A new season brings a new look for the upcoming 2019-20 Wheaton Thunder men's basketball team. In 2018-19, Wheaton made the Final Four of the NCAA Tournament for the first time since the 1950's, and the first time ever as a Division III member. The squad finished the season 23-9 in the National Semifinal of the NCAA Division III Tournament. Six seniors from last year's playoff team graduated, including the 2019 winner of the Jostens Trophy and the Bevo Francis Award, Aston Francis. Additionally, this season's squad will be without Spencer Peterson. Peterson, scheduled to play in his senior season for the Thunder in 2019-20, was injured while playing for the Wheaton football team in October and is out for the upcoming basketball season.

Several of the team's returning players had an opportunity to get experience last May, participating in the program's sports ministry tip to Zimbabwe. Additionally, the 2019-20 season brings 10 incoming freshmen to the squad and tremendous opportunity for new and returning players. Head coach Mike Schauer notes, "The thing that excites me about this group is that we have quite a bit of talent in the gym. The broad health of the program is very high. We have a lot of young players that are really good." The veteran head coach adds, "If I can maintain patience and perspective, this will be a fun team to watch. The difficult thing is, if we had to play in our league today we are not ready for the physicality and intensity of CCIW play. That's not saying we won't ever be ready, but we are not ready now."

"Assuming similar recruiting classes to the ones we have had previously, this group in a year or two is as good as any we have had", notes Schauer." He continues, "However, at this point in the season we don't even know the drills, much less the skill. Because we are a typical young team, we don't understand how hard it is we have to compete. I keep pushing them and it feels to them that I am being overbearing, because they don't know how physical our league is or how talented the league is. We are going to have a few learning experiences in real time, and that is always tough." Schauer concludes, "We will have a learning curve this year. I don't necessarily know how steep it is, but it is there."

Schauer notes, "When things are going well this season, you will see a group that is a really good passing and movement team. We share the ball and get a lot of people involved. Additionally, we are long and athletic." He adds, "We will play some lineups this year that will be the biggest that I have ever played."

Wheaton will be without guard Luke Anthony (PICTURED LEFT) when the season tips off on November 15. Anthony, a member of the Wheaton football team, will be on the field when the Thunder gridiron regular season concludes on November 16. Additionally, Anthony and Wheaton football team could participate in the NCAA Division III Football Playoffs and he won't join the basketball team until after the postseason concludes.

Schauer mentions, "We are pretty forward heavy, so we need to develop some guard play. If you did our top seven or eight, without Luke Anthony, it would only be two guards and the rest would be forwards. So our guard depth is a concern as we enter the season. Another concern is the amount of points we are replacing. So we have to figure out how to get to 80 points. I'm not saying we can't do that, I just don't know what the point per game breakdown will be to get us 75 to  80 points per game, which you have to get to in order to be a good team."

Anajuwon Spencer (PICTURED RIGHT) returns for his senior season with the Thunder. Spencer started every game last season on its way to the National Semifinal. He averaged 7.2 points per game and was third on the club with 5.4 rebounds per game. He was second on the team in made three-pointers (39) and shot 40.6-percent behind the arc. Spencer led the team with 1.5 blocked shots per game. Spencer had a "double-double" with 12 points and 10 rebounds in Wheaton's victory against Hanover in the opening round of the 2019 Division III Tournament. He scored 18 points in a victory at Augustana in the Sectional Semifinal round of the tournament. 

Schauer say of Spencer, "Jay is our Swiss Army Knife. He does everything well and has few weaknesses. The push for Jay now is that he is going to have to do some things at an elite level for us to win. He is going to have to score a little bit more, rebound more and have more of a diverse responsibility defensively. Where he is already good he has to take a step or two up and become elite in some of those areas." Schauer concludes, "He has always been a high energy leader and a joy to coach. He is such a complete player."

Guard Nyameye Adom (PICTURED LEFT) is a sophomore in eligibility with the Thunder after missing the 2017-18 season with an injury. Adom played in every game of his debut season last year, averaging 6.6 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. He contributed 1.8 assists per game for the Thunder. Schauer notes, "One of the advantages this team had is our trip to Zimbabwe, in which they got to play without Aston on the floor. Ye was probably the biggest pleasant surprise on the trip, because he had the ball in his hands all the time. He is a very creative and unselfish offensive player, who I think has a chance to become one of the elite guards in our league at some point during his career. Most guards that are good enough to get to this level play with the ball in their hands all the time. Well, Ye spent his first year in the program and never had the ball in his hands because Aston Francis and Luke Peters always had the ball. So he is really a different player than the one people will remember because now he will have the ball in his hands. He has a chance to be a very good player, and one of our most important players."

