Over the course of five years, Metea Valley has shown a capability to win and win big.
An Upstate Eight Valley crown and the program’s first regional title on the way to picking up 25 wins in 2011-12 established a standard in year No. 2.
In year No. 5, highlighted by a 10-game winning streak that ended with a loss to Hinsdale Central in a Class 4A East Aurora Sectional Semifinal, Metea Valley found its groove late.
The Mustangs’ upset of top-seeded Lyons Township in the Class 4A Proviso West Regional Final gave them their second regional title, capping a 18-win year in the process.
With the program moving from the Upstate Eight Valley into the DuPage Valley Conference, Metea Valley coach Bob Vozza has high expectations for year No. 6.
“I think it’s good to start with a group like that that’s had the experience, in terms of playing time last year and some of them in some pretty big games,” Vozza said. “The conference is going to be a great challenge with the teams we’re playing and the coaching in the conference.
“We’re going to be challenged every night, so it’s a matter of how we continue to get better kind of on the fly and with experience and how we match up with those teams. But we’re excited with the group we have, but we understand it’s going to be a challenge.”
Dei’Ron Delarosa, after averaging 8.7 points as a junior upon transferring in from Davenport, Iowa, is the team’s leading scorer with Mark Konkle’s 13.7 points and Ron Edwards’ 10.5 points gone.
A 23-point effort in a February victory over Naperville Central, which included a 20-point second half, showed Delarosa’s potential and he best represents what Vozza would like to see his team do.
Push the ball at every opportunity.
“I see us still being able to get the ball up the floor with transition baskets and I’d like to think that defensively will be a strength of ours,” Vozza said.
Matt Helwig (6.7 PPG), Montrel Oliver (2.2 PPG), Harrison Kranz (2.1 PPG) and Maurice Burkley (1.8 PPG) are all back to help Delarosa on the perimeter with Nick Dodson, Bryson Oliver and Edwards all gone.
But the biggest question is how the Mustangs will deal with the loss of the 13.7 points and 7.5 rebounds Konkle provided in the middle.
Tristan Schlosser will get the opportunity to show what he can do to take over for Konkle, who’s playing on the offensive line at Hillsdale College at Michigan.
In 26 games, Schlosser averaged 2.7 points and 1.8 rebounds as a junior.
“I think Tristan’s got potential, in terms of the inside game,” Vozza said. “But, obviously, we’re not going to have that guy like Mark Konkle in there, who was pretty rock-solid for us in the middle last year.”
Despite having a bunch of new parts surrounding the team’s two returning scorers, Delarosa and Helwig, expectations for a possible 20-win season and DVC title are there.
The reasons for optimism are pretty simple – experience in some big games.
“It’s exciting to see the summer,” Vozza said. “I see them come out every year – kind of like that new group – and this group is definitely sort of seeing it as their time and they’re seniors and they have a lot of ownership within what they want to do and how they want to their season to go. So it’s been nice to see since at the start of last summer and the way things have carried over so far. I know they’re excited about being kind of that leader and senior group and looking forward to seeing how it carries out.”
