Lake County Gazette

Amar Augillard wants his encore performance to turn as many heads as his opening act did.

After averaging 18.5 points, six rebounds and three assists in a freshmen season where he became a household name at Zion-Benton, the 6-foot-5 Augillard is focusing on the little things this summer in hopes of raising Zion’s overall profile.

“I’m very excited,” Augillard told the Chicago Tribune. “I feel like this is going to be a year for the Zee-Bees where everybody is going to know who our name is.”

Augillard's summer has been a busy one, filled with daily shooting and dribbling drills, and runs of up to 2 miles a day.

Though the Zee-Bees finished 10-17 last season, coach Bob Worthington is looking for more this season, and it all starts with Augillard.

“He’s just getting better,” Worthington told the Tribune. “He’s very receptive, very open to coaching and he’s just a hard worker. He loves basketball. He’s a gym rat. He’s got all the formula to be a really good player if things fall in place.”

For Worthington, the focus has also been about prepping his young team for what he expects this season.  As part of the learning curve, the Zee-Bees have competed in tournaments at Illinois State, Northern Illinois and Carmel this summer

“We’ve had a productive summer,” he said. “Guys are adapting to things that we needed to work on. Rebounding, defense — all those things are looking really good for us right now. I know its super early, but our guys are really working hard and having a productive summer.”