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LUCKEY — Many teams would have been willing to trade places with Eastwood’s boys last season.
The Eagles finished 15-6 overall and were second in the Suburban Lakes League with a 12-2 record.
But Eastwood left the season feeling empty and unsatisfied. The Eagles didn’t win the league title and failed to win a sectional championship, losing their first-round game.
This season, the Eagles return a deep and talented team as they set their sights on winning league and sectional titles.
Although Eastwood graduated first-team all-league pick Chad Fairbanks, it returns many of its major contributors from last season.
“We won 15 games and have nothing to show for it,” Eagle coach Todd Henline said. “We’ve really stressed that we want to come out with that desire to win and play hard every night, and that we want to win something.
“That’s really got to be our focus, so we have that drive night in and night out.”
Eastwood was a unanimous choice to win the SLL in the league coaches poll.
“Our expectations are high and the coaches poll is a compliment to what the kids did last year and it’s a compliment to the kids coming back,” Henline said.
But those expectations and the poll don’t guarantee success.
Eastwood opens the season with three quality opponents — Napoleon, Elmwood and defending SLL champion Genoa. Genoa and Elmwood figure to challenge the Eagles for the league title, and Gibsonburg also should contend for the championship.
“We’re going to have to work hard every day because we’re going to get the best effort of every team we play,” Henline said. “That’s the challenge to our team — we’re going to have to bring it night in and night out. We won’t be able to surprise teams or have a bad night. We have to come ready to play every night.”
Eastwood returns four starters — 6-foot senior point guard Jason Faykosh, 6-2 senior wing Mark Schult, 6-6 junior post Clay Rolf and 5-11 senior wing Zach Lawniczak. The other returning letterman is 5-9 senior guard Matt Schlumbohm.
Rolf was a first-team All-SLL pick last season, averaging 12.0 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Faykosh averaged 10.0 points and 3.8 assists per game, while Schult made 53 percent of his 2-point field goal attempts and Lawniczak was 20-of-48 from 3-point range. Faykosh was second-team all-league, while Schult was honorable mention.
“We have a lot of good experience back,” Henline said. “Those players have been good for us so far and we need them to improve even more.”
Schult is out until mid-December because of a knee surgery last week to repair a football injury. Schlumbohm is still recovering from an ankle injury, also suffered in football.
Also challenging for starting spots are 6-0 junior wing Nick Schmeltz, 6-4 junior wing/post Clayton Ruch and 6-5 junior post Jon Juergens.
Three more players are contending for playing time — 6-4 senior posts Lucas Hoodlebrink and Jon Sanders, and 6-0 senior wing Zach Frobose.
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