Boys Basketball: Blackhawks looking to fill roles

Updated: November 22, 2011 6:16PM

There’s no doubting who will be the go-to guy this season for veteran West Aurora coach Gordie Kerkman.

Juwan Starks, a 6-foot-4 forward, is preparing for his fourth year on the varsity. He’s coming off a junior season in which he led the team in scoring with a 17.0-point average and was third in rebounding at 5.5.

Even so, it was an up-and-down season for Starks and the Blackhawks, who finished 14-12 and bowed out of the postseason with a 76-59 loss to DuPage Valley Conference rival Wheaton Warrenville South in the regional opener.

It was the first time since the 1992-93 season that West was one-and-done in the playoffs, and the Blackhawks haven’t won a regional title since 2005-06.

How well two questions are answered could be the key to West’s fate this coming season in Kerkman’s 36th year.

How much have the team’s two young guards — junior Jayquan Lee and sophomore Jontrel Walker — improved? And, will there be enough muscle and firepower to fill in the void left by graduation and transfers to help Starks in the frontcourt?

“Those two will play an important role,” Kerkman said of the guards. “Jontrel (who averaged 5.2 points, 2.3 assists) started for us last year as a freshman. I didn’t see as much of him as I would have liked this summer, but I know he was playing a lot of AAU ball.

“Jayquan (2.9 ppg) did a nice job off the bench last year and will probably start at the off guard, but he can also fill in at the point. He’s very aggressive defensively, is handling the ball much better and might be more improved than anybody on the team.”

In addition to the graduation of Kyle Pilmer and Jon Dennison, frontcourt backups Kenny Battle Jr. (6.3 ppg) and Marcel Neil (2.9 ppg) have transferred to Oswego East and Kaneland, respectively.

Frontcourt candidates include 6-1, 190-pound junior twins, Chandler and Spencer Thomas; 6-0 senior Brandon Gossett, 6-5 junior Joshua McAuley, 5-10 junior Booker Ross, 6-0 junior Matt Williams, 6-3 junior Aaron Kennebrew and 6-4 Reynaldo Acevedo.

“Spencer and Chandler (Thomas) didn’t play as much as I’d like or they would have liked,” Kerkman said of the twins, who were limited primarily to practice and junior varsity games. “They’re both solid players, hard-nosed kids and decent shooters. They play hard.

“There’s an opportunity Gossett will play quite a bit. He’s a good shooter. And the guy who could be the best over time is McAuley. He won’t start at first but he has a lot of potential. He’s a pretty good shot blocker, shooter, passer and rebounder, but he’s been dealing with a lower back problem so I haven’t seen as much of him as I’d like.”

Ross is a tough defender, Williams a good rebounder for his size and Kennebrew “is a pretty athletic kid who has gotta improve his basketball skills a little bit.”

Acevedo could be a sleeper.

“He’s lost some weight and is a lot more athletic,” Kerkman said. “His shot doesn’t look very good, but it goes in.”

Senior Nick Davis, a transfer from Aurora Central, could back up the point.

Kerkman says he’s cautiously optimistic his club will be near the top of the DuPage Valley race, but he looks to defending champ Glenbard East as the favorite and warns that perennial doormat West Chicago, with five starters returning, could be improved.

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