Boys basketball: Scouting Stevenson

Coach: Pat Ambrose, 13th season

Last year: 15-13, 5-7 (NSC Lake)

Last year's tournament: Lost in the regional semifinals to Mundelein, 66-57.

Key players lost: G Ryan Chapman, F Kevin Earl, F Brion Wood, F Brian Carlson

Key players returning: G Mike Fleming, sr., F Colby Cashaw, sr., F Alex Diamond, sr., F Chandler Simon, sr.

Top newcomers: G Andy Stempel, jr., F Adam Cohen, jr.

Outlook: For more than a decade, defense has been the bread and butter at Stevenson. But this season, head coach Pat Ambrose is looking to change up the menu a bit. "We've always been known as a defensive team and traditionally we've put more of an emphasis on that," Ambrose said. "This year, we're trying to put a little more emphasis on offense. I'm not saying that I don't still want us to be strong defensively, I'm just saying that we've got to find a way to put the ball in the basket more." Ambrose's concern and shift in focus stems from the fact that the Patriots' offense was anemic at times last season. They averaged about 45 points per game and sometimes finished with point totals in the 30s. "We just weren't getting the production we needed to compete against some of the high-powered teams in our conference," Ambrose said. "I feel like we didn't capitalize on our talent last year and that's on me. We should have done better and we've made sure that everyone has worked on their individual games (during the off-season) to be ready to step up and help us get the kind of production we need at the offensive end." Leading the way will be guard Mike Fleming and forward Colby Cashaw, both of whom are three-year varsity players. "They will both have to be take-charge players for us," Ambrose said of Fleming and Cashaw. "We will push it this year and with a lot of good guards, we'll be pretty perimeter-oriented as we look for our guards to put up a lot of good shots."

Opener: Monday vs. Holy Trinity at the Bison Classic at Buffalo Grove