PCC
games in CAPS, Home games in bold
Start times are
junior varsity starting times
11-26-2002
(Tu) at Lake Station (6 p.m.)
11-29-2002 (F) Elmwood Park, Ill. (6 p.m.)
12-6-2002 (F) G/B (varsity only) vs. HEBRON (6 p.m.)
12-13-2002 (F) at WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP (6 p.m.)
12-21-2002 (S) at Kankakee Valley (6 p.m.)
12-28-2002 (Th) Gavit (6 p.m.)
1-3-2003 (F) Lowell (6 p.m.)
1-7-2003 (W) Whiting (6 p.m.)
1-10-2003 (F) BOONE GROVE (6 p.m.)
1-14-2003 (W) at Beecher, Ill. (6 p.m.)
Porter County Conference (PCC) Tournament
1-22-2003
(W) quarterfinals - 6 p.m.
1-23-2003 (Th) quarterfinals - 6 p.m.
1-25-2003 (S) semifinals - 11 a.m.
1-25-2003 (S) championship - 6 p.m.
1-31-2003 (F) MORGAN TOWNSHIP (6 p.m.)
2-1-2003 (Tu) at North Newton (6 p.m.)
2-4-2003 (F) Clark (6 p.m.)
2-7-2003 (F) LaCROSSE (6 p.m.)
2-13-2003 (Th) at Wheeler (6 p.m.)
2-21-2003 (F) at KOUTS (6 p.m.)
2-25-2003 (Tu) Morton (6 p.m.)
2-28-2003 (F) at River Forest (6 p.m.)
Wheeler (2A) Sectional
3-4-2003
(Tu) Quarterfinals (6 p.m.)
3-7-2003 (F) Semifinals (6 p.m.)
3-8-2003 (S) Championship (7:30 p.m.)
Triton (2A) Regional
3-15-2003
(S) Semifinals (11 a.m.)
3-15-2003 (S) Championship (7 p.m.)
Hanover
Central varsity coach Dave Uran was asked to preview
and profile this years Wildcats basketball team. Here's what he
had to say, courtesy of the Lake County Star newspaper.
Coach
Dave Uran (1st year)
We feel we're on the verge of popping through and breaking into the top level of
the conference this year. And we really think next year is our year (to
win it all) because our best classes are our sophomores and juniors. That's the
best class here since I played in '85 and '86. It reminds me of back then when
we were juniors and we had a great sophomore class. We had a breakthrough
year my senior year. I took it on because I graduated from here. They haven't
had the success I think they could have had. That's frustrating. They've always
had talent here. Not to say anything about anybody who's coached here.
Everybody's got a different philosophy. I had a great coach, Terry Strawbridge,
when I played. And I was fortunate to coach under Bill O'Ciepka for two years.
If I can take what they both offered and combine that, I'd like to transmit that
to the players. All the juniors and below, I have had (coached). I'd like
to see them grow and develop in the system we've had here the past two years. I
think we can be a perennial threat. We don't have the marquee threat like
(Ricky) Hise or (Todd) Schafer. But I don't think anybody has the depth that we
do.
Jon Radosevich - 6-0 - senior guard
He played the last couple of games and came off the bench. He had a tremendous year on the JV for us. He got lost in the mix, even at the JV level. He had a breakout game, I think, at Whiting. From that point on, he didn't tail off. He scored from 12 to 20 points per game. The more we saw of him and set plays up for him, the better he looked. We're trying to get him to play defense and he says he's going to try. We'll see how that works out. He'll be our '1' guy (point guard) now. He'll take the pressure of Brandon (Hegg) and Jeff (Johnson) and I think all three can be double figure scorers.
Eddie Roberts - 6-5 senior - center-forward
His work ethic is probably second to none on the team. He's worked hard all summer and you can see it. He's no rah-rah guy but he takes care of himself and the other guys see that. He's 6-foot-5. He can jump out of the gym. The key will be, for 32 minutes, can they (the other team's centers) stay with Eddie. (Hebron's Mike) Laska and (Boone's Phil) Bien are juniors and Eddie might have an experience edge on them, too. Eddie's deceiving because he doesn't have a lot of bulk on him. He's 6-4 1/2 and he'll grow. There's nobody in our league that can jump with him.
Matt Jackson - 6-3 junior - forward
Matt's not flashy but he's fundamentally sound. He's going to do the things that need to get done. He can make others a better player. Matt was in cross country and when we ran our 6-mile run (you have to run a 6-minute mile to be eligible to play varsity this year) he was second on our team. He ran it in 5:09. He never gets tired and he's going to grow. He'll be 6-4 or 6-5 before he's through here.
Brandon Hegg - 6-1 junior - guard
Brandon's a little more complete player. He can score inside and out. Brandon's working hard on defense. We're doing a lot of different schemes this year so he won't have to work as hard. His help side defense is coming along real well. He's still maturing. He's still got a little baby fat on him.
