Lake County Gazette

The College of Lake County men’s basketball team will begin its 2016-17 season on Nov. 1 at home against Bryant & Stratton College.

The College of Lake County Lancers finished last season with a 17-13 overall record and 9-5 in their conference, one game behind conference co-champions Elgin Community College and Moraine Valley Community College. It was the third straight year the Lancers finished one game out of first in the conference. In the the Region IV tournament last February, the Lancers came up short with a disappointing loss to Carl Sandburg College.

The Lancers will be led by head coach Chuck Ramsey and assistant coach Bill Werly, who are in their fifth season together coaching the men’s basketball team at Lake County.

Dearius Horton | Contributed photo

The Lancers will have 17 players on their roster, with three returning sophomores and 14 freshmen. Ramsey is excited about the team that will be competing on the court this season.

Ramsey is looking for returning guard Jovan Jokic (6-foot-5) and forward Jake Parmley (6-foot-4), both sophomores, to take on leadership roles this season.

Jokic led the team last season with 72 three-pointers and averaged 12.9 points. Jokic will share captain duties with Parmley and sophomore guard Jarrell Todd (6-foot-2).

"Jokic is a returning All-Conference player," Ramsey told the Lake County Gazette. “Parmley was our sixth man last year," Ramsey said. "We are hoping to get leadership from those two as the experienced players.”

The Lancers also have added a number of talented recruits that Ramsey expects to be competitive.

“We believe they can help us,” Ramsey said.

The new freshman players include guards Greg Swane (6-foot-5), Marreon White (5-foot-10) and D.J. Taylor (6-feet-tall). Freshman forward Ethan Sage (6-foot-3), who was named to the 2014-2015 Special Mention All-State Team by the Illinois High School Association, will bring previous experience.

“I feel we have a lot of candidates for playing time,” Ramsey said.

In addition, forward Zach Pilcher (6-foot-3), guard Andrew Daguinsin (5-foot-9), forward Donavan Knox (6-foot-4), forward Grant Stephens (6-foot-4) and guard Jalen Deere (6-feet-tall) also will be competing for playing time.

Ramsey will be looking to have the players run, and has been emphasizing ball and player movement when setting up. Ramsey said it is too early to tell, however, what the team strengths are and where there will need to be improvement.

“That is hard to say before you play any games, but I would have to say that while we don’t have any individual who is really big, we have decent size across the board, and hopefully, our kids will play hard and smart," Ramsey said. "If we play hard and smart, and make good decisions, I think we can be a decent ball club.”

The roster also features guards Josh Benigini (6-foot-1), Joel Castro (5-foot-10), Dearius Horton (6-foot-1), Asher Mathew (5-foot-11) and Ismael Mejia (5-foot-8).

Ramsey has goals for his players both on and off the court this season.

“We want to win the conference championship and lay a foundation for the players’ education,” Ramsey said. “We want everyone to do well academically and hopefully do well in the playoffs.”