Luke Anthony made an impact on the 2018-19 team when he transferred to Wheaton in January and this year he will be joining the team at the conclusion of the Thunder football season. Anthony averaged 8.7 points and 2.9 rebounds per game in his 20 contests with the Thunder last season. He shot 50% (52-of-104) from the field, including 45.3% (29-of-64) behind the three-point arc. "Luke's presence last year is really the difference between being a good team and being a team that went to the Final Four," notes Schauer. He continues, "He is used to being the focal point of what is going on and has a little swagger to him. He will be one of the best perimeter shooters in our league, and I think one of our primary offensive options once he joins us. He will change us significantly when he comes to our team because he provides some of the guard depth that we are trying to find. He is an all-conference caliber guard."

Tyson Cruickshank (PICTURED RIGHT) played in 26 games as a freshman for the Thunder last season. He averaged nearly three points per game with 1.4 rebounds per game. He shot 50% (29-of-38) from the field, and was 45% (9-for-20) from three-point range. "Tyson is a joy to coach," states Schauer. He adds, "He is a player that came in last year as a freshman ready to compete from day one, which never happens. That has transitioned into this year, and he is a fun player to watch. He goes full speed all the time, he is going to break down defenses, he plays great in transition, and can really shoot it. He is willing to fight defensively for every inch and will not back down. He is going to be a really good player in our league."

Gavin Hawkins (PICTURED LEFT) played in 14 games as a sophomore last season, averaging 3.2 points per game. During the regular season last year, Hawkins scored a career-high 13 points, making three three-pointers at Augustana. In March, when the Thunder returned to Rock Island to face the Vikings in the Division III Sectional Semifinal, Hawkins scored nine points with four rebounds. Schauer says, "At the end of last year, Gavin had some really big games. The reason Gavin didn't play more minutes last year is that we had a team versatile and experienced enough at forward that there wasn't a lot of playing time so his matchups became an issue. This year we are going to have to survive some of those bad matchups, because he is such a good offensive threat. During our NCAA run last year people got a glimpse of Gavin and many wondered why he didn't play more and it was really a matchup issue." He concludes, "Gavin is the type of player that inverts the floor a little bit, as a six-foot-eight-inch shooter. He is a fun kid to coach because he presents a lot of opportunity for what you can do with him."

Thomas Lipsomb is a freshman in his eligibility with the Thunder after missing the 2018-19 season. "Thomas Lipsomb missed all of last year with a medical condition," comments Schauer. He continues, "He is a six-foot-nine-inch wing that can shoot the ball. He will be one of our best shooters and is one of our most athletic players. He is really in his first handful of practices with us, so once the light bulb goes on he is a pretty special talent. He will do some things athletically that you typically don't see at our level. He is just not quite ready to defend at this level and we don't know if he can score yet. But we have to embrace his development and he will get significant playing time this year."

Cade Alioth (PICTURED RIGHT) played in 19 games for the Thunder as a sophomore last season, averaging 7.1 minutes per game. He had 1.1 points and 1.6 assists per game in his second campaign with the team. "Cade's minutes are going to go way up. He is a very athletic young man who is going to have to find some ways to score and really solidify his defensive and rebounding presence. Cade is a key guy, if he can make that jump we have a chance to be very good," says Schauer.

Schauer says of junior Collin Uveges, "Collin is in the long running history of backup guards that I have had in the program who have adopted the role and desired to play it well. He is going to play really hard and do what I tell him, and because of that he is going to have a chance to play minutes here and there."

Six-foot-eight-inch forward Brandon Orange returns for his sophomore season. Schauer notes, "Brandon has put on a ton of strength and weight over the summer and he benefitted from our Zimbabwe trip. He is a true post scorer that can shoot it a little bit. He uses his size and strength to his advantage. He embraces the fact that he is big and he can really help us."

Blake Foley is another 6' 8' forward for the Thunder, as he returns for his sophomore campaign. "Blake Foley is athletic, long and a high energy guy. He does some things athletically that guys at our level don't do very often. He is discovering his gift set and figuring out how to use it," comments Schauer.

Sophomore guard Christian St. Germain returns for his second season at Wheaton. Schauer states of St. Germain, "He is one of our best shooters. He can really score the basketball, but he has to become a more physical defender."

A collection of 10 freshmen join the program this season. Schauer says of the freshman class, "This is a pretty good group. If I can be patient and help them grow this is a group that has a chance to be pretty good." He adds, "I think there are a couple that can help us. Chris Swardstrom, JT Reeves and Eli Considine are probably the three that have stood out to me so far. There are others that can help us. I would imagine that a couple of the freshman will get a chance to play, and the others will play JV games."