Jeremy Spencer - 6-2 senior - forward
It's not a sure thing that Jeremy's not going to start. It's not who starts, it's who finishes the games. Jeremy is the heart and soul of our team. He's the emotional heart of our team. If we can get him on the right track at the start of the game, the other guys will feed off him.
Jeff Johnson - 6-1 junior - guard
Eddie (Roberts) and Jeff, I think, can be all-conference players if we do anything at all this year. Brandon and Jeff will be the elite guards in this league next year. Jeff (school-record 51 3-point baskets last season) is obviously a very good shooter and a streak shooter. He'll be good this year and next year, it'll be his turn to take the torch and be one of the top players in the conference.
Todd Szayni - 6-0 Senior guard
Todd
played the point for us last year and he'll come off the bench this season.
He adds toughness and experience. Todd's a baseball player and he was a
wrestler. He's a very good athlete and he'll add to our depth.
Aleks Case - 6-3 Senior forward
He gave us some help last year off the bench. We're looking for him to be a little more consistent. He can give us 6-8 points and 2-3 minutes off the bench. He's mature. He's a senior. They shouldn' t be intimidated by anyone we play.
Owen Goff - 6-1 Junior forward
Owen Goff was our point guard last year on the JV. He's a cross country guy. He's been out running all summer long. We're looking at Owen at the '1' or '2' position. His biggest deficiency is the intimidation factor. The faster pace. If we get him past that, he can come off the bench and give us a lot of production.
Doug Billinski - 6-0 Junior guard
Doug is the bulldog. If everybody had his attitude, the sky would be the limit. There's nobody who works harder on defense than him. He's pushing 6-foot. He's probably 5-11. He's got the jumping ability, the quickness of a 6-3, 6-4 guy. If he's close to the ball, he'll get it. At Clark last year, he got five stitches on one play but he came up with the ball.
Adam, Miller - 6-1 Senior forward/guard
He's the perfect role player. He's not going to complain about playing time. You can't measure his worth in stats, points and rebounds. He'll do whatever you ask him to do in practice and in a game. If you need a screen, he'll set it. He'll box somebody out so somebody else can get the rebound. At the end of the game, his line may be 0-0-0 but he did a lot of things you won't see in the paper. He's a great kid. His makeup is tremendous.
Outlook: We're practicing 5-7 (p.m.) and 7-9 because those are the times we'll be playing. I really think that makes a difference. When it's 7:30, we want to be at peak performance level. Any edge that we can possibly get is good. Of the eight teams in our conference, the top five teams can go anywhere except the larger 3A and 4A schools and play with anybody. Whoever comes out of the 2A sectional at Wheeler can go to the Dome. I'm not saying we're going to win it but anything can happen. Your goal has to be to go to the state finals. You can't shoot for anything less. You can't shoot for the sectional. You won't get the work ethic you want.
Our sophomore class is excellent. You don't see any sophomores on the varsity because we have plenty of players. We decided to keep them together. My team last year (the junior varsity) went 14-6. The freshman (now sophs) went 17-4. When they get to the varsity they won't accept anything but wins. We've got everybody back, which gives us our depth. If we play well... and I know we get Kouts and Wheeler both on the road at the end of the year. There were five 5-2 teams (in the PCC) and that balance is still there but I think we're in the mix this season. We've been 0-20 (2001), then 6-16 (2002). I think we're a 14-win team this season.
For the Record: 2001-2002 (6-16)
Coach
Bill Ociepka (6-36) 2 years
PCC games in CAPS, Home games in bold
11-20-2001:
54-49 Lake Station (6-16)
11-30-2001: 37-90 HEBRON (17-6)
12-7-2001: 48-45 WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP (5-15)
12-15-2001: 44-54 Kankakee Valley (8-13)
12-19-2001: 45-40 at Whiting (3-18)
12-22-2001: 38-49 at Gavit (3-18)
12-28-2001: 46-68 at Lowell (10-12)
1-5-2002: 47-54 at BOONE GROVE (14-8)
1-8-2002: 53-60 Beecher, Ill. (14-11)
1-11-2002: 46-60 North Judson (11-14)
PCC Tournament (at Boone Grove)
1-16-2002:
38-65 BOONE GROVE (14-8)
1-25-2002: 35-64 at MORGAN TOWNSHIP (15-8)
1-26-2002: 53-56 North Newton (8-13)
1-30-2002: 52-64 at Clark (4-17)
2-1-2002: 61-58 at LaCROSSE (5-16)
2-7-2002: 62-78 WHEELER (12-10)
2-15-2002: 57-68 KOUTS (15-7)
2-19-2002: 74-79 at Morton (9-12)
2-22-2002: 62-45 River Forest (5-16)
North Newton (2A) Sectional
2-25-2002:
70-51 North Newton (8-13)
3-1-2002: 72-84 Wheeler (12-11)
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