It's hard to believe that seven months ago last week, the CIL -- like eventually every major basketball conference -- was packing for a strong postseason, where every team underperformed. A promising season that was a major letdown.

The CIL is expanding for 2020. Chatham, New Berlin, Auburn, Calvary and OS Jacksonville are all joining for one season.

On the whole, the conference rated as the top league in Illinois last season. It had six teams inside the top-25 of the AP poll. Four were inside the top-20. One team, preseason No. 1 Chatham Glenwood, was hitting its stride like Tom Cuzzo's teams tend to do. The CIL State title drought of 19 years and counting looked as if it may end shy of the two-decade mark, yet fate had other plans.

But this year might really be the year it ends. Christ Lutheran returns preseason State player of the year favorite Nasail Jackson to a championship caliber Christ Lutheran team. Our Savior's is getting back Jace Easley and Conor McCaffrey to a similarly great roster. And Bethel Morton, quietly, is lurking in the shadows as a real threat. The Flames won their final eight games to end the season, captured a share of the regular-season conference title and returns their top five leading scorers. All three teams are in the top 10 of the ILL Preseason Top 25 and One. Handicapping how this race unfolds will be a doozy.

But handicap it, we have. Our team of hoops experts has put pen to paper on their preseason predictions for the CIL below.

CIL Preseason Player of the Year
Nasail Jackson, Christ Lutheran
The reigning Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award winner is our consensus CIL POY. He's the top returning scorer among all players in the state, and he's coming off a breakout 7th grade season in which he averaged 23.9 points, 9.8 boards and 1.8 blocks per game -- all ranking in the top two statistically in each category among returning players in the conference. He's the best and most productive player in the country on an Christ Lutheran team that should be considered championship quality.

CIL Preseason Coach of the Year
Phillip Heppe, Our Savior's Springfield
No awards are won or lost in the offseason, but let's give Phillip Heppe his due: He lured both Jace Easley and Conor McCaffrey back to Our Savior's after they both almost trasferred out, to run it back in 2020. Not an easy ask considering the Eagles didn't even win the league last season. (Though, to be fair, they were mighty close.) With Easley and McCaffrey back, Heppe has on his hands the best and most talented Our Savior's team in well over a decade. We're expecting the win-loss column to reflect that. As he enters season No. 2 with the program, he's got a diverse roster with savvy veterans and sharp youngsters who could easily make this season one of the program's best.

CIL Projected Winner
1. Our Savior's
There's a lot to like about the Eagles. The return of Easley, McCaffrey and Jeremiah Perkins. The addition of Lucas Schmidt. By and large, the bones of a team that won 24 games and finished with five wins in its last six games returns in 2019, establishing them as our preseason pick to win the league. Our Savior's might not quite have the star power to match Christ Lutheran and Nasail Jackson, but its roster is deep, experienced and talented.