford, stretches during which inconsistencies arise.

"I think we overcome the odds of not having a lot of size," said Taft, who has only one player taller than 6-foot-4 on the roster. "We are quick and we're obviously going to defend. We just haven't gotten to that point where we're consistent with everything we do.

"Right now it's up and down. Sometimes we play great and sometimes we just lose focus and don't understand what we need to do to get that victory.

"What needs to happen is that our seniors need to be more vocal and hold kids accountable in practice, the younger kids. It's a long season and some of the younger kids may have hit the wall already. The older kids have to show them that they're tired too, but this is what we do here."

Such inconsistency is reflected in South Elgin's record heading into Friday's home game against Metea Valley; The Storm are 9-9 overall, 3-4 in the highly competitive Valley Division of the Upstate Eight Conference.

Nevertheless, any regular-season inconsistencies would be considered water under the bridge if the Storm find a way to forge a successful postseason run. South Elgin has been assigned to the wide-open Class 4A regional at St. Charles East, which includes equally inconsistent teams like the host Saints (9-10), St. Charles North (10-9), Bartlett (12-13) and DeKalb (5-13).

South Elgin defeated St. Charles North on Dec. 11, 67-64. The Storm beat rival Bartlett three weeks ago, 44-36, with a rematch set for February 4 in Bartlett.

Pioneering new ground by winning the first regional title in the program's five-year history would mark the pinnacle of their high school careers for Sutter and his South Elgin teammates.

"I'd like to be remembered for winning that first regional for our program," he said. "I think that will mean a lot. Bartlett's a great team. They gave us a run for our money. St. Charles North is also a great team. It's been the kind of season where you beat one team, then they turn around and beat a team you've already lost to. The whole conference has been a lot of fun to watch. It's really been competitive.

"Winning the regional is our ultimate goal right now. Then we'll go to the sectional and see what we can do."

Sutter will undoubtedly be a key reason if South Elgin goes on to win a regional title, and that would leave some awfully big shoes to fill.