On the Hardwood: Lake Forest Boys

SEASON REVIEW

He was the Pleasant Surprise.

Ben Gibson was good from Game One — and never stopped being good. The 6-foot-5, 185-pound senior, who saw very few minutes as a junior for the boys basketball team at Lake Forest High School, emerged as one of the area’s best inside-outside players.

A true fresh face, the versatile Gibson ended up leading the Scouts (12-16, 6-8, 5^th in the NSC) in scoring (16.0) and rebounding (5.2).

Teammate Mead Payne also turned some heads. The 6-7 senior earned honorable mention all-NSC honors after averaging 9.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game. He earned all-tourney honors in the season-opening New Trier-Loyola Academy Thanksgiving Tournament.

Payne had a number of big games, including a 26-point performance against Lincoln Park in the second round of NT-LA tourney. He could be deadly at the foul line. In a road win at Warren on Jan. 27, he went 7-for-7 at the charity stripe.

• Other observations: Senior guard Sean Trkla was Mr. Hustle for the Scouts. He was second on the team in steals (24). … Senior Jed Thomas hit some big shots, including the game-winner against Waukegan on Feb. 21. … And, one of the most memorable shots of the year was made by junior Michael Pasquella. His long tip-in gave LF a triple-overtime win over rival Libertyville on Feb. 6.

Honor Roll

All-North Suburban Conference:

First Team

Ben Gibson (Sr., F)

Honorable Mention

Mead Payne (Sr., C)

All-North Shore Weekend:

Second Team

Ben Gibson

Third Team

Mead Payne

Breakout Player

Ben Gibson

Defensive Ace

Sean Trkla (Sr., G)

Unsung Heroes

Jed Thomas (Sr., G)

Jack Van Hyfte (Sr., G)

Kyle Waggoner (Sr., F)

Stat Leaders

Points (Avg.):

Gibson (16.0)

Payne (9.3)

Thomas (5.1)

Jack Van Hyfte (4.3)

Trkla (4.3)

Jake Fisher (3.3)

Rebounds (Avg.):

Gibson (5.2)

Payne (4.6)

Trkla (3.2)

Assists (Avg.):

Thomas (2.7)

Payne (1.8)

Fisher (1.7)

Trkla (1.6)

Gibson (1.5)

Van Hyfte (1.2)

Steals (Avg.):

Thomas (1.2)

Trkla (0.9)

Gibson (0.8)

Mead (0.8)

Blocks (Avg.):

Payne (14)

Field Goal Percentage:

Gibson (.554)

Michael Pasquella (.524)

Payne (.479)

Waggoner (.472)

Three-Point Percentage:

Thomas (.377)

Gibson (.327)

Free-Throw Percentage

Fisher (.813)

Payne (.743)

The Future

Five to Watch Next Year:

Jack Bender

Crawford Bolton

Jake Fisher

Tommy Hanson

Michael Pasquella