Boys basketball: Scouting West Aurora

The big news at West Aurora last basketball season was Blackhawks coach Gordie Kerkman earning his 700th career victory.

Entering the season with 696 wins over 34 years, though, it would have been bigger news had it not happened.

“I’d anticipated that we’d win at least four ballgames,” Kerkman said. “In fact, I anticipated winning more than four ballgames, but we didn’t answer the bell on too many occasions.”

Should the Blackhawks improve on what Kerkman called the little things — “knowing the game, accepting responsibilities, knowing their strengths” — they should likewise improve on last season’s 14-12 record and third-place tie in the DuPage Valley Conference.

At the forefront is senior forward Juwan Starks. Coming off a junior season in which he averaged 17 points and 5.5 rebounds, Starks has a chance to become only the second player to be named a unanimous all-DVC selection all four years, the first since Wheaton North’s Kent Graham back in 1987.

Starks also represents a tipping point for the Blackhawks. At nearly 6-foot-4, he’s about as tall as this team gets. A key factor would be how much 6-6 junior center Josh McAuley can contribute. In the first week of practices he was inactive due to injury.

With the graduation of Kyle Pilmer, and Kenny Battle Jr. transferring back to Oswego East for his senior year, a healthy McAuley would make a difference. Brothers Spencer and Chandler Thomas, two more junior forwards who played varsity last year, are only 6-1.

It wouldn’t be the end of the world if the Blackhawks went small, because the backcourt is deep. It starts with point guard Jontrell Walker, who started last year as a freshman, averaging 5.2 points.

Jayquan Lee also returns, and Kerkman called 6-2 guard Brandon Gossett a “pleasant surprise” over the summer. Booker Ross brings a football mentality to the defensive side of the ball, which West Aurora lacked at times last season.

The “little things” Kerkman mentioned manifest themselves in defense, rebounding, ballhandling, offensive patience. Last season they were not always up to his 700-victory standard.

Maturation and depth could change that.

“I think (the team) has got pretty good potential to be maybe not a great club, but a good club,” Kerkman said. “I think that we have the potential to either finish very high or, if we could play up to what we’re capable of playing, I think we could challenge for a conference championship.”