New faces fill Sauk’s spaces: Skyhawks build with host of local players

By LARRY BRENNAN  lbrennan@svnmail.com  800-798-4085, ext. 550

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The Sauk Valley Community College Skyhawks men’s basketball team will look to open the season in strong fashion Friday.

Sauk Valley will begin its bid for its seventh 20-win season since 2001 when it hosts the St. Ambrose University JV team Friday at approximately 8 p.m. in the second game of the Sauk Classic.

Skyhawk head coach Russ Damhoff, who begins his 23rd season at Sauk, is guardedly optimistic about his team’s chances.

“We think we’ve got good talent,” he said. “But, the thing we’re fighting is that of the 18 guys on the team, 15 weren’t in the program last year.

“We have five transfers. That’s probably the most I’ve ever had. So, we have some maturity. But, they don’t know our system yet.”

The Skyhawks’ three returning players include Rock Falls High School products Rian Nailor and Tyler Marks, and Jamison Wiersema from Milledgeville.

Seven-foot Rock Falls grad Zach House is one of the transfers. House had been at NCAA Division I Evansville.

“He’s going to be very good,” Damhoff said of House. “We’re looking for big improvement from that position. We think that could make a big difference for us.”

House and Nailor are the team’s captains.

The transfers include a pair of players from Iowa Central Community College – 6-foot-8 Troy Appelhans and 6-foot Isaiah Lewis. Appelhans is out of Marengo High School and Lewis is from Freeport High School.

The other two transfers are Winnebago grad Heath Hoffman who played at Highland Community College a year ago and Mitch Uratchko, a Streator product who played at Mid-State Community College in Wisconsin two years ago.

Six of Sauk’s 10 true freshmen are from area high schools. They include Sterling’s Dustin Fritsch and Niko Rivera, Sterling Christian products Devin Goodeill and Ethan Kruse, Morrison High School grad Zach Stralow, and Polo High School product Matt VanOosten.

Rounding out the freshmen contingent are Eddie Cade of Rockford Auburn High School, Dwan Horton of Rockford East, Chuck Misuraca of Winnebago, and Chaz Winters of Rockford.

Winters is the nephew of Rock Falls coach Mike Winters.

Damhoff indicated that his initial starting lineup would likely include Nailor at the point, Hoffman at the other guard spot, House at center, Fritsch at power forward, and either Wiersema, Lewis or Cade at small forward.

With all of the newcomers on the squad, Damhoff thinks it may take a little time for things to come together.

“About 15 games in I think we’ll be pretty good,” he said. “It will take some time to get where we want to be. But, we think we’ll be good enough to win the early games as we improve.”