Looking back at 2008-09 Tri-Cities boys basketball season
Aurora Central
Final record: 24-4
How season ended: Lost 64-61 to Oswego in Class 3A Oswego regional championship game.
Top players to watch in 2009-10: G Joey Guth (6.8 ppg, 1.4 3pg); G Steve Hollon (3.2 ppg).
Season rewind: The Chargers raced to their second straight magical season behind a group of seniors led by Anthony Kelley (19 ppg), Mike Adams (12.5 ppg) and Nick Czaja (9.3 ppg). After sharing the SCC title in 2007-08, the Chargers won it outright with a 13-1 record. Aurora Central literally ran away with the title, claiming it in just their 11th conference game. As it turns out, the narrow loss to Oswego on the Panthers' home court came to a team that wound up reaching Peoria. There will be some big shoes to fill next winter, but coach Nate Drye said the success this group has established is feeding into the younger players, which included a conference championship by the freshman team and a third-place finish by the sophomore team.
Aurora Christian
Final record: 14-13
How season ended: Lost 59-51 to St. Edward in Class 2A Genoa-Kingston regional championship game.
Top players to watch in 2009-10: G Jeremy Anderson (6.1 ppg, 4.3 rpg); C Luke Johnson (6.1 ppg, 4.6 rpg).
Season rewind: The Eagles had their shares of up and downs in Marc Davidson's first year as coach. First, they had to wait for half their team to finish a thrilling football season that saw the Eagles finish second in Class 4A. Davidson has two sophomores to build around the next two seasons, one inside with 6-foot-7 Luke Johnson, and another on the perimeter, sharpshooting wing Jeremy Anderson. A win over Marmion was one of the highlights for the Eagles, who will see the Cadets and the rest of the Suburban Catholic next year when they begin play in the Suburban Christian Conference.
Batavia
Final record: 19-8
How season ended: Lost 74-69 to Neuqua Valley in Class 4A Batavia regional championship game.
Top players to watch in 2009-10: F Ricky Clopton (10.8 ppg, 7 rpg, 2 bpg); Adam Letourneau (6.5 ppg, 3.3 rpg); Jesse Coffey (4.1 ppg); Levi Maxey (1.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg).
Season rewind: If you have to see your season end with a loss - and everyone except for the state champion and third-place finisher do -you want to go down gunning like the Bulldogs did. David Bryant and Ben Potter capped their careers by each scoring 29 points in giving No. 1 seed Neuqua a major scare. After a slow start that included a rare 1-3 showing at the Elgin Holiday Tournament, the Bulldogs came on strong in the second half of the season, including wins at the Rock Falls Shootout over Rock Island and at Night of Hoops over West Aurora. A second loss to Geneva denied Batavia its fourth straight conference title, but the Bulldogs rebounded to beat Geneva convincingly in the regional semifinals.
Geneva
Final record: 21-7
How season ended: Lost 59-34 to Batavia in Class 4A Batavia regional semifinals.
Top players to watch in 2009-10: F Brandon Beitzel (3.0 ppg, 2.3 rpg); Mike Santacaterina (2.3 ppg, 1.3 apg, 1.0 spg).
Season rewind: Phil Ralston's debut season as Geneva included both a new style of play focusing on defense and a patient offense, and sweeps of Thanksgiving, Christmas and conference championships. The later was a three-way tie with Glenbard South and DeKalb at 11-3, and the Vikings claimed their share by winning three games in the final seconds in February - first over DeKalb, then Batavia and finally by 1 point over Kaneland. They will graduate nearly all their production, including the area's leading scorer Jeremy D'Amico - who also led Geneva in rebounds, assists, blocks, steals and 3-pointers - but they do move up a sophomore team that won the Western Sun title by a game over Batavia.
Kaneland
Final record: 13-13
How season ended: Lost 47-38 to Hampshire in Class 3A Burlington Central regional semifinals.
