There wasn’t a whole lot of turnover in the basketball coaching carousel this past offseason. But there were a few intriguing spots to be filled.
Here is a closer look at several new coaches who will be leading six of the bigger programs in the area this season.
Glenbard North
Former coach: Kevin Tonn
New coach: Nick Healy
After leading the Panthers to 24 wins and DuKane Conference and regional championships, Tonn felt the pull of his alma mater and took the Wheaton North job.
Now Healy, the son of Wheaton South head coach Mike Healy and most recently an assistant at Waubonsie Valley, takes over a team that could be ranked in the preseason with four returning starters. That strong nucleus includes the talented 1-2 punch of 6-3 Lamari Carpenter and 6-6 Oturo Redento.
Lake Park
Former coach: Billy Pitcher
New coach: Bob Reibel
Reibel crosses over from coaching Lake Park’s girls program, where he won both DuKane Conference and regional titles while setting a program record for wins, to lead the boys. He has been the girls coach for the last three seasons.
Reibel inherits some exciting players, including 6-6 Brennan Shannon and sophomores Christian Burge and Frank Battaglia.
Oswego East
Former coach: Ryan Velasquez
New coach: Brian Johnson
Oswego East basketball enjoyed a terrific nine-year run under Velasquez, who stepped down after going 198-71 and winning 20-plus games every season except for the Covid-shortened one.
The search for a coach landed on one with experience. Johnson led West Aurora for eight years and Kaneland for six. Johnson, who most recently was an assistant coach at Metea Valley, won four regionals and a sectional title in 2018 while at West Aurora.
St. Viator
Former coach: Michael O’Keefe
New coach: Al Biancalana
There isn’t a new coach with more experience than Biancalana.
The veteran coach has 25 years of head-coaching experience, including stints at Glenbard East, DeKalb, York and Stagg. He also was a Division I assistant at Bradley and UIC for 10 years. Most recently, Biancalana has spent the last four years as Mike Bailey’s assistant at St. Patrick.
While there were departures and turnover in the program, Biancalana does have veteran returner Dawson Charles to build around in Year 1. He averaged 19.2 points last season as a junior.
Cary-Grove
Former coach: Adam McCloud
New coach: Christian Spandiary
There were a couple of highs over McCloud’s 10-year run as coach, including last year’s conference championship team that won 28 games. The 2019-20 season produced a school-record 31 wins and a regional title.
Now Spandiary takes over. As a former star player at Schaumburg and assistant coach at Barrington, Spandiary brings his Mid-Suburban League roots to the Fox Valley Conference. He takes over a team that lost all five starters.
Schaumburg
Former coach: Jason Tucker
New coach: Garett Gatz
Gatz takes over a program after five years as an assistant, including the last four as the sophomore coach. Before his time at Schaum-
burg, Gatz worked under highly successful Conant coach Tom McCormack, now retired, who he also played for in high school.
The Saxons, who have very little returning from a year ago, have just one regional championship in the last 14 years.