Senior Danny Loftus and junior Cameron Mercer truly have big shoes to fill for the Riverside Brookfield High School boys basketball team this season. The returning starting guards will be key components to a different formula for the Bulldogs after the graduation of 7-foot, all-state center Stefan Cicic.
“Defensively and offensively we’ve been big on the press but then offensively it’s straight transition offense. It’s not as easy as to just set up for Stefan to get the ball. Now we’ve got to push it ourselves,” Loftus said. “We’ve been conditioning a lot, a lot of transition offense, transition defense drills. Instead of slowing it down, we want to speed it up, hit open threes and score in transition as well.”
The Bulldogs are hoping to reach 20 victories for the sixth straight season after finishing 26-5 and winning their final season in the Metro Suburban Conference. They lost to Simeon 52-42 in the Class 4A Hinsdale Central Regional final.
Also back are seniors Vince Dockendorf and Mantas Sleinys, both key reserves at guard and forward, respectively, plus Brycen Grove and Noah Wzorek. Junior newcomers are Colin Cimino, Benjamin Biskupic, Walker Burns, Liam Enright, Joshua Arce, Patrick Galloway, Aaron Guzman, Maximilian Perez and Blake Wilson.
Mercer earned 2024 All-MSC honors along with Cicic, now playing at Tulane, and fellow graduates Steven Brown and Mehki Austin. Cicic averaged 18.7 points and 10.4 rebounds.
“I anticipate us playing a lot more like we did in the 2021-22 season,” RBHS coach Mike Reingruber said.
“[Cicic] took up a lot of space and very few people could guard him at this level. We’re going to be a lot more of the traditional RB, up and down, a lot more motion-based, lots more movement. A lot more five guys on the floor who will be able to pass, dribble and shoot pretty much at all times.”
As a sophomore, Mercer showed breakout moments enroute to being third on the Bulldogs in scoring (12.8 points per game) behind a team-high 56 three-pointers, rebounding average (4.0 per game) and steals (39) along with a team-high 13 charges taken. He also distinguished himself as a strong perimeter defender.
Loftus was fifth in scoring (7.8 ppg), fourth in rebounding average (3.8 per game) and third with 45 assists.
“They both need to take a step forward,” Reingruber said. “Danny is just steady. He does everything well. He’s a great leader for us. Cam is a shooter and he really plays with a ton of energy. He’s just got great lateral quickness, great aggressiveness, which makes him a really good on-ball defender.”
Sleinys averaged 1.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 22 games. Dockendorf averaged 1.7 points in 25 games with 10 threes.
Reingruber said Cimino, Biskupic, Enright, Grove and Burns also are among the early starting and rotation mix.
“[Dockendorf] shoots the lights out and Colin, Cam, I think there’s going to be a lot more outside play this year. A personal goal is I want to help a lot more offensively,” Loftus said.
“Just always playing hard [is the key]. In the summer when we won games, it wasn’t strictly because we were shooting the lights out. We were playing hard and taking pride in defense because obviously we have a lot to make up for on offense.”
The Bulldogs’ season began Tuesday with their 21st annual Bill VanderMerkt Thanksgiving Classic, which ends Saturday.
They hope to end with their first regional title since 2022 after back-to-back defeats in the regional final.
“We’ve got a program that’s used to winning and these guys are used to winning at every level,” Reingruber said. “We want to win conference, a goal we strive for every year. We’ve fallen short of regional championships the past couple of years so that’s the next thing, and get back to sectionals. And you never know where it goes from there.”
LTHS boys basketball
The Lions are coming off a season in which numerous seniors excelled in their first major varsity seasons.
With senior Ian Polonowski the only returnee who saw significant minutes, the same formula continues. The Lions opened their season and annual LT Thanksgiving Tournament by beating Morton 60-26 Monday.
“That probably helps, seeing the group before be successful where you had guys that didn’t play much or at all as a juniors and then get opportunities as seniors and play well,” LTHS coach Tom Sloan said. “I’m hoping that’s something that carries over and gives the kids a positive outlook.”
This season’s senior group also includes Bobby Vespa, Luca Bade, Andrew Carlisle, Gavin Carolan, Jeremiah Gaines, Josh Gutierrez, Dylan Hall, Ryder Hilding, Danny Janiszewski, Julian Padilla and Marshaun Russell. Varsity newcomers are junior Owen Carroll, Braden Sullivan, Tommy Sloan, Dylan Holcer, Tommy Blyth, Grant Pinta, Rudy Ranga and sophomore Timmy Sloan.
Polonowski led Monday’s victory with 15 points and four rebounds, followed by Vespa (11 points), Janiszewski (10 points), Carlisle (6 points), Gutierrez (5 points) Carroll (4 points, 3 assists), and Hilding and Timmy Sloan (3 points each) and Marshaun Russell (3 rebounds), Janiszewski, Gutierrez, Carroll and Sloan all had three assists.
Last year’s Lions finished 12-17 after a 3-8 start and shared fourth in the West Suburban Conference Silver with Glenbard West at 6-6. After back-to-back regional titles, they lost to sectional champion Curie 55-46 in last season’s LT Regional final.
With so many new faces, several Lions should get chances to show their mettle.
“Honestly (our lineup) is really kind of up for grabs right now. I guess we’re going to see how different people react to the varsity level competition,” Sloan said.
“As people are asking me about the season, I kind of shrug. We’re going to find out when the real games start. We’re going to need to defend and rebound very well and then share the ball and execute offensively as a team to give ourselves opportunities to compete with the teams on our schedule.”
Teammates voted Polonowski as their Most Improved Player last season as a part-time starter and key substitute. Polonowski was fourth in scoring (4.8 points per game) with 20 three-pointers and third in rebounds (3.8 per game) as one of four players to appear in all 29 games.
“(Polonowski) had multiple double-digit scoring games, especially the last 10,” Sloan said. “He has the ability to shoot it on the perimeter. He can handle the ball a little bit, a good passer and has the ability to score in the lane.”
Vespa played in 12 games, averaging 1.3 points. Carolan, Hall, Gutierrez, Janiszewski, Bade and Russell had single-digit varsity appearances.
“I think one of the most encouraging things is the camaraderie and team chemistry within the group,” Sloan said. “There’s a lot of energy on both ends of the floor and on the bench. They play for each other. They share the ball. They’re just trying to make the right play to help the team the best they can. And they’re competitive.”