Lake Zurich girls basketball season preview

Lake Zurich Bears

2014-15 record (13-16)
Coach: Chris Bennett 
Key losses: Rachel Dawson, Megan Holbrook, Elly Daleske, Allison Trybula
Key returning players: Abby Pirron (Sr./G), Rachel Kuehr (Sr./G), Frankie Nasca (Sr./G), Vanessa DiVincenzo (Sr./G), Grace Kinsey (So./F/C), McKenna Zoebel (So./F/C)

 

 

The Bears, who return nine varsity players from a year ago, could be one of the area's sleeper teams.

 

Expect coach Chris Bennett to play an up-tempo style when the opportunity arises, as the Bears figure to be more guard-oriented than they were a season ago in part out of necessity.

 

Senior guards Frankie Nasca (5-3) and Vanessa DiVincenzo (5-2) may lack height, but their experience, awareness and keen passing skills should be a huge asset.

 

When the Bears want to add height at their guard spots, look for seasoned veteran seniors Abby Pirron (5-9) and Rachel Kuehr (5-6) to give Bennett ample options.

 

Despite the added emphasis on guard play, Lake Zurich has several talented post players. Among them are sophomores McKenna Zoebel (5-11) and Grace Kinsey (5-10), who both logged important, skill-building minutes at the varsity level a year ago.

 

Bennett noted during the summer that there could also be a few freshmen who make the varsity team.

 

"The key word is 'could,' " Bennett noted at the time.

 

Insight: "I think our division could be up for grabs this year," Kinsey said during the summer.

 

Lake Zurich returns players who proved a year ago they can impact the varsity game in a big way, and with an extra year under their collective belts, this could be a team that catches some off-guard.

 

Remember, this is a Bears team that took sectional qualifier Buffalo Grove (21-11 in 2014-15) to the wire in the playoffs last year, losing by just four points. They played fearless, confident basketball despite having a losing record and going through a few slumps, and gave NSC Lake champion Stevenson -- and Mundelein -- fits in stretches during the regular season. Defense will be the key, as Bennett thinks his team is in any game where they can hold the opposition under 40 points.

 

 

Mundelein girls basketball season preview

Mundelein Mustangs

2014-15 record (11-19)
Coach: Martin Pazanin (First year)
Key losses: Maggie Mahar, Maria DeVito, Maddie Zazas, Natalie Busscher
Key returning players: Amy Richards (Sr./G), Madison Davis (Sr./C/F), Kendall Wald (Jr./G)

After winning 20 games in 2013-14, the Mustangs struggled a year ago and had a setback despite returning the majority of its key players.

Gone is well-respected longtime coach Brian Evans, who led the Mustangs for 16 seasons and complied 400 wins, but decided to retire from coaching hoops to spend more time with his family.

Enter Martin Pazanin, a former Antioch grad who played boys basketball just over a decade ago here in Lake County. He used to coach at Illinois Valley Central, downstate near Peoria, before deciding to take the Mundelein job. He'll make his season debut tonight at the Mundelein Thanksgiving Holiday Tournament at 7:30 p.m.

Expect the Mustangs to use a pack-style man-to-man defense, which attempts to prevent teams from driving to the basket, and instead forces outside shots as often as possible.

Offensively, the Mustangs will rely heavily on Madison Davis, a skilled 6-foot center Pazanin would like to see handle the ball more, and may even use at the four-spot away from the basket at times due to her versatility and ability to attack the basket off the dribble --- as well as in the post.

"She's a matchup nightmare for teams," Pazanin said over the summer.

Also keep an eye on Amy Richards, a player Evans referred to a year ago as the "oil that keeps our team moving." She's an impact leader who's become more vocal, works hard and hustles on defense. She also has an extremely underrated first step when driving the lane, and her aggressiveness will be a huge factor if the Mustangs' offense hopes to thrive.

Junior Kendall Wald, meanwhile, can get hot in a hurry from beyond the arc. Look for Mundelein to be aggressive crashing the offensive glass looking for second-chance points, as this is a scrappy bunch that's looking to rebound from last season.

Insight: Expect the Mustangs to improve upon their 11-win season from a year ago, but how they'll fare is largely up to them, and how well they mesh with Pazanin's new style of play. There were moments during the summer when the Mustangs looked red-hot, but at times they also had some difficulty creating open shots. The NSC Lake will be tough, as usual.

-By Tim Froehlig

Mundelein football left its mark in 2015

By Tim Froehlig

MUNDELEIN --- Aside from the players, coaches and families of both, few knew what to expect from the Mundelein varsity football team this season.

Fresh off a three-year stint that saw the Mustangs win just once in their previous 27 tries, I, like many others, heard the comments that saturated my ears each and every time someone was discussing this school's football program.

Some of those comments weren't kind. Many of them were unfair, unwarranted or just plain downright unnecessary.

But those words from outsiders did little to stop the Mustangs from being one victory shy of playoff eligibility, in what can only be described as a huge culture change that seemingly happened overnight.

"I'm not saying anything negative about what did or didn't go on here before I got here," Mustangs coach Larry Calhoun said. "I can only speak to what I saw with my own eyes these past nine games. It was amazing."

Indeed, when Mundelein raced to a 3-0 start to the 2015 season, it caught a number of people, myself included, off-guard. The Mustangs scored 134 --- yes, 134 --- points in their first three games.

Suddenly, this was a team that didn't just have the attention of sportswriters, it had the attention of an entire community.

"Me, (QB) Colten Fisher, Jake Gokan and Antoine Hicks walked into a few area stores after we started the season on a hot streak, and couldn't believe our ears when people started recognizing us and asking if we were gonna win our next game," said senior Mike Skarzynski. We weren't used to that after the past three seasons of losing.

"And it wasn't just that instance. The entire community really embraced us, and it felt wonderful to be able to give back to those who supported us whenever we could. Our stands were full most nights. That was a big change too. The entire atmosphere was a great way to finish our senior years on a positive note."

The Mustangs now have a train horn they sound off after they score a touchdown that has a retro, old-school kind of feel to it, which adds to that newfound atmosphere.

"Things like that horn are the kinds of little things winning programs do," Calhoun said midway through the season. "We're trying to establish a culture of winning here, not just one season."

Whether or not that happens remains to be seen. But if the way the Mustangs led by example this season is any indication, more good things may be on the horizon a year from now.

One problem Mundelein had this year was a lack of players on its sophomore roster.

"We only had 12 or 13 kids on our JV team this year," Calhoun said. "I don't know if it was the result of the difficulty past teams had, or if there was some other factor involved, but we almost didn't field a sophomore team this year."

The upshot here? There were "between 42-48" kids who played freshman football at Mundelein this year, according to Calhoun. And they have a slew of talented juniors returning.

"You learn so much about life, and about how to overcome adversity in the game of football," Calhoun said. "Yeah, you want to win every game you play, first and foremost. But this game teaches you so much more. About teamwork, about overcoming struggles, about becoming young men. The struggles some of these players went through, and how they responded to them ... well, those are the kinds of lessons they can take with them for the rest of their lives, and use to their advantage."

In two of Mundelein's four victories, they trailed at halftime, yet rallied to win both times. That included a pulse-pounding overtime win over Zion-Benton, another program that's on the rise.

"Honor, character, integrity, pride ... all things we want to teach here at Mundelein," Calhoun said.

Thus far, it's a mission they're accomplishing with flying colors.