ROCHELLE — The Rochelle Hubs played their best basketball toward the end of the 2024-25 season, winning six of their 10 games in the month of February after a tough first few months. Although the Hubs fell one point short of their quest for a regional championship, Rochelle’s success on the offensive end, combined with its youth, bode well for the program’s future.

The Hubs finished with a 13-20 overall record and a 3-7 record in the Interstate 8 Conference. Rochelle won four of its last five games, taking down Winnebago, Byron and Ottawa before opening the IHSA 3A Freeport Regional with an upset against Woodstock in the semifinals. A buzzer-beating shot from Boylan prevented the Hubs from their first regional title since 2022.

“We got off to a slow start early and we played a lot of tough opponents,” head coach Tim Thompson said. “I thought we had a tough time getting going and it took us a while to get in shape and get over the bumps and bruises of football… As we approached the middle of the season, we were concerned that we weren’t winning enough and it would be difficult to keep the kids locked in, but our senior leadership was there and the kids kept hanging in there. They were getting better and as we entered February, we were playing our best basketball.”

Offense fueled the Hubs over the latter stages of the season, as Rochelle averaged 72.1 points per game over its final 10 games. Among the catalysts for the Hub offense were senior guards Carson Lewis (12.7 points, 4.3 rebounds, 2.3 assists per game) and Elijah Harley (10.6 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game), who served as team captains and were the only players on the varsity roster with three years of varsity experience. Harley and Lewis, who surpassed 1,000 career points this season, are two of four seniors departing from the program after this year.

“As we were getting closer to regionals, we knew that we were scoring the ball well and we scored the ball well last year,” Thompson said. “As the year was going on, we were able to share the ball better and we knew where our shots were coming from. Defense was a struggle for us the whole year and one thing we need to look at going forward is how we can get better on the defensive end. I don’t think our offense is an issue and I think we’re comfortable there.”

Although Rochelle will lose a pair of three-year varsity players in Lewis and Harley, the Hubs are set to return a host of players including 6-foot-5 sophomore forward Brody Bruns (17.5 points, 11.3 rebounds per game), who averaged a double-double in points and rebounds this season. Junior guard Van Gerber (10.4 points and 3.0 assists per game) led Rochelle in 3-point shooting, while junior forward Brode Metzger (3.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game) provided toughness and effort on the glass. Bruns, Gerber and Metzger are all second-year varsity players projected to return next winter.

“I’m really encouraged about where we’re headed,” Thompson said. “I wasn’t sure if our underclassmen would be able to give us sustained minutes this year, but we were able to fill them in over the summer… We can’t replace senior leadership or three-year varsity experience, but we’ll have Brody, who needs to be our anchor on offense and defense. Van and Brode are going to be three-year varsity players next year and we’re going to be leaning on those guys.”

Bruns, who recorded 22 double-doubles this season, wasn’t the only underclassman who played a critical role for the Hubs. Freshman guard Cohen Haedt (5.8 points per game) became a starter late in the season, while 6-foot-6 sophomore forward Warren Schweitzer earned more minutes off the bench as the season progressed. Sophomore guard Mason Ludwig, who started games early in the season and continued to play regular minutes off the bench, will be another player to watch.

“We have a good plan in place and we feel that this summer will be more dedicated to practicing and bringing teams in for controlled scrimmages,” Thompson said. “We want to tighten up our defense and we want to tighten up what we’re doing offensively throughout practices. I think we can get those things fixed during the summer and we can be ready to go, even through a long football season, where our kids are comfortable with where they need to be on the court.”