Scouting Streamwood boys basketball

Streamwood Sabres

Coach: Tim Jones (fifth season, 37-72)

Last year: 9-19, 4-8, sixth in River Division of Upstate Eight Conference; lost to Elgin 60-58 in Class 4A Larkin regional semifinal.

Top players: seniors Julius Evans (6-2, G/F), Brandon Larkin-Guilfoyle (6-2, 190), Dalton Lundeen (6-3, F), Brent Kiesel (5-10, G), ; juniors Zach Harris (6-9, C), Joel Lightbourne (6-3, F), Kyle Strong (6-0, G), Vince Williams (6-1, G/F); sophomore Jacob Siewert (6-0, G)

Scouting report: Four players who saw significant minutes last year hope to vault the Sabres into double-digit victories after consecutive 9-win seasons. Brandon Larkin-Guilfoyle earned playing time throughout last seasons and progressively improved until he had taken over a leadership role. He'll lead this team alongside Julius Evans. Both can play the point and the wing. Three-sport athlete Dalton Lundeen returns at guard. He pitched the baseball team to a supersectional appearance last spring and quarterbacked the football team to its first playoff appearance in nine years this fall. "He doesn't look like much on the court, but he's always around the ball and just makes things happen," Sabres coach Tim Jones said. "He can shoot it and he has size." That tall tree in the middle of the lane is Zach Harris, who continues to grow; he's now a 6-foot-9, 220-pound junior. Harris, who played with the varsity last year, is expected to be a productive rebounder and defender as he continues to develop his offensive skills. He saw key minutes last year when center Bobby Post was hurt. Brent Kiesel will round out the starting five. He played a bit last year. Joel Lightbourne lends another 6-3 physique to the rebounding battle. Vince Williams has been playing with a wrap on his thumb, a football injury. He's athletic enough to play the post or the point, his coach said. Kyle Strong will see minutes on the wing. Jacob Siewert is a shooting guard who played all summer with the varsity. "It's a great group of kids," Jones said. "I've been extremely happy. They've really worked hard since Day 1. No problem kids, just all hard workers. We'll need them to play hard all season because our conference is so tough from top to bottom in both divisions. It's the toughest I've seen it in a while. There are no nights off."