Huntley boys basketball coach Will Benson wants his players to understand that a lot can happen between now and the start of the high school season.

I always tell them, You may be somewhere now, but its June. You still have until November, Benson said. If you want to get better, you have plenty of time to get better.

That said, Benson likes what the Red Raiders have accomplished from the end of last season to this point in the summer. Huntley finished 5-1 in the Crystal Lake South-Gary Collins Shootout on Saturday, falling in the semifinals to Larkin, 57-29.

McHenry also made the semis, losing to Rockford East, 61-38. Larkin then beat East, 58-45, for the title.

Wins and losses dont really portray what a team does, no matter what, Raiders guard Cory Knipp said. We moved the ball well this weekend. Were at our best when we make the extra pass, and we did that for the most part. Were playing a lot better in terms of passing the ball and talking on defense.

Huntley finished 7-20 overall and 5-11 in the Fox Valley Conference last season for seventh place. With the bulk of their roster returning, the Raiders are determined to change that next season. The upcoming senior class, along with some juniors and sophomores, played AAU basketball this spring for LifeZone 360 in West Dundee, with Al Knipp (Corys father) doing the coaching.

In the morning, three times a week, we come [in before] school and get some shots up with (trainer) Zac Boster (of Pure Sweat Basketball), forward Zach Loveisky said. Its been paying off. In all five games here, we didnt really shoot the ball well, and that hurt. But our penetrating to the rim, getting fouls was good. We did a very good job passing the ball and finding the open man.

Cory Knipp agreed that the ball movement was key for the Raiders.

Weve been working hard all spring and summer on moving the ball, getting to know each other, Knipp said. Were playing a lot better together in terms of passing and talking on defense. The more you play together, the more you know your role.

The Raiders did not have any big scorers last season, as points were spread around. Knipp, Loveisky, Brett Bigden and Andrew Fulcer, who all played over the weekend, saw significant minutes last season. Senior Trevor Sloth, juniors Nate Draper and Nolan Engmann and sophomore Ryan Sroka also played through this spring and were at South.

Huntley won its pool Friday at South, then beat Prairie Ridge, 51-36, and Bartlett, 39-28, in Saturdays single-elimination bracket play. Although it may not be a harbinger for the regular season, it is progress.

Were starting to get some answers to some questions we had with guys coming back, Benson said. A lot of them have improved individually, for sure. Were definitely ahead of where we were a year ago. Its like we took another step forward, like you take a step from November to February, we took another step from February to June now.

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High school boys basketball: Huntley makes progress, falls in Crystal Lake South Shootout semis - Northwest Herald