Scouting Burlington Central boys basketball
Burlington Central Rockets
Coach: Brett Porto (third season, 29-25)
Last year: 16-11, 8-2, second in Big Northern Conference (East Division); lost 75-52 to Crystal Lake Central in Class 3A Hampshire regional semifinal
Top players: seniors Clint Creal (6-2, F), Ray Hunnicutt (5-11, G) Travis Stockbridge (6-3, F); juniors Zach Barry (6-2, F), Motor Deng (6-4, F), Malik Harris (5-8, G), Charles Horton (5-9, G), Joel Lopez (6-1, F), Dan McCurdy (6-3, F), Ryan Minehart (6-0, F), Christian Moring (5-11, G), Brandon Rau (6-0, G), Ryan Ritchie (5-11, G), Bryce Warner (6-2, G); sophomores Reed Hunnicutt (5-9, G), Duncan Ozburn (6-6, C)
Scouting report: Rocket Hill is the tallest point in Kane County, a status the Burlington Central boys basketball team will accurately reflect for the first time in years, thanks to an influx of tall but inexperienced players. “We only have four or five guys under six feet tall, which is completely different from my other teams,” coach Brett Porto said. “So many shots are being changed in practice I started wondering if we should scrap our offense. We’re very athletic now and we just change more shots in practice alone than we ever have before.” The key returnee for the Rockets is senior Ray Hunnicutt, a fourth-year varsity guard who topped 1,000 points for his career last season. He is the Fox Valley area’s second-leading returning scorer (12.4 ppg) behind only injured Bartlett guard Lance Whitaker. Hunnicutt also averaged 6.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists. “What people don’t know about Ray is that he truly does not care a thing about numbers,” Porto said. “He wants to win and win badly. He’s finished second in the conference two years in a row and hasn’t made it out of a regional. I know he’s determined to get over that hump.” Also back is junior guard Ryan Ritchie, who played an important role last year for an offense that led the area with 61.6 ppg. He sank 26 3-pointers. This team will otherwise be driven by juniors and a pair of sophomores, including Hunnicutt’s little brother, Reed. “We’ll have the usual suspects with Ray and Ryan and from there we go 10 deep with guys trying to earn playing time,” Porto said. “This is the most athletic team I’ve had since I’ve been here and we have the most size and most speed. That said, it also by far the youngest team I’ve had. Unlike in the past when we had seniors who were dialed in on a Wednesday night at North Boone, we have to make sure every practice is our best of the year and each game is the most important we’ve played. We want to compete and win our conference and, like everyone else, be playing our best basketball in March.”