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Newark
Coach: Kyle Anderson (third season)
Last season’s record: 12-20 overall, 6-4 Little Ten Conference
Top returning players: Dylan Long, sr.; Payton Wills, sr.; Reggie Chapman, jr.; Cody Kulbartz, jr.
Top new players: Jackson Walker, sr.; Austin Reibel, so.; Jimmy Kath, fr.
Worth noting: The Norsemen return four of their best players, including three starters, who finished the season strong, going 9-8 in January and February. Anderson believes that Long will be one of the league’s best players. The 6-foot-3 senior averaged 12.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.7 assists last year. Wills, a 6-2 senior, does a little bit of everything for the Norsemen, with 6.1 points, 4.1 rebounds and 1.3 steals as a junior. Chapman, 5-8, is a quick, physical guard, who can shoot the three. Kulbartz, a 6-5 junior who averaged 3.6 points and 4.3 rebounds, is a tough matchup inside. They’ll be complemented by a couple of young players who will get varsity time.
“We have solid length and height with Wills, Kulbartz and Long and should be a very solid shooting team as long as we take good shots,” Anderson said. “Will have some moments of growth as some players adapt to new roles and we play a very tough nonconference schedule, but hope to build on last year and try and compete at the top of the conference.”
Oswego
Coach: Nick Oraham (first season)
Last season’s record: 4-25 overall, 2-14 Southwest Prairie Conference.
Top returning players: Dasean Patton, sr., G/F; Tyrell Mays, sr., G; Mariano Velasco, jr., G; Hunter O’Neill, sr., C.
Top new players: Ethan Vahl, fr., G.
Worth noting: Oraham, previously head coach at Elk Grove for six seasons, came aboard as Oswego’s new head coach in May. The Crystal Lake South and Eastern Illinois product served as head coach in Dixon for two years prior to his time at Elk Grove and before that was an assistant at Loyola. It’s a new coaching staff and new system, and Oraham noted the Panthers also play a tough schedule out of the gate – but seven of their first eight games are at home. The 6-foot-5 Patton is a two-time All-Area pick who averaged 16.9 points and 4.3 rebounds as a junior and should score his 1,000th career point around Christmas. “He is very physically gifted and as unselfish as they come,” Oraham said.
Highly regarded freshman guard Vahl is one to watch. “Ethan is one of the better players in the state for his age,” Oraham said. “He will take some time to get used to the physicality and speed of varsity basketball, but with his skill set and basketball IQ, he should adjust rather quickly.” Mays averaged four points and three assists last season, Velasco 3.4 points and 2.3 assists and 6-foot-10 center O’Neill 3.2 points and 2.8 rebounds. “We have some depth, specifically at the guard position,” Oraham said. “We are not very tall, but we have embraced being tough and physical. As long as we protect the ball and hold teams to one shot on the other end, we should be in a lot of games.”
Oswego East
Coach: Ryan Velasquez (eighth season).
Last season’s record: 21-11 overall, 11-4 Southwest Prairie Conference
Top returning players: Mason Lockett IV, jr., G; Andrew Pohlman, sr., G.
Others to watch: Lukas Adolfs, sr.; Reggie McWaine, sr.
Worth noting: The Wolves have set the bar quite high as a model of consistency. Oswego East has won at least 20 games in six consecutive full seasons and won six consecutive Southwest Prairie West titles. The Wolves’ hold on conference supremacy will be challenged with the addition of Bolingbrook to the league. Graduated is Record Newspapers Player of the Year Jehvion Starwood, one of only four Oswego East players to score 1,000 career points. Lockett and Pohlman are returning starters that will be counted on to provide leadership. Lockett, a 6-foot-5 combo guard, is one of the emerging talents in Illinois’ junior class with offers from the likes of Minnesota, Xavier and DePaul. Velasquez expects Pohlman, a fierce competitor and also a football standout, to have an expanded role as a senior. Velasquez has a .762 winning percentage (157-49) in his first seven seasons.
Parkview Christian
Coach: Michael Adams
Last season’s record: 8-25 overall, 0-8 Illinois Christian Conference
Top returning players: Christian Mulder, jr., G; James Jefferson, jr., F; Landon Malkowski, jr., F.
Top new player: Collin Mulder, so., G.
Worth noting: The Falcons return six players from last year’s team. Parkview will lean on the talents of 6-foot-3 Christian Mulder, who averaged 10.9 points per game as a sophomore. Collin Mulder will also be a key contributor after a 3-inch growth spurt from 5-foot-10 to 6-foot-1. Adams said the team, with only three seniors, looks forward to the growth and maturity of their young players.
Plano
Coach: Kyle Kee (12th season)
Last season’s record: 17-16 overall, 8-6 Kishwaukee River Conference.
Top returning players: Taron McGowan, sr., G; Amari Bryant, sr., G; Gabe Steele, sr., G; Vinny Cesario, sr., G; Kaiden Schimandle, sr., F.
