By Bobby Narang –
Geneva High School boys basketball team ended its season two victories shy of 20.
Batavia managed to break the 20-victory barrier, but the Batavia Bulldogs were taken out of the Class 4A playoffs in a rude fashion. Batavia suffered a 42-37 upset loss to Bartlett in a regional semifinal to finish with a 21-9 record.
Geneva, under second-year head coach Scott Hennig, will return all but one player, Jack Hood, from its rotation from last season.
So far this Summer, the Vikings have put together a solid effort. They ended with a 4-1 record at the Palatine Shootout last weekend.
“We have size and a variety of guys who can play a lot of positions,” Hennig said. “We have four guys over 6-4 which helps in taking away some passing lanes, rebounding a bit easier. We have some good size.”
Nate Santos is the gem of the group. The incoming junior small forward received an offer from the University of Wisconsin Milwaukee Friday. Teammates Mitch Mascari and Jack McDonald both received offers from St. Cloud State (Minnesota) on the same day.
“All three have had great offseasons,” Hennig said. “Mitch is such a hard worker. Obviously, his shooting is phenomenal, but he’s working on other things. He’s getting a lot stronger, improved his ballhandling, and gotten better overall.”
The 6-4 Mascari, an incoming senior, has been a fixture in the starting lineup the last two seasons. He averaged 14 points and five rebounds last season, while shooting 46% on three-pointers. McDonald, a guard, averaged 15 points and six assists last season.
Mascari said he’s been focusing on improving his ballhandling and putting the ball on the floor to help Geneva reach their potential next season.
“We can be scary good next season,” Mascari said.
Batavia junior forward Jayden Johnson was one of the main players at last weekend’s 14th annual Hoop Mountain Showdown at Batavia High School. The 6-5 Johnson decided not to play football last Fall to focus his time on basketball. Numerous mid-major schools are showing interest in Johnson, who averaged nearly 13 points per game and shot more than 50% from the field as a sophomore.
“We lost some key players, but I have some really talented teammates and we can be a good team next year if everybody works hard and fills those roles,” Johnson said.
The Geneva Summer League will conclude Monday evening, the Morris Shootout will be Wednesday and Thursday next week, and the West Aurora Shootout will be Friday, June 29. See Carter Crane’s article here.
