All-Area Second Team
JONATHAN DEMOSS
St. Charles North, 6-foot-3, senior, guard
• HIGHLIGHTS: DeMoss was a force on both ends of the court despite playing the entire season with an injured left elbow. The unanimous All-Upstate Eight Conference honoree and four-year varsity member averaged 10.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game. An IBCA Class 3A/4A All-State honorable mention choice, DeMoss is receiving interest from a number of Division III colleges and plans on continuing his playing career.
• QUOTE: "Jonathan was a warrior from Day 1, putting off surgery and playing through pain all season," North coach Tom Poulin said. "He was really the glue to our team. I thought it was his best year, even though it might not compare statistically in the points per game. I thought his basketball IQ really shined through."
TEM ESIKIEL
Streamwood, 6-foot, senior, guard
• HIGHLIGHTS: Esikiel finished his three-year varsity career as Streamwood's all-time leading scorer with 1,460 points. The two-time All-Upstate Eight Conference honoree was a unanimous selection this year, helping lead the Sabres to their best season since the 1999-2000 campaign. Esikiel led the Sabres with 18.7 points and also grabbed 4.2 rebounds, dished out 2.3 assists and recorded 2.3 steals per game.
• QUOTE: "Everyone we played knew he was going to score and Tem usually always found a way to do it," Streamwood coach Tim Jones said. "He also increased his rebounding and assists totals. He stepped up pretty well."
LUKE LABEDZKI
Bartlett, 6-foot-1, junior, guard
• HIGHLIGHTS: Labedzki continued to make progress in his third varsity season. The unanimous All-Upstate Eight Conference honoree averaged 17.7 points and 4.3 rebounds per game and knocked down 63 3-pointers. He also crossed the 1,000-point plateau and enters his senior season with 1,122 points.
• QUOTE: "Luke has made tremendous strides as a basketball player," Bartlett coach Jim Wolfsmith said. "He's definitely a special scorer and he can shoot the ball from 25 feet in with anybody in the state. But it's the other parts of basketball where he's made his greatest strides."
TOM ROTH
Elgin, 6-foot-1, senior, guard
• HIGHLIGHTS: Roth was a steady force for the Maroons all season. The All-Upstate Eight Conference honoree averaged 14.9 points and topped the 30-point mark on two occasions. A dangerous perimeter shooter, Roth also advanced to the finals of the Class 4A 3-point contest.
• QUOTE: "Tom was our only real ballhandler on the court and we had to have it in his hands all the time, and that put a heavy toll on him," Elgin coach Mike Sitter said. "But when he was off the floor we didn't play very well, so he needed to be out there all the time."
SCOTT SUCHY
Genoa-Kingston, 6-foot, junior, guard
• HIGHLIGHTS: Suchy is already the Cogs' all-time leading scorer after three varsity seasons. The two-time unanimous All-BNC West selection averaged 18.0 points and 6.5 rebounds. He also garnered a special mention on the IBCA Class 1A/2A All-State team.
• QUOTE: "Scott brought a knowledge of the game and obviously the scoring we got from him on a consistent basis was pretty outstanding," G-K coach Corey Jenkins said. "He's a pretty coachable kid and I can see good things happening for him."
--Compiled by Erik Jacobsen
