Geneva boys basketball players soon may start visualizing basketball nets as having bulls-eyes painted on them, if the new Vikings boys basketball coach has his way.

That’s not to say that Phil Ralston wants to improve Geneva’s field-goal percentage.

That also may be true, but its the nets themselves that Ralston hopes he players develop a hankering for.

“I want to see teams compete, that’s my main priority,” Ralston said. “I want to see kids give 100 percent and work as a team. I’ve always been a big believer in that.

“At Grant, I’ve told the kids that we’re all about cutting down nets — whether it’s conference, regionals, sectionals or state. I asked the kids, ‘How many nets are we cutting down this season.’ ”

The 38-year-old is getting his first chance to instill that belief. His first Geneva High School basketball camp began Tuesday, merely a week after he was officially hired to replace Tim Pease. Pease retired in March shortly after the season ended.

“I really feel like the Geneva position was one of the top open positions in the state this year,” Ralston said. “I feel kind of fortunate about that.”

Nothing for Grant-ed

Ralston been in charge of the program at Grant in north suburban Fox Lake for eight years. He posted a 108-102 record (.514 winning percentage). His 2001-02 team finished 20-6.  He coached the Terriers to the North Suburban Conference Prairie Division championship in 2002-03. His team was 16-12 this year.

Raising expectations, he said, was part of the equation.

“It’s something for kids to get excited about,” Ralston said. “Every year, one group sets the standards higher, then the younger kids learn from the older kids.“

Glenbrook North coach David Weber confirmed what Geneva athletic director Jim Kafer said when he hired Ralston, that the coach had elevated the caliber of basketball.

Ralston faced a challenge. Fellow North Suburban Conference members included Warren and Stevenson. Each has an enrollment in excess of 4,000 students.

Grant has an enrollment of 1,737, about 250 students fewer than Geneva’s.

“He definitely did not have the talent some of those teams had,” said Weber, brother of University of Illinois coach Bruce Weber. “There were some good teams he coached against. In 2003, he beat a phenomenal Zion-Benton team that was one of the best teams in the state that year. He does things like that. He’s able to keep teams close.

“They were overmatched, but they were always well-prepared.”

Glenbrook North took third in Class AA that year. Weber drew on what he’d learned from Grant’s games against Zion-Benton and Johnsburg to win in the supersectionals and state quarterfinals.

“He helped me a lot with Johnsburg,” Weber said. “He did a real nice job against Johnsburg. That’s when I first took notice of the type of coaching job he did.”

Ralston was an assistant to Tom Maple, who was the school’s head coach for 25 years, in his first year at Grant.  He employed Maple’s offensive system in his first few years, before switching to a variation of the offense University of Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan runs, according to Weber.

The new Geneva coach also was an assistant under late Deerfield coach Steve Pappas, a member of the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, and a graduate assistant at Northwestern University under the late Ricky Byrdsong.

Weber learned about Ralston from close range in recent years. Weber’s son, Austin, played for Ralston two years ago at Grant before the family moved to Glenbrook North’s district.

“He enjoyed playing for Coach Ralston,” Weber said. “Phil’s one of the hardest-working coaches I’ve seen. He puts a lot of time into it. He’s very, very committed to his program. He goes above and beyond what most coaches do. I was kind of amazed by the things he did. I wondered how he found the time.”

Adapting to Geneva

Ralston said he learned about Geneva when he came to visit his parents. Although the couple has since moved, during the interview process, he got the sense that the community hasn’t changed much.

“It’s a community where my parents lived for 13 years,” Ralston said, “so I know the degree to which the community supports its sports teams. We know about the community and like it a lot. Geneva has a reputation for having great teams and great athletes in its programs, and that’s been reinforced by the upgrading of the facilities over the past few years.”

Ralston knows the basics about Geneva basketball. He knows the team was 17-12 this year and that junior forward Jeremy D’Amico and sophomore guard Michael Santacaterina will be returning starters. He’s anxious to learn more, and to build a higher level of success.

“I want to get familiar with the individuals from top to bottom,” Ralston said. “I know they’ve been performing pretty well, especially last year. I’m not coming to a building program. I’m inheriting a strong program. Hopefully, we’re taking the program in the right direction and winning some championships.”

Ralston indicated that he will mold the team’s offensive and defensive styles to fit his personnel, but said some absolutes apply.

“Obviously, you have to have players to run certain systems,” Ralston said. “I do have some basic beliefs, like working your tail off and pushing the ball in transition. You’ll see a team that’s going to press a little bit.

“There are things I’ll use from the past 15 years, things that have been very successful at Grant. As well as offenses and defenses, we want to put ourselves in position to achieve things.”

Based on what he’s seen at Grant, Weber expects future Geneva teams to play tough defense.

“I thought (Grant) defended really well,” Weber said. “He changed defenses a lot. They played primarily man-to-man, but they’d mix in 1-3-1 zones and matchup zones.”

Weber said Ralston should enjoy the change of venue, hinting that the opportunity to play teams of similar size would be appealing.

“I think it’s going to be a whole different situation at Geneva,” Weber said. “I just think it’s going to be a really nice situation for him. He’ll just need some time to get to know the personnel and get to know the community.”

Ralston said the Geneva-Batavia basketball rivalry only added to the job’s allure.

“I wanted to be someplace where people were very passionate about basketball,” Ralston said. “There’s good competition in this area.”