Meagan Flynn

     Huntley was not the favorite heading into the championship of the annual Strombom Thanksgiving Tournament against Dundee-Crown in Sycamore, Ill.  

     Lots of people might have changed their minds though after the Raiders darted ahead with an 11-0 lead to start the game. And when Tyler Brunschon—the only senior active on the roster—sank a net-scorching three to break the tie in overtime, it was a done deal.

     For the second consecutive year, the Raiders brought home the Strombom hardware.

     “Coach Manning said it would be difficult, but not impossible,” said sophomore defensive specialist Bryce Only.

     But to Coach Marty Manning, the only statement this first place finish made was that his team knew how to close out tight games.

     “If we want to be the team Coach Manning sees us as, we can’t just sit back on our success at Sycamore,” said Only. “Yeah, we won a tournament; we celebrated our wins. But now it’s time to get back to work and keep building on our team goals.”

     This year’s line-up is still young, but junior forward Justin Frederick says the maturity level has definitely risen. There are only two seniors on the roster this season, Brunschon and senior forward Dylan Neukirch.

     “Dylan and Tyler are doing a good job of being vocal leaders and being leaders by example,” said Manning. “I’ve been pleased with that.”

     Neukirch has been out with a broken hand for almost three weeks now, but he estimates that he will return in a week or two just in time for conference competition. Junior Jake Brock, who led in scoring on the sophomore team last season, has filled in for Neukirch on the starting lineup, and sophomore Jake Dachman has been putting in quality minutes as well.

     “With Dylan hurt, it’s good to see that people have stepped up,” said Frederick. “This year, it’s not just our starting five that are good. Throughout our whole lineup we have talent.”

     On thing lacking: Height.

     Amanze Egekeze, a freshman, is the tallest big man on the lineup at 6-foot-5, but only sees minutes here and there as he is still acclimating to the varsity level.

     “We do a lot of help-side defense so the big guys can’t get inside and score,” said junior sharp-shooting point guard Troy Miller. “Because we’re not the tallest, we also need to work on getting loose balls and being a little bit scrappier.”

     Defense has been a major focus for the undersized team this year. In the Raiders’ season-opener, they held Hampshire to just four points in the second quarter and forced them into 28 turnovers for the game in their 53-48 win.

     “I think we’re doing a good job of pressuring the ball and not allowing it to get into the post,” said Neukirch. “We’re playing disciplined defense, but there’s always room for improvement.”

     ***The Raiders started off with five straight wins before losing to Fremd. They are currently 6-1. In their home-opener, the Raiders handed favored Crystal Lake Central their first loss of the season in an impressive 14-point win, 65-51. They pushed the Tigers into 25 turnovers.

     “We didn’t let them do what they wanted on offense and we disrupted a lot of things,” Brunschon said.

     Central was ranked No. 1 in the area by McHenrycountysports.com. The win upped the Raiders to the No. 2 spot after previously being ranked sixth.

     “I think they [played] excellent,” said Manning. “I think the thing we did best was hustle and sprint to spots [on defense] to help each other out. We got a lot of steals and deflections from that.”

     A pivotal point for the Raiders against Central was that they won the battle on the boards by a large margin, 35-22, despite their height disadvantage. Frederick stepped up big and recorded a double-double, contributing 11 of the 35 rebounds along with 14 points, while Miller led with 18 points and Brunschon had 14.

     “Justin [Frederick] and Bryce [Only] do a really good job of playing bigger than they are,” said Dachman. “Last night [against Central], they out-rebounded the crap out of their 6-footers. We know that if we don’t rebound, it’s going to be tough to win games. We need to limit second chance shots.”

     On the offensive spectrum, the team’s ability to shoot the ball has made up for any height disadvantage. As a whole, the team is shooting 47 percent from the field and 44 percent beyond the arc. Miller leads the team with 16 three-pointers (through the first six games), and in a game against Chicago Hope Academy during the Thanksgiving tournament, he recorded a game-high 32 points.

     “Everybody on the team can shoot the ball,” said Only. “Nobody’s afraid to shoot, either. Coach Manning’s always giving us the green light to shoot if we’re open.”

     The team’s quickness has also been a major aspect leading to their success against bigger teams.

     “We’ve been able to get fast break points a lot easier than years past,” said Manning.

     For this year’s varsity squad, those few players with the cinder blocks strapped to their ankles are nonexistent. Running the floor has been a crucial aspect of the Raiders’ game.

     “No one really has a problem getting up and down the floor,” said Neukirch. “We do a lot of conditioning at practice, and I think it’s a big positive that we can run on teams and get early fast break points.”

     Tonight they will face Prairie Ridge in a non-conference match-up before heading into the Jacobs Holiday Tournament on Saturday. This is their first year in the Jacobs Tournament after previously competing in the Chuck Dayton Tournament in Dekalb, Ill.

     “It’s got a lot of good teams,” said Brock. “So if we compete really well there, it will give us a lot of confidence heading into the conference season. It will prepare us for a lot of good teams in our conference.”

     However, one of the team’s tallest players off the bench, junior Ryan Davenport, who has contributed tremendously in grabbing boards and defending the post, recently contracted mono and will be benched for up to five weeks.

     “We’re definitely going to miss the toughness and hustle that he brought to our team,” said Manning.

     Tuesday, Jan. 11 marks their first conference game of the season against Crystal Lake South. South and McHenry will be their toughest opponents in the conference. The Raiders are currently ranked No. 9 in the Daily Herald’s Chicagoland top picks, nine above No. 18 Crystal Lake South. They intend to compete for the title.

     “I think the chances of us winning conference are great,” said Davenport. “We’ll have to face McHenry twice, which will be the hardest two games. But I think if we play together and play good defense, we’ll be able to take them out.”

     But the conference title is a different story for a different day. For now, the Raiders are preparing for their Christmas tournament and working out any kinks before the bulk of the season arrives. After two home-floor wins, they also intend to remain undefeated at home.

     “When conference season and regional season rolls around, hopefully we’ll be competing for conference championships and regional championships,” said Manning. “But for now, we’re just staying focused on what we need to work on.”

     Last year’s team finished 15-13 and stood middle-of-the-pack in the conference. It was an expectation-defying season however. This year, things are different.

     “[The] guys want to play basketball,” said Only. “This year we have guys that want to get better, that want to work at basketball, who do it for the love of the game.”

     And so—each and every player—they all agree that the bar is set a great deal higher.

     “Manning expects a lot more from us,” said Neukirch. “But that’s okay, because we expect a lot more from ourselves.”

Post Author: Franca Onyibor.

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