Heading into the season-opening Naperville North/Oswego Hoops For Healing Tournament, there's no way there could be any big expectations for Geneva's boys basketball team.
First off, Phil Ralston was replacing Tim Pease as the head coach. Not only were the Vikings breaking in a new coach, but eight of its players were still busy helping the football team reach the Class 7A state title game.
As it turned out, there was nothing to worry about. Despite having only seven players in uniform, all-tournament pick Jeremy D'Amico helped lead the Vikings to four consecutive wins and a surprise tournament title.
"It's been so hard practicing this stuff because we had six guys and one of them went down with an injury," Ralston said. "Really, we were five guys practicing against sophomores. You really don't know how good you're getting."
Apparently they were getting really good. And Monday, they got even better. The eight players from the football team became nine. It may not have been as dramatic as Michael Jordan faxing the Bulls, 'I'm back,' but Michael Ratay is returning to the team after a one-year hiatus to focus on football.
So not only does returning point guard Michael Santacaterina return to run the offense, which ran pretty well in Oswego without him, the Vikings return a player in Ratay who was a two-year starter and arguably one of the top players in the area as a sophomore. That's two players who can handle the ball and run the offense. And in Ratay, the Vikings get an unexpected explosive scorer as well.
Suddenly the Vikings -- after the football players take a short hiatus to heal up from 14 weeks of grueling football, become a team that could burst on the scene and make more noise than any Geneva squad since 1999.
"It says a lot," D'Amico said of winning the tournament last week. "When we get all our players back, it just shows how much stronger we can be."
The key to the wins last week was defensive pressure. Ralston favors a pressing, aggressive defense followed by a methodical offense predicated on getting good shots. It sounds like a contradiction of styles, but it really isn't. He has a team perfect for that style - a long, athletic group that can wreak havoc on an opposing offense and a smart, veteran team that will not make many mistakes on the offensive end.
And last week, they also showed that there's some heart and moxie on board as well. Add in nine football players bringing a winning attitude following the best season in school history, and I guess there was nothing to worry about after all.
"I give these kids a tremendous amount of credit," Ralston said. "Not one time did they make and excuse because we don't have everybody here. They just went out and played. That's the one thing I love about this team. It tells me I absolutely made the right decision to take this job."
Source: suburbanchicagonews.com
First off, Phil Ralston was replacing Tim Pease as the head coach. Not only were the Vikings breaking in a new coach, but eight of its players were still busy helping the football team reach the Class 7A state title game.
As it turned out, there was nothing to worry about. Despite having only seven players in uniform, all-tournament pick Jeremy D'Amico helped lead the Vikings to four consecutive wins and a surprise tournament title.
"It's been so hard practicing this stuff because we had six guys and one of them went down with an injury," Ralston said. "Really, we were five guys practicing against sophomores. You really don't know how good you're getting."
Apparently they were getting really good. And Monday, they got even better. The eight players from the football team became nine. It may not have been as dramatic as Michael Jordan faxing the Bulls, 'I'm back,' but Michael Ratay is returning to the team after a one-year hiatus to focus on football.
So not only does returning point guard Michael Santacaterina return to run the offense, which ran pretty well in Oswego without him, the Vikings return a player in Ratay who was a two-year starter and arguably one of the top players in the area as a sophomore. That's two players who can handle the ball and run the offense. And in Ratay, the Vikings get an unexpected explosive scorer as well.
Suddenly the Vikings -- after the football players take a short hiatus to heal up from 14 weeks of grueling football, become a team that could burst on the scene and make more noise than any Geneva squad since 1999.
"It says a lot," D'Amico said of winning the tournament last week. "When we get all our players back, it just shows how much stronger we can be."
The key to the wins last week was defensive pressure. Ralston favors a pressing, aggressive defense followed by a methodical offense predicated on getting good shots. It sounds like a contradiction of styles, but it really isn't. He has a team perfect for that style - a long, athletic group that can wreak havoc on an opposing offense and a smart, veteran team that will not make many mistakes on the offensive end.
And last week, they also showed that there's some heart and moxie on board as well. Add in nine football players bringing a winning attitude following the best season in school history, and I guess there was nothing to worry about after all.
"I give these kids a tremendous amount of credit," Ralston said. "Not one time did they make and excuse because we don't have everybody here. They just went out and played. That's the one thing I love about this team. It tells me I absolutely made the right decision to take this job."
Source: suburbanchicagonews.com
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