Following his team’s season-ending loss to Stevenson last week, Tom Les devoted most of his postgame remarks to Joe Mooney and the other three seniors who dressed in a Notre Dame basketball uniform for the last time.
But the Dons coach uttered one sentence about the future of the program.
“We are set up well,” Les said after the 78-77 loss to the Patriots in the Class 4A Waukegan Sectional semifinals on March 10.
While there is no question Notre Dame will miss Mooney, the East Suburban Catholic’s player of the year, the other four starters March 10 were non-seniors. Junior forward Ammar Becar, junior center Anthony D’Avanzo, junior guard Lucas Simon and sophomore guard Jeameril Wilson rounded out the starting five and were major contributors to a 26-5 team that captured a regional title and the conference championship.
“We had a very, very good season, and Joe was our leader and a huge part of our success,” Les said. “If the other guys come back and we get our underclassmen to continue to improve, next year could be a very special year.”
Notre Dame has won four regional titles since 2009, but it’s last sectional championship came in 1997. The Dons qualified for the Class AA state tournament that season.
While Simon and Wilson will bring experience to the backcourt, Notre Dame’s strength should be Becar and D’Avanzo.
Becar, who was an all-conference selection this season after averaging 17 points and nine rebounds, said the Dons will aspire to play the final weekend of the season.
“Me and Joe were thinking about that this year, but we came up a couple of seconds short in the sectional game,” Becar said. “Now, it’s up to me and Anthony and the others to lead the school to the state tournament.”
Already a gifted all-around offensive player, the 6-foot-5 Becar said his primary goal this offseason is to improve his defense. Built like a linebacker at 225 pounds, Becar said he will be concentrating on increasing his lateral quickness by running on the Lake Michigan beach with ankle weights so he can better defend the perimeter.
“It’s something the coaches already have been talking to me about,” Becar said. “It’s all about my defense. If you play great defense, your offense will come. The basket gets bigger with better defense.”
Late in the season, D’Avanzo emerged as one of the best post players in the area and gave the Dons one of the best frontcourts around. Over the final nine games, D’Avanzo averaged 12 points, eight rebounds and three blocks while shooting 75 percent from the field. In the loss to Stevenson, he tied Becar for team scoring honors with 21 points.
D’Avanzo said his offseason regimen will include extending his shooting range out to 12 feet and adding mass his 6-7 frame. He played this season at 185 pounds.
“I will be hitting the weight room hard, and I’ve already started,” he said. “I’m doing lots of bench presses, squats, curls. All the stuff we’ve learned from the coaches.”
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Les said Becar and D’Avanzo both are motivated to carry the Dons next season. But Les reiterated that it will take more than those two to get Notre Dame to state.
“They are an awfully good start for us,” Les said. “If the other players progress like we think they can, we will have a special season.”
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