By the end of last season, Tyreek Coleman stepped out of the shadows in a big way and started to establish himself as one of Waubonsie Valley’s top players.

Now a junior, the 6-foot guard is ready to make the next move.

“It’s time to break out, for sure,” Coleman said. “We have a whole season ahead of us. We want to make some noise around the area.”

Coleman and the Warriors took their first step in that direction Tuesday night with an 89-29 win over Streamwood in the Ken Peddy Windmill City Classic at Batavia.

A red-hot Coleman shot 7 of 8 and scored 16 points, all coming in the first half. He also led the Warriors (1-0) with six rebounds while chipping in with two assists and two steals.

Treshawn Blissett led all scorers with 17 points for Waubonsie. Tyler Threat, Cade Valek and Moses Wilson added eight apiece. Ethan Reyes and Francis Sagadraca each scored six points for Streamwood (0-2).

Coleman sat out the AAU season in the spring and summer but did play summer league with the Warriors. His talents may not yet be widely known, but Waubonsie coach Andrew Schweitzer knows the kind of player he has on his hands.

“He’s a little under the radar,” Schweitzer said of Coleman. “I think he is a special talent, but more importantly, he’s a special kid. He’s a kid that gets it — high basketball IQ.

“He works hard, cares about his teammates, works at the game. I’m really excited with his start and the whole team.”

Coleman was a big part of Waubonsie taking a 23-0 lead to begin the game.

He scored eight points and did it in a variety of ways. A layup off a steal, a driving layup, another layup off a loose ball and a pullup jumper in the lane accounted for his eight points.

In the second quarter, Coleman sandwiched a basket off a rebound around a pair of 3-pointers. He shot 7 of 7 in the first half.

“Where he’s taken a huge leap, besides the mental part of the game, is he’s grown a little bit and his athleticism has taken a huge leap,” Schweitzer said. “He skies in for layups now.

“He might be one of our best rebounders.”

The Warriors used their smothering defense to create easy opportunities. In the first quarter, they shot 12 of 18 from the field and forced nine turnovers.

“It was a great way to start the season,” Coleman said. “I was a little nervous coming out, first-game jitters, but they went away and we made it happen.

“We came out hot. We’ll keep it going.”

Waubonsie’s length and athleticism from the start stymied the Sabres, who could never get untracked.

“I think the biggest thing is we have to learn how to handle pressure,” Streamwood coach Quentin Ruff said. “Guys are going to be very physical with us. We have to be physical right back.

“That’s something we’ll rep out in practice, how to handle adversity, how to handle those pressures. We just have to keep building and keep learning.”

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Slow starts plagued Waubonsie last season, a point of emphasis by Schweitzer before the season opener. He was pleased with his team’s response.

“They could have gone two ways,” Schweitzer said. “They could have come out flat, taken people for granted, but no, they did things the right way. They competed.

“The unselfishness and the defense, for me, I loved it.”

Coleman loved it, too.

He’s looking forward to the Warriors keeping that going the rest of the season.

“It was basically us against ourselves,” Coleman said. “That’s what we came out and showcased. We had a problem with slow starts, so we wanted to start things off right.”

Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.