All-Area Special Mention

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Special Mention

• Caleb Cook, Lincoln-Way Central, 6-4, sophomore, guard: Averaged 9.3 points and 3.5 rebounds ... Shot .423 from the floor and .386 from 3-point range (59-of-156) ... "Caleb is one of the best 3-point shooters in the area," Knights coach Matt Smith said. "Hopefully he will continue to get better all-around the next two years."

• Anthony Greene, Bolingbrook, 6-4, junior, forward: Athletic wide receiver in football ... Averaged 7.1 points and 4.7 rebounds ... Shot .591 from the field on 81-of-137 ... "Anthony led us in scoring 4-5 games and was one of our leading rebounders," Raiders coach Rob Brost said. "He's an outstanding football player but we need him on the basketball floor, too."

• Jason Karstens, Dwight, 6-3, junior, guard: Averaged 9.0 points ... Shot 43 percent from field ... Averaged 4.9 rebounds, 5.1 assists and 1.6 steals ... All-Interstate Eight special mention ... "Jason was an outstanding player and leader all year," Trojans coach Mark Porter said.

• Josh Pertler, Lincoln-Way East, 6-2, senior, guard: All-Southwest Suburban Red ... Averaged 6.4 points and 2.0 rebounds .. Shot .455 from the field and .720 from the free throw line (72-of-100) ... "We needed Josh on the floor," coach Rich Kolimas said. "He had a severe injury going into his junior year. The muscle came off the bone in the knee. The doctors had not seen anything like that. They had to put the muscle back on. I was worried about the kid walking again and having a normal life. By Christmas last season, he was able to play a couple minutes. He played with a lot of pain. This year, he was healthy. That persistence is what I admire with him."

• Scott Stevens, Lockport, 6-6, senior, center: Rebounded from a lost junior season, which he missed after a serious knee injury ... Averaged 7.1 points and 4.6 rebounds ... Shot .520 from the field ... Hopes to play in college ... "Scott established himself as someone who could score in the post," Porters coach Lawrence Thompson Jr. said. "If he had played as a junior, it would have helped him in terms of confidence and varsity experience."

• Kevin Sykes, Lincoln-Way North, 6-2, junior, guard: All-Southwest Suburban Red ... Averaged 9.4 points and 3.0 rebounds ... Shot 37 percent from 3-point range (21-of-57) ... Shot free throws at 80 percent (85-of-106) ... "It all starts in the classroom with Kevin," Phoenix coach Bob Curran said. "He has a 3.1 GPA and a very high basketball IQ. He's a good shooter."

• Jake Van Duyne, Wilmington, 5-11, junior, guard: Team's leading scorer at 11.7 ppg ... Shot .322 from 3-point range on 37-of-115 and .436 overall ... Averaged 2.4 assists, 1.7 steals and 2.9 rebounds ... All-Interstate Eight ... "Jake shot the ball well," Wildcats coach Brian Koehne said. "He was our spark plug offensively and had impressive stats across the board."

• Colin Webb, Wilmington, 6-1, junior, guard/forward: 3-year varsity player ... Averaged 8.5 points and shot .732 on 60-of-82 from the free throw line ... Averaged 4.6 rebounds, 1.4 steals and nearly 2 assists ... All-Interestate Eight second team ... "Colin was our Mr. Everything. His stats are not as impressive as some, but he probably was our most valuable player," Wildcats coach Brian Koehne said.

• Winston Williams, Plainfield Central, 6-6, junior, forward: Limited to 20 games because of injury and averaged 9.8 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.6 assists and 1.2 blocks ... Shot .503 from the field and .797 from the free throw line (51-of-64) ... All-tournament at WJOL Thanskgiving Classic ... "Winston is talented," Wildcats coach Josh Virostko said. "He has a lot of individual skills, a lot of God-given gifts. He was very effective when he played aggressively."

• Zach Zegley, Lincoln-Way East, 6-1, senior, forward: Averaged 6.9 points and 1.8 rebounds ... Led team in assists ... Shot .476 from the field and .471 from 3-point range (24-of-51) ... "Zach is a very unselfish player," Griffins coach Rich Kolimas said. "He's a wiry defender."

