Riverside Brookfield High School senior boys basketball guard Cameron Mercer feels again like a sophomore on varsity, in a good way. The third-year starter and All-Upstate Eight Conference standout is healthy.
“Kind of my first year not being injured since my freshman year going into my sophomore year,” Mercer said. “Hopefully this year I can stay healthy and we can make a deep playoff run.”
That’s among many reasons the Bulldogs once again are optimistic after finishing 21-10 and sharing the UEC East title with Glenbard East in their conference debut with 11-1 records. Seniors Colin Cimino, Ben Biskupic and Liam Enright also started last year, and senior Walker Burns played in 18 games. Also on varsity are seniors Aaron Guzman, Peter Laube and Charlie Sloan; juniors Jamaryon Atkins, Evan Elzy, Phillip Hilgenberg and Hunter Twitty; and sophomores Anthony Tyler and Noah VanTholen, who will start at point guard.
“If we can stay healthy, we’ve got a chance,” RBHS coach Mike Reingruber said. “Our goals are super-high. We’re aiming to win a conference championship, win the Bill Vande Merkt (the Bulldogs’ home Thanksgiving tournament) and make as deep a [postseason] run as we can. I feel we have a good group and we can beat anybody.”
The Bulldogs have won at least 20 games for six consecutive full seasons and have 22 conference titles, starting with 2002. Can these Bulldogs hold their own? During offseason play in the summer and fall, Reingruber counted playing 12 of the area’s top 25-ranked teams.
“We won some of those games. We were competitive pretty much in all of them,” Reingruber said. “There’s nobody on our schedule I feel we can’t beat, so hopefully it puts us in a position to have a great [postseason].”
Mercer was second on the Bulldogs last season in scoring (15.5 points per game) to graduated, all-state special mention Danny Loftus (20.4 ppg). Mercer had a team-high 70 three-pointers and was second in rebounds (172). Also a strong defensive player, he had team highs of 51 steals and 67 deflections. He was All-Metro Suburban Conference as a sophomore.
“He’s become better with the ball in his hands, attacking the basket,” Reingruber said. “He’s always been a good shooter, making decisions out of ball screens. His passing, ball handling, overall game has just gotten better and better.”
Mercer hopes to make a college basketball decision during or near the end of this season. He was hampered the latter half of last season by an ankle injury sustained during the holidays at York’s Jack Tosh Tournament.
“That affected my play a lot. I took a lot of time off this season but the last couple of weeks of the summer, I grinded my way in the gym and got back to it,” he said.
Cimino (4.1 ppg, 81 rebounds) emerged into a late-season starter as a junior and had a strong AAU offseason with his Breakaway Adidas Gold team.
“I was really scoring a lot there and I think that really helped gain my confidence,” said Cimino, who will play at NCAA Division III Denison (Ohio). “Until I really started getting recruited, I didn’t think I was going to be a DIII recruit at all. It really shocked me once I started getting texts from coaches. Once I got those, I really wanted to play.”
Biskupic (2.9 ppg) is the team’s “Swiss Army knife,” providing a little bit of everything and an inside presence. Guard Enright has progressed with decision making and outside shooting. VanTholen, the point guard for last year’s sophomore team, already has offseason experience with the varsity.
“No doubt in my mind he’s one of the top sophomores in the Chicago area for sure,” Reingruber said.
“The biggest difference [since last year] is getting stronger,” VanTholen said. “I’m going to be a better shooter this year and I feel like with [varsity] teammates, my passing’s going to look a lot better, too.”
The Bulldogs will try to capture their first regional since 2022 since losing in the 2023 and 2024 regional finals and last year’s regional opener 75-67 to Oak Lawn after winning 13 of their last 15 regular-season games.
Vande Merkt Tournament action began Tuesday against Golder College Prep and concludes Saturday.
“I feel like we have a lot of great guys, great personalities,” Cimino said. “We’re a lot closer than we were last year, so just looking ahead into the season I think we’re all feeling pretty good.”
