Lewis men inexperienced, but with good nucleus

ROMEOVILLE – Max Strus has hops.

Lewis’ 6-foot-6 sophomore forward entertained the student body during the slam-dunk competition at the recent Fan Fest at Neil Carey Arena. He defended the championship he won as a freshman as his efforts merited 97 points of a possible 100 from a panel of judges.

Strus’ chief rival came in the form of 6-1 junior guard Miles Simelton, a transfer from Lehigh. Followers of the Southwest Prairie might remember Simelton from his all-state days at Oswego.

The Strus-Simelton duo represents the two ends of the spectrum that 10-year Flyers coach Scott Trost has at his disposal. With familiar names such as Ryan Jackson, Julian Lewis, Jeff Jarosz and Gabe Williams having graduated, the cupboard at first glance might seem bare.

However, Strus returns, along with three-year starter Kyle Nelson, Lincoln-Way Central graduate Brad Foster and Capel Henshaw. Nelson and Foster are seniors, Henshaw a junior.

Add in Simelton and other newcomers such as freshmen Delaney Blaylock, Frank Vukaj and Jake Rienhart, who won the 3-point shooting contest at Fan Fest, 23-19, over women’s All-American Jamie Johnson, and the Flyers have promise.

“We have 13 guys on the roster, and nine of them do not have meaningful experience with us,” Trost said. “But we have a good nucleus with the four guys who are back, and Miles Simelton is a D-I talent.

“There always are expectations here. Tradition never graduates.”

Lewis finished 22-9 last season, which ended with a loss to Indianapolis in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional semifinals. With the rugged Great Lakes Valley Conference dominating the schedule and the significant graduation losses, posting a similar record might be difficult.

“What we are doing now is focusing on the process, how hard we have to play and work,” Trost said. “We have to change the way we play the game. Offensively, Kyle Nelson has been a 5; he will have to play some 4.

“There are new rules this year. The shot clock is 30 seconds instead of 35, and they’re supposed to call more fouls. They’re supposed to call hand-checking and get away from the physical play. So some staples that you do will have to be different.”

For his part, Nelson said he is not a big fan of limiting physical play.

“I hate the ticky-tack calls, but once we learn to play that way, it will be OK,” he said.

Strus averaged 13.3 points and 5.3 rebounds last season as a freshman. Nelson averaged 7.3 points, Henshaw 4.2 and Foster 3.3.

“It’s a whole different team,” Strus said. “We’re young, but we have six new guys who I feel can take the team where we were last year.

“This (Fan Fest) is a good atmosphere to start the year. There are more people here than there were last year.”

Strus said his role is evolving. With all the senior leadership last season, he could work on improving his game and fitting in.

“This year I have to focus on being a leader,” he said. “I’ll probably be more vocal. Anything the team needs.”

Nelson said he is anxious for the new season. The Flyers have an exhibition game Friday at Loyola and open the regular season the next weekend in the GLIAC/GLVC Challenge.

“We are young and learning,” Nelson said. “We have guys who are ready to step in. I think Foster will be a huge part of our offense. When we want to go big, he can be a force in the paint. We battle hard all the time in practice. He’s really a good guy.”

Nelson said what happens in the Lewis program has not changed in his four years.

“We’re going to be good,” he said. “We always win 18, 19, 20 games. We have an excellent team and coach, so we don’t expect anything else.”