Honorable Mention

• Alex Applebee, Seneca, 6-6, senior, guard: Averaged 5.2 points and 2.8 rebounds ... Shot .526 from the field ... All-Interstate Eight second team ... "Over his four years Alex really improved," Irish coach Doug Evans said. "He's a lot like Andy (Supergan) in that he can play different positions and is athletic."

• David Balzer, Morris: Averaged 6.6 points and 3.0 rebounds ... "David plays with a lot of emotion, and that sometimes can get him in a bit of trouble, but nobody played harder," Redskins coach Joe Blumberg said. "He also is one of the most unselfish players I've coached."

• Adam Banks, Coal City, 6-2, senior, forward: Averaged 6.0 points and 3.6 rebounds ... "Adam is a workhorse who improved every game," Coalers coach Chris Spencer said.

• John Bartlett, Lincoln-Way East, 6-8, senior, forward: Averaged 8.7 points and 5.0 rebounds ... Shot .454 from the field, .400 from 3-point range (20-of-50) and .722 from the free throw line ... "John had an up-and-down season," Griffins coach Rich Kolimas said. "He just needs to get stronger in the middle. He couldn't run up and down the floor or guard anybody junior year, so he will be better suited to college ball than high school. He has soft hands."

• Jim Benson, Reed-Custer, 6-2, junior, forward: 3-year varsity starter ... Averaged 7.1 points, 6.9 rebounds and shot 53 percent from the field ... Special mention All-Interstate Eight ... "We struggled this year, but Jim deserves recognition," Comets coach Tim Ricketts said.

• Zach Colvin, Minooka, 6-4, sophomore, forward/center: Averaged 7.8 points and 3.9 rebounds ... Shot .516 from the field and .667 from the free throw line ... "Zach was sick and injured for parts of the year," Indians coach Scott Tanaka said. "When he was present, he was dominant on the inside offensively and defensively."

• Andy Crutchfield, Wilmington, 6-6, junior, forward: Averaged 8.9 points while shooting .470 from the field ... Averaged 6.8 rebounds and blocked 39 shots ... Missed a little over a month with an ankle injury ... All-Interstate Eight special mention ... "Andy was not full speed when he came back from his ankle injury," Wildcats coach Brian Koehne said. "He did a good job blocking and changing shots and also rebounding. He was a tough matchup."

• Christian Davis, Plainfield South, 6-2, junior, forward: Averaged 8.6 points and 3.6 rebounds ... Shot .508 from the field ... Scored 27 vs. Oswego ... "Christian was an inside presence even though he is undersized for that," Cougars coach Ken Bublitz said. "But he made up for being undersized with energy and effort."

• Mark Evans, Coal City, 6-3, junior, forward: Averaged 7.7 points and 3.8 rebounds ... "Mark was our leading rebounding and played hard every possession," Coalers coach Chris Spencer said.

• Mike Foltynewicz, Minooka, 6-4, junior, forward: Averaged 7.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.0 steals ... Shot .458 from the field ... "Mike was Mr. Everything for us," Indians coach Scott Tanaka said. "He scored, passed the ball and was a great rebounder."

• J.R. Galick, Providence, 5-11, junior, guard: Averaged 8 points in final 11 games and 5.4 overall ... Made 20 of his last 50 3-point attempts, a .400 clip ... Averaged 2.5 rebounds ... "J.R. started to play a lot like (Kevin) McNally at the end of the season," Celtics coach Greg Smith said. "He became a good ballhandler and all-around good player."

• Sam Hoster, Seneca, 6-4, senior, center: Averaged 4.5 points and 2.1 rebounds ... Shot .479 from the field and .688 from the free throw line ... All-Interstate Eight second team ... "Sam brings the toughness to our team," Irish coach Doug Evans said. "He was our defensive stopper. He was our secret weapon."

• Wes Koral, JCA, 6-1, sophomore, forward: Played in 15 varsity games and averaged 10.1 points points and 2.9 rebounds ... Shot .400 on 28-of-70 from 3-point range ... "Wes came up to the varsity after Christmas and was our most consistent 3-point shooter," Hilltoppers coach Mike O'Toole said.

