NT boys varsity basketball will hit the court at home against Chicago Bulls College Prep on Nov. 24 to kick off their 2025-2026 season.
Last year was the first time in three years that team failed to make it to Champaign for state, with an early playoff exit to Lane Tech High School in the regional championship. With a reloaded roster and a full offseason under their belts, the Trevs look to arrive back at Champaign in March.
But there’s a lot of basketball left to play until then, and the team has a multitude of obstacles to pass before state becomes a possibility.
“We have to take steps at a time,” head coach Scott Fricke said. “We want to win our Thanksgiving tournament, we want to win our conference, we want to win all the tournaments that we play in. I would say that’s the first step, and then we want to be playing our best basketball in February.”
To achieve the goals Fricke outlined, the team has decided that on court there’s one big change that needs to happen: better defense.
“It’s all about how we defend,” Fricke said. “The last five years we’ve had very good defensive teams, and last year we [didn’t]. If you don’t play great defense, you could be ousted in the tournament, and that’s what happened.”
The newest additions to the team are geared towards this need for improvement on the defensive end. Freshman forward Denym Wallace stands at 6 foot 7 inches, adding some more height under the rim before the Trevs. Wallace is one of the biggest parts of this year’s squad, as he is ranked No. 2 in the 2029 class for Illinois.
“Adding people like Denym and Matthew Logue, with their size and athleticism, we add more of a rim protector, which we didn’t have last year,” senior guard Christopher Kirkpatrick said.
Apart from adding size in the paint, Fricke noted another defensive piece that this team has an edge on compared to last year.
“In high school basketball, toughness wins games,” Fricke said. “Last year, I thought we were getting to the point where we were becoming a tougher team. But, this year I think we are a tough team. We have some blue collar kids who come in and really get after it.”
With the loss of seven seniors from last year, the returning seniors want to focus on fostering team chemistry with the younger rookies.
“Last year, I thought we were close, but we didn’t do a lot of things outside,” Kirkpatrick said. “So [I’m] just hoping that we can do things outside the court. I know we set up something where we’re going to go to a Bulls game. So that’ll be fun. We’re just making sure that everyone feels connected to the team, and no one feels left out.”
Senior guard Danny Houlihan reiterated a similar sentiment.
“Having Denym on the team as a freshman and getting him up to speed is important,” Houlihan said. “In general, having chemistry off the court helps us be a better team on the court.”
With all these building blocks, the team has been ranked No. 5 in Illinois in preseason rankings. Despite the high expectations, the team is keeping their eyes on the prize.
“We’re focusing on ourselves as a team,” Kirkpatrick said. “If we look at it too much, then we’re comparing ourselves, and that can go a different way. Once the ball hits the court, it doesn’t matter. It all goes away. All that matters is the playoffs.”