By Bobby Narang
The Oswego High School boys basketball team endured a rocky offseason full of changes.
But the return of senior guard Max Niesman, a three-year starter, provided some stability.
The six-footer is slated to be the most experienced player on the team after Deakon Tonielli, a University of Michigan recruit, elected to focus all his energy on football and Jordan Brooks transferred to West Aurora High School.
“I’ll be a three-year starter, and am now the only player on the team with that much experience,” Niesman said. “Everyone looks up to me when things get bad, so I have to stay composed. I feel a lot more comfortable this year. I know I need to be the guy this year. It’s my senior year. I’ve been here the longest. I need to show what I can do scoring-wise and step up defensively.”
Oswego head coach Chad Pohlmann said Niesman is a player set to take a big jump this season.
“Max did a much better job leading in practice, and did what he was supposed to do in terms of effort and intensity and being more vocal and showing much stronger leadership skills,” Pohlmann said. “He’s so crafty, can handle the ball and get to the rim and shoot the three. He can do so many things. Fortunately this year, we have more guards to help Max, so we can do more things off the ball with him.”
Niesman said he’s preparing for a bigger role by working on his outside shot and finishing at the rim.
“Offensively, I feel we can do a lot better as a team moving the ball,” Niesman said. “We’re pretty small this year, with a lot of guards. The guys cut and get more open more and our offense was more fluid. It’s a lot more fun. We’ve got a new back cut system. Everyone knows how to get open. I’ve been working on my finishing moves and shooting a lot.
“We lose a lot without Deakon. He was a big help, so now we don’t really have any big guys. I might be the tallest guy. It will be a lot harder. We have to be quick moving the ball and everyone has to crash the board.”
Pohlmann said his players played aggressively and competed during June. He saw growth in several players, such as Josh Nelson, Bryce Woods, Armani Hunter and Jeremiah Akin. Nelson, a junior guard, won the Class 4A IHSA 3-Point Showdown in March.
“It was actually very positive and productive, a lot of fun,” Pohlmann said. “It was nice to be back to a normal situation, where the kids were playing free and not anything holding back. Everything felt like a traditional Summer was supposed to be. We had some really good moments. For the most part, the team showed it has some positive attributes moving forward to next season.
“We’re not very big, so the way we asked them to play, they executed well. We played with a five-out guard system. With our players this year, it’s really a much more five-out motion offense. We’re trying to get guys to move and spread out, pass the ball quickly, share the rock, and make defense work.”