The Elmwood Park boys basketball season ended with a disappointing loss March 4, but the Tigers have plenty of key returning players around whom they can build next season.
Central to the Tigers’ plans is junior guard Julian Davila.
Elmwood Park fell to Payton 67-47 in the Class 3A Fenwick Regional semifinals. The Tigers trailed early and could not recover from a 16-point halftime deficit.
Davila, most notably, took a massive step forward in his junior season. He scored 500 points — good for the program’s third-best single-season mark — and averaged 18.5 points, 4.2 rebounds and 2.0 assists for the Tigers.
“I’ve known (Davila) since fifth grade, since he’s been in the Junior Tiger program,” coach Tony Sylvester said. “He’s been the guy in that class for the last six or seven years, been that dominant player. Now he’s putting it together. He’s got a great personality, he’s so good for our team.”
The playoff loss was disappointing, but the Tigers’ best basketball could be ahead of them.
“This year, we only have about four seniors, so a lot of the team is still young,” Davila said. “We’re just excited. Everyone will get better, and we have a great young core. We’re ready to keep this ball rolling.”
Senior guard Jordan Diaz scored 30 points in the regular-season finale against IMSA, thus surpassing Julian Molina for the Tigers’ all-time scoring record. He graduates with 1,081 points in three years on varsity and averaged 13.4 points, 3.6 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game this season.
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“Looking up to Jordan when I was younger, he was the guy,” Davila said. “Coming into varsity last year, he just told me how much more physical it would be, how much faster it would be. So then this year when I had more of a role, we talk all the time about things I can do better on the court. It’s great to have him out here.”
Diaz and senior Brandon Matos (8.8 points, 4.0 rebounds) will graduate, but the 6-foot-3 Davila will return to help Elmwood Park (15-12) continue to improve.
Sophomore Kiano Movagh, juniors Michael Velasquez and Luciano Marchiori, as well as sophomores Frank Guiglio, Avian Matos and Ivan Martinez will take primary roles for Elmwood Park.
Sylvester gave Davila the green light to run the offense this season, knowing how much it could benefit the Tigers not only this year, but next. That boosted Davila’s confidence, and he’s taking a strong mindset into the offseason.
“I still want to work on a consistent jump shot,” Davila said. “I want to get bigger in the gym so I can be a bigger body down there in the paint. I want to limit my turnovers. I’ll work on my athleticism. There’s just a lot of things I’ll want to work on, and I will so I can improve next year.”
The Tigers’ 15 victories were their third-highest win total in the last 50 years. They posted their best record since the 1998-99 season.
“Last year and then this year, we’ve been .500 or better,” Sylvester said. “Getting 29 wins, that’s one of the best two-year stretches we’ve ever had. And honestly, I don’t see any reason it has to stop.”
Rich Mayor is a freelance reporter for Pioneer Press.
Twitter @Pioneer_Press