By Randy Whalen

An old saying in sports is "There is no offseason."

That was especially true in the summer for the Joliet West boys' basketball team.  

The Tigers have 50 wins and a pair of regional championships in the past two seasons. The catalyst for that success starts in the summer. That's when the team gets together on the court and the newcomers mix with the returners for the first time in a competitive environment.

"We always use summer as a time to practice and develop as if it were the season," Joliet West boys basketball coach Jeremy Kreiger said. "We practiced each day from 12-3 pm, where from 12-1 we lifted weights and 1-3 was on court instruction. 

"Largely our focus is re-establishing the expectations from the regular season with returning players and introducing the culture to newly arriving players on the varsity level. We make everything hyper-competitive and want everything earned while players are held to a winning standard."

That winning standard had been in place even before Kreiger took over as the Tigers started winning regional titles in 1984 and have now captured 11 in their history. But starting in his first season in 2019-20, Kreiger has certainly enhanced that. That team went 29-4, and set a school record for wins before COVID canceled the sectional final game and ended a bid for a state appearance.

The 2022-23 squad went 29-6 and matched the school win record. Last year's team went 21-10 and nearly upset eventual Class 4A state champion Homewood-Flossmoor in a sectional semifinal game, losing 68-66 in overtime. Joliet West also won the Southwest Prairie Conference East Division title this past winter for the third straight season.

But again, the seeds for that success are planted months before.

"When we weren’t practicing we participated in the Whitney Young summer league on Tuesday and Thursday nights throughout June," Kreiger said of this summer. "We also played in three NCAA-sanctioned live period events hosted at Riverside-Brookfield High School, Romeoville High School, and Ridgewood High School. 

"In playing games we aren’t focused on our overall record. We want to see different lineup combinations and how the drills and scenarios we are doing in practice translate into these games. It also allowed our young men to gain early college exposure from several programs at all different levels across the country."

Even with the different lineups and some new players to the program, the Tigers went 3-1 at Riverside-Brookfield. That also gave exposure to Tiger newcomers, juniors Ethan Hillsman and Mickeis Johnson. 

Scott Burgess, who has been the lead high school basketball scout and recruiting analyst for Prep Hoops Illinois since 2014, was certainly impressed. 

"One of the breakout players of the month of June in the state of Illinois was Joliet West 6-foot-7 inch combo forward Ethan Hillsman," Burgess posted on the Prep Hoops site. "The forward transferred to the Chicago suburbs after spending last year at Brentwood Academy in Tennesse."

Johnson spent last season trying to defeat the Tigers as a member of Romeoville. Now he will be helping Joliet West against his former SPC team.

"All the players responded well to the design of the summer and made positive strides in terms of adjusting to the Joliet West standard we set as coaches," Kreiger said. "There was no doubt that from day one to day 25, players developed and growth was realized. The strongest summer performances came from senior Zion Gross, and incoming junior wing forwards Ethan Hillsman and Mickeis Johnson.

"At their size of 6-foot-5 plus combined with their length and athleticism, they cause opposing players trouble because of their versatility. They have a solid handle with the ball, can play at or above the rim on finishes, and can shoot it well from all over the floor. They punish guys smaller than them and are too quick for guys their size or taller."

Gross had 20 points in the H-F loss last year. But he's far from the lone key returner. Juniors Luke Grevengoed and Aamir Shannon, along with senior Tristian Saunders are also back. 

Grevengoed was a starter last season but saw his campaign end early due to a dislocated patella. Basically, his kneecap popped out of place. But now he's fully healed.

"It was definitely tough to be sidelined," Grevengoed said. "But I worked hard on my recovery and rehab to get back on the court. This summer, it felt amazing to finally be back playing the game I love."

Joliet West will open the season in just over four months, on Monday, November 25, at the Bill VandeMerkt Tournament at Riverside-Brookfield High School. The mix of newcomers and veterans which combined for a successful summer gives the Tigers a lot of expectations for this season.

"The season outlook is promising given our returners from last year’s conference and regional championship team so there’s an understanding of what it takes," Kreiger said. "CJ Nobles at point guard keeps us in control. Luke Grevengoed, Aamir Shannon, and Tristian Saunders provide us stability on the wings. 

"Then we are looking for some early contributions from our up-and-coming guys like Kendall Bosby, Josh Calvert, and Brock Goehrke. We don’t possess any traditional post size or play but the guards and forwards are quick, athletic, skilled, and disruptive. Much of what we want to accomplish starts and ends with defense and all of our players are committed defenders."

The whole summer experience was a positive one for the Tigers. They expect it to lead to big things again this winter.

"I can tell you that the summer live period and games are crucial for players like me to stay in shape, work on skills, and build chemistry with teammates," Grevengoed said. "It's a great opportunity to test ourselves against top competition and prepare for the regular season. 

"As for expectations, I always aim to improve my game and help my team succeed. The addition of talented new players only adds to our potential for success.  We are poised to have another successful season get the conference championship back and make it downstate."