• Kyle Mack, Gardner-SW, 6-4, sophomore, center: Honorable-mention All-River Valley ... Averaged 12.3 points and 7.8 rebounds ... Shot .534 from the field ... "Kyle was able to establish himself as a low-post threat during the season," Panthers coach Shane Tucker said. "He was our main option at the block."

• Xavier Myers, JCA, 6-0, senior, guard: Averaged 11.8 points and 4.2 rebounds ... Shot .647 from the free throw line on 33-of-51 ... Hoping to play in college ... "Xavier had some big scoring games," Hilltoppers coach Mike O'Toole said. "He played a huge part in two of our biggest wins over St. Pat's and Marist."

• Alex Nelson, Lemont, 6-4, junior, forward: Led team in field goals, rebounds, assists and free throws made ... Averaged 9.8 points and 5.4 rebounds ... Shot .432 from field and .765 from free throw line on 52-of-68 ... "We asked Alex to guard big men and perimeter players, and he did well defending them both," Indians coach Rob Wostratzky said.

• Deadre Owens, Plainfield Central, 5-6, senior, guard: Dangerous shooter who averaged 8.5 points, usually off the bench ... Shot .313 from 3-point range and .750 from the free throw line ... All-Lemont Christmas Classic ... "Dre had a big run at the Lemont tournament," Wildcats coach Josh Virostko said. "There were games when he got really hot."

• Lonnie Pinnick, Lockport, 6-3, senior, forward: Averaged 5.2 points and 4.0 rebounds ... "Lonnie made a move toward the end, picking up his rebounding and point production," Porters coach Lawrence Thompson Jr. said. "He started making better decisions."

• Tyler Ricketts, Reed-Custer, 6-3, junior, forward: Averaged 10.7 points, 5.1 rebounds, 1.4 steals and 2.2 assists ... Special mention All-Interstate Eight ... "We struggled this year, but Tyler was our leader in many categories," Comets coach Tim Ricketts said.

• Nic Romanchik, Poeotone, 6-5, junior, forward/center: Averaged 10.3 points with a high of 26 ... Averaged 5.8 rebounds ... Second-team All-Interstate Eight ... "Nick is a great athlete on a team that did not have a lot of success," Blue Devils coach Scott Maupin said.

• Kevin Salley, Lincoln-Way North, 6-1, junior, guard: Led Phoenix in scoring at 10.6 ppg ... Shot 68 percent from the free throw line (84-of-123) ... "Kevin is a very good student, with a 3.0 GPA," Phoenix coach Bob Curran said. "He is strong and quick for a junior. He's relentless getting to the basket. He's also our top defender guarding on the ball."

• Adam Sattler, Peotone, 6-4, senior, forward/center: Averaged 9.6 points and 6.6 rebounds ... Transferred to Peotone as a senior ... "Adam was the hardest working kid on our team," Blue Devils coach Scott Maupin said. "He's a great kid."

• Alec Smith, Coal City, 5-10, junior guard: Averaged 9.5 points, 3.1 assists, 3.0 rebounds and 1.5 assists ... "Alec led our team in almost every category," Coalers coach Chris Spencer said. "He practices and plays about as hard as anyone I have coached."

• Cal Vigna, Dwight, 5-11, sophomore, guard: Averaged 9.3 points, 3.8 assists, 2.1 steals and 2.1 rebounds... Shot .778 from the free throw line (91-of-117) ... All-Interstate Eight special mention choice ... "Cal stepped us this year as a sophomore and took control of the team," Trojans coach Mark Porter said.

• Ryan Walker, Bolingbrook, 5-11, junior, guard: Averaged 4.0 points and 1.5 rebounds ... Took over the point and helped elevate the Raiders to another level ... Brother Will, a former Bolingbrook all-stater, is a high-scoring guard at DePaul ... "Ryan really picked it up at the end of the season," Raiders coach Rob Brost said. "He ran the point well and hit some big shots. He's the little brother of arguably the best player to ever play here, and he does a great job handling that type of pressure."