New coach takes over promising squad

James Hyllberg
James Hyllberg

By Jason Arndt

Staff Writer

A new coach can bring a fresh attitude to a boys basketball program.

That is the hope for the Westosha Central High School boys basketball squad entering the 2015-16 season under the helm of James Hyllberg.

The new coach retained all three assistant coaches that served under Mikel Mala last year: Keith Skrzynecki, Mike McNulty and Marcus Zackery. He brought in David Cutts to serve as a varsity assistant.

Hyllberg inherits a Falcons team that finished seventh in the Southern Lakes Conference a year ago at 4-10 (11-14 overall).

“These guys need to play together as a team, change their mentality and attitude,” Hyllberg said. “The guys should play hard in every possession.”

The Falcons ended last season with a WIAA Division 2 regional loss to Kenosha County neighbor Wilmot Union High School.

Westosha Central has six returning letter-winners, including seniors Ron Hall and Jordan Easthon along with junior Tre Williams.

Hall, a 6-foot-5 senior guard, is coming off a season in which he bucketed 14.5 points per game en route to second-team all-conference honors as a junior.

Additionally, the 6-foot-3 Easthon accumulated 221 points in 22 games played while the 5-11 Williams tabulated 9.8 points per game last year.

“Jordan, Ron and Tre are the notable three and will be scouted on heavily, with two being seniors,” Hyllberg said.

However, he noted that while all three could be highly touted, he maintained that it is a team effort this season, with defense and ball control as a central focus.

When hired, he stressed defense and ball distribution.

“These guys have bought in so far, they have spread the ball well, and have been making sure they are talking on defense,” he said.

In addition to the trio of Hall, Easthon and Williams, also coming back are 6-4 senior forward James Manring, sophomore Nic Frederick and 5-11 senior guard Nick Buchman.

All three saw limited action last year, but Hyllberg expects them to rise during the 2015-16 season.

“We have some good young, talent,” Hyllberg said.

Notable newcomers include juniors Jake Werth and Lucas Graveley, who both have impressed Hyllberg early in practice.

Hall, in his third year on the varsity team, agreed with Hyllberg about Graveley.

Furthermore, Hall said there are several players on the junior varsity team that can pay dividends next year.

“It is a deep team,” Hall said. “They will all be really good next year.”

While Hall indicated the Falcons have signs of a promising future, he remains focused on the new team concept, a stark contrast compared to earlier seasons.

“It is different, last year was more of joking around lot,” Hall said. “But this year, we are more of a family and we are tight as a team.”

Hyllberg hopes the tight-knit group can lead to success this season, which open play at Delavan-Darien Friday.

“We want to have a family-like chemistry, where we have each other’s backs,” said Hyllberg, emphasizing encouragement, rather than bringing others down.    Westosha Central’s chemistry is imperative after losses of 6-7 forward Ben Graveley, Kyle Foulke and Marshall Gilbert to graduation.

“We have good shooters and a good team focus and we are aggressive,” Hyllberg said. “Our weakness is that we are not very big, Ron Hall is our biggest at 6-5.”


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