Top players to watch in 2009-10: C Dave Dudzinski (17.2 ppg, 9.8 rpg); G Ryley Bailey (6.6 ppg, 3.0 apg); Chaon Denlinger (3.0 ppg).
Season rewind: The Knights struggled to get to .500 most of the year, then came on strong in late January and February to push three games over with a 5-game winning streak. Kaneland caught two bad breaks in the final month that could have made it an even better season, a 1-point loss to Batavia when it looked like they had tied the game and forced overtime with a 3-pointer that was ruled a 2, and a 1-point loss to Geneva when the Vikings hit the winning free throws with 4 seconds left. The Knights will return the best big man around in Dudzinski, and it will be interesting to see if the team can step up and send him out with a strong senior year.
Marmion
Final record: 13-14
How season ended: Lost 66-48 to Willowbrook in Class 4A Naperville Central regional opening round game.
Top players to watch in 2009-10: F Mark Peters (7.5 ppg, 4.8 rpg).
Season rewind: Like a lot of teams, the Cadets had their share of highs and lows. They were tough to beat at home, not losing until Aurora Christian surprised them late in the year. They beat East Aurora on the Tomcats' home floor. They also handed Aurora Central its only conference loss. But as the 13-14 record shows, not everything went how coach Rashon Burno hoped. Marmion will have to replace its top three scorers - Bryce Emory, Sean Fichtel and David Brouch - next winter.
St. Charles East
Final record: 9-18
How season ended: Lost 57-54 to Larkin in overtime in Class 4A Dekalb regional opening round game.
Top players to watch in 2009-10: Jess Striedl (5.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg); Zack Burns (2.9 ppg); P.J. Upton (2.3 ppg).
Season rewind: The Saints recovered from an 0-11 start to play their best basketball in January, winning five straight at one point before losing four of five to end the year, including a loss to Larkin when they let a fourth-quarter lead slip away. That was a theme to the season for the team team, who will have to replace the most dominating big man in the area next year in 6-foot-7 senior Kevin Senechalle (20 ppg, 10 rpg).
St. Charles North
Final record: 22-9
How season ended: Lost 51-49 to Dundee Crown in Class 4A Elgin sectional championship game.
Top players to watch in 2009-10: F Josh Mikes (10.0 ppg, 5.5 rpg); G David Johnson (5.1 ppg); G Chris Conrad (2.1 ppg).
Season rewind: The North Stars enjoyed a record-breaking season, which included an 18-point win over South Elgin to win the regional crown and a 16-point win over Rockford Auburn for their first sectional win. They nearly had their first sectional crown when they took a 7-point halftime lead against Dundee-Crown, but a combination of foul trouble and a few second-half mistakes means they'll have to save that milestone for sometime in the future. Their 22 wins blew by their old record of 17. The North Stars are going to have some big shoes to fill without do-everything guards Nick Neari and Jonathan DeMoss, not to mention Zach Hirsch and his sweet 3-point shot and Mike Kastel inside, but they do have a great building block in 6-foot-4 Josh Mikes and guard David Johnson.
West Aurora
Final record: 20-8
How season ended: Lost 71-60 to Naperville Central in Class 4A Naperville Central regional championship game.
Top players to watch in 2009-10: F Juwan Starks (10.5 ppg, 5.4 rpg); F Tyronne Carey (5.2 ppg, 2.6 rpg); C Kyle Pilmer (3.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg); G D.J. Vaughn (3.7 ppg).
Season rewind: The Blackhawks reached 20 wins despite returning only 1 starter and three players who saw playing time in 2007-08. They appear in good hands going forward with Starks, plus some other talented young players who will be coming into the program in the near future. The point guard position will be key as they lose Markus Cocroft, who led the area this year in steals and assists. Almost half of their losses came to Naperville Central, while coach Gordie Kerkman pointed to a 3-1 record and consolation championship at the Pontiac Holiday Tournament as one of the highlights for this year's team.