Boys basketball: Unique Shaw among pair of transfers for Sycamore

DeKALB – As Sycamore looks for its first winning season since 2019-20, finding a point guard was a big offseason goal.

Enter Unique Shaw, a transfer from DeKalb who joins the Spartans for his senior season.

“It’s definitely going to be a winning season this year,” said Shaw after a shootout in DeKalb last month. “We’re hoping to get regionals, maybe even further. We’ve got something nice. Everyone should look out for us.”

Sycamore just wrapped up its summer slate of games and practices under third-year coach Ethan Franklin.

Shaw said it hasn’t been too much of an adjustment since joining the team. He spent most of last year as a back-of-the-rotation player for the Barbs.

He said he feels like he fills a need for the Spartans, and Franklin agreed.

“He’s just been our missing piece,” Franklin said. “He can handle the ball, he can shoot it. He brings a lot of attention and has a great feel for the game. He’s a great kid, and it’s been fantastic having him.”

The Spartans were 13-19 last year, up two wins from Franklin’s first year with the team. They’ve only had two winning seasons and one regional title since 2014-15.

Only two rotation players were seniors last year, and a lot of minutes return along with transfers Shaw and Josiah Mitchell, a wing from Argo who will also play wide receiver for Sycamore’s football team.

“He brings toughness to us, and that’s something else that we need,” Franklin said of Mitchell. “He rebounds, he plays hard, he talks and he’s just a great kid. We’re very excited to have him.”

Carter York is also a wide receiver who plays for the basketball team, averaging 13 points per game last year and finding a spot on the 2024 Daily Chronicle All-Area first team. Isaiah Feuerbach was injured much of the first part of the season but averaged 12 points per game over the last five games to close his sophomore campaign.

Jake Shipley also returns after knocking down 38% of his 3-pointers and averaging seven points and five rebounds per game.

Franklin said the summer has been very competitive, a good sign for the winter.

“Typically how June looks and feels is how the season looks and feels,” Franklin said. “We’ve had a lot of guys in and out over the last two years and some rough spots at times in the summer, and it kind of translated to what we had in the season.

“This year everybody’s here, everybody’s working hard, the standard is set, the expectations are there, and, hey, guys are putting in work. The results are showing on the floor.”

Feuerbach said the team is really hoping for a big 2024-25 season, given how the summer has gone.

“I think we’re expecting a lot of wins,” Feuerbach said. “We’ve got a great lineup here with the new transfers like Josiah and Unique. They are going to contribute a lot to our team and make us even better. I’m looking forward to it.”