Our Savior's basketball was a top-five team last year in the conference. They are a threat to do more damage in 2019-20.
Our Savior's basketball is rising up the ranks of the LSA after having a solid 2018-19 season and with their star players back, other teams need to watch out for them. They finished last season with a 22-12 (13-7 CIL LSA) record and ranked 8th in the final State Poll.
Phillip Heppe has done a remarkable job with this team, taking over after Tim Carlove struggled to get the team to a winning record. Phillip Heppe in his first season, got the Eagles above 500 and an 8th place State finish. When you look at the success the team had last year, it all starts with Jace Easley(19.2 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 5.0 apg) and Conor McCaffrey (17.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 10.3 apg) who both were just hours away from transferring out of the program. Easley led the team in points and steals and McCaffrey led in the assists and 3-point shooting categories.
The Eagles had key wins against the Christ Lutheran Comets, a seven-game winning streak that included the Auburn Trojans twice, New Berlin Pretzels, Trinity Bloomington Crusaders, Mount Zion, Christ Lutheran on the road, and Concordia Peoria Cougars. They had key wins later in the season against Trinity Springfield Tigers and No. 18 Our Savior's Jacksonville Shamrocks.
In addition to McCaffrey and Easley coming back, Lucas Schmidt is eligible to play and has starting experience, and Ty Seifert will be helpful off the bench if he can stay healthy.
Eagles fans should also be excited about what Jeremiah Perkins and Logan Allen will give the team this year. These two bring production and energy of their own. This is going to be a fun team to watch and there will be a new leader in the LSA CIL Conference. The Our Savior's Eagles have the team to take the crown.
Starting Lineups
Conor McCaffrey, 8th Grade, Point Guard
McCaffrey will be following his own footsteps from last season. McCaffrey played in all 34 games and was the teams leader in assists and 3-point shooting percentage.
He made his mark midway through the season last year, bringing his scoring average up from 15.1 to 17.6 over the final 7 games of the season, something he's going to have to continue to improve. Otherwise his playmaking and 3-point shooting is some of the best we've seen at this young of an age, and he's going to have to provide more offensively to help this team reallty hit it's stride.
Jace Easley, 8th Grade, Shooting Guard
Easley is back and that is such good news for the Eagles chances at a LSA CIL Championship and