Schaumburg basketball coach Bob Williams uses one superlative after another when talking about Mark Pancratz.
“Mark’s the man. That’s what it comes down to,” Williams said. “He’s a great player with a great mental attitude. I can’t say enough about him.”
Pancratz was the driving force behind the team’s finest season, which concluded Saturday with Schaumburg beating Thornwood 66-54 to win the Class AA state championship in Peoria. The 6-foot-3 senior guard led the team in scoring, rebounding and assists, and earned Mid-Suburban League Player of the Year honors.
Despite losing five major contributors from a team that won 21 straight, broke the school record with a 29-4 mark and went undefeated in conference, the Saxons will be strong next season, Williams said.
“We certainly have the ability to be competitive again,” he said. “And when I say competitive, I mean at the state level. We played a lot of seniors, but we also played a lot of underclassmen, too.”
The only returning starter will be Tony Young, a 6-foot junior who was the second-leading scorer with a 13.8 average.
“Tony will be a staple,” Williams said. “We’ll look for him to do a lot of things, but we’ll be very team-oriented again.”
Williams again will have a Pancratz in the lineup, only it will be Mark’s brother, Zach. As a freshman on varsity this season, Zach Pancratz averaged 7.1 points per game. Craig Reichel, a 6-foot-7 forward, also played as a freshman and will team with his junior brother, Brandon, in the frontcourt. Tom Burke will replace Ryan Walter at center.
“I see them being a top contender,” senior James Han said. “With Tony Young, Zach Pancratz and Craig Reichel, they’ll be tough to beat.”
Junior Garrett Bruni probably will take over at point guard.
“[Bruni] played huge in the state tournament,” Mark Pancratz said. “He sparked us.”