Top new players: Ethan Taxis, so., G; Kevin Martinez, jr., F.
Worth noting: The Reapers have a very inexperienced team. Plano graduated all five starters and eight of its top nine scorers from last year’s senior-dominant team. McGowan, who averaged 4.5 points and played in all 33 games, and Bryant, who played in 26 of 33 games, were the only juniors who saw significant time. Kee said the Reapers will be small and quick, but if they can shoot the ball the way he thinks they can Plano could be tough to guard. Kee is 187-142 with at least a .500 record in nine of 11 seasons. “We have a lot of growing to do and I am excited to see what these seniors can do with regular minutes,” Kee said.
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Sandwich
Coach: Matt Chalfin (first season)
Last season’s record: 18-13 overall, 10-4 Kishwaukee River Conference.
Returning starters: Dom Rome, sr., F; Quinn Rome, sr., C; Simeion Harris, sr., G; Brady Behringer, jr., F.
Other returners: Griffin Somlock, jr., G; Diego Gomez, sr., G; Nick Michalek, jr., G; Noah Campbell, sr., G/F; Jyff Baran, sr., G.
Top new players: EJ Treptow, so., F; Kai Pon, sr., G; Nolan Oros, jr., G.
Worth noting: Chalfin came on as head coach in September. The 2011 Sandwich graduate who played at his alma mater coached freshman and JV in Plano the last few years and before that coached at the middle school level in Mendota. He takes over a Sandwich program that returns four of five starters from a team that finished third in the Kishwaukee River Conference and looks to compete for a league championship. The Indians bring back a wealth of size, three players 6-foot-5 and over, but need to develop steady guard play after graduating all-conference guard Chance Lange. Dom Rome was an all-conference pick as a junior, averaging 14 points and seven rebounds. Twin brother Quinn Rome averaged seven points and five rebounds, Harris six points and four rebounds and Behringer four points and four rebounds. Chalfin calls Harris and Behringer game changers defensively that will both look for more scoring opportunities.
“A lot of senior leadership on this team with returning juniors that played good minutes as sophomores last year,” Chalfin said. “Look for Griffin Somlock and Nick Michalek to provide a scoring spark and the Rome twins to be our steady presence in the paint. Great mix of talent looking to compete for a conference championship and regional championship.”
Yorkville
Coach: John Holakovsky (fifth season).
Last season’s record: 18-12 overall, 10-6 Southwest Prairie Conference (fourth place).
Top returning players: Taelor Clements, sr., F; Christian Harrell, sr., G/F.
Other returning players: DJ Ingemunson, sr., G; Bennett Allen, jr., F; Logan Weaver, sr., G.
Top new players: Gabe Sanders, jr., G; Frankie Pavlik, jr., G.
Worth noting: The Foxes won 44 games the last two seasons with the same core group, but return zero starters with just one player who received any meaningful minutes last season. Yorkville graduated a lot of inside scoring with Jason Jakstys now at Illinois and others who had positional size and athleticism, but Holakovsky views this as a group with more pure 3-point shooters. Clements, a 6-foot-5 forward, played spot minutes last season behind Jakstys and is an All-State high jumper who will be counted on for inside scoring and rebounding. Harrell is a 6-foot-2 lefty shooter who has grown as a defender and driver and will guard opponents’ best wing scorer. Among the newcomers, Sanders was the leading scorer on Yorkville’s sophomore team last season and a strong lefty 3-point shooter with the potential to be the team’s leading scorer. Pavlik will likely be Yorkville’s starting point guard, a strong and physical player and vocal leader. Yorkville will have 3-4 freshmen on the sophomore team with two having the potential to help the varsity team as freshmen.
“This will be a team that is very inexperienced but plays hard and competes. We have a lot of really solid pieces that could make a big impact for us if we can mature quickly,” Holakovsky said. “Our biggest challenge will be to continue to grow and improve as a team while playing some schools with more talent or experience.”
Yorkville Christian
Coach: Aaron Sovern
Last season’s record: 14-18
Top returning players: Jayden Riley, jr., G; Brady Sovern, sr., G; Zach Marini, sr., G; Jordan Purvis, so., G/F; Tray Alford, so., G; Noah Aguado, sr., C.
Top new players: Sean Drynan, F; Jack Versluys, F; Jed Ogulei, G.
Worth noting: The Mustangs are aiming for another deep playoff run with everybody back. Riley, who averaged 24 points per game in his first season at Yorkville Christian, picked up an offer from NIU in September. He’s joined on the perimeter by a pair of outstanding shooters in seniors Sovern (nine points, six rebounds as a junior, 131 career 3-pointers) and Marini (15 points per game as a junior, 161 career 3-pointers). Purvis (eight points per game) and Alford (seven points per game) also return.
“Jayden Riley will lead the Mustangs’ pace and space chaos,” said coach Sovern, who has a 142-130 career record. “Sovern, Marini, Purvis, and Alford will spread the floor with unlimited range. The team’s defensive pressure will be the key to their success.”