How do you replace the all-time leading scorer in your school’s history?
This is the hoops conundrum facing Riverside Brookfield boys basketball coach Tom McCloskey, who lost prolific scorer Chris Parrish (1,570 career points at RB) to graduation.
Luckily, the Bulldogs’ cupboard is far from bare as the other four starters return from last season’s 16-10 club.
Leading the charge is Dan Oswald, a 6-foot-2 senior swingman who averaged 13 points per game last season and nailed 58 three-pointers en route to all-conference honors in the Metro Suburban Conference. The other key returnees are 6-1 guard Billy VandeMerkt (10 points per game), 5-11 junior Sean McGonagill (9.1 ppg) and 6-3 senior forward/center Anthony Kilcoyne.
“Dan is a great shooter with a very good all-around game,” McCloskey said. “Billy started every game last year and was our defensive stopper. Sean was our playmaker.”
Shane Kilcoyne, who provides an interior presence and solid rebounding like his aforementioned brother, 6-2 guard/forward Derek Tomasek and heralded 6-foot sophomore Ryan Jackson will play prominent roles off McCloskey’s bench.
Tomasek is a capable defender and moves well off the ball offensively. As a freshman last season, Jackson exhibited his excellent scoring and passing skills to lead the RB sophomore squad to a scintillating 23-1 mark, the best record in school history.
“We will push the ball and play an up-tempo style of basketball,” McCloskey said. “We have excellent team speed and want to get transition baskets. I think the strengths of this team are our speed, skills, passing and shooting.”
With no rotation player over 6-3, rebounding may be a concern for the Bulldogs.
“We’re going to have to box out and rebound to be successful,” said senior guard Dontaye Bosley, who should see action this season. “I think we have a lot of talent. If we can run the floor and knock down some threes, we should be fine.”
The mix of several veterans coupled with an impressive infusion of talent from the stellar sophomore group, has already paid dividends for the Bulldogs. The team raced to an impressive 33-7 mark during summer competition.
The Bulldogs are favored to repeat as Metro Suburban Conference champs. The feat would be their eighth straight conference title. But Fenton and Ridgewood, featuring Mike Kepinski, might make the conference race interesting.
Riverside Brookfield also has a challenging non-conference schedule that includes tough tests against Morton, Lyons Township and Brother Rice.
The Bulldogs begin the season by hosting their annual Bill VandeMerkt Thanksgiving Tournament. They open against Argo on tonight, Nov. 26. The Bulldogs then take on Hinsdale South (Nov. 28) and Nazareth (Nov. 29).