Nick Peters has been a varsity boys basketball player for Coal City since he was a freshman. He is the 2013 Morris Daily Herald All-Area Player of the Year.

If you think that means Peters has always been a productive, comfortable varsity player during that time, think again. His promotion in 2010-11 was one of necessity, not a reward for an ahead-of-his-time talent, for coach Brad Boresi’s undermanned team. And four games into his sophomore season, Peters struggled to the extent that he was nearly demoted from a winless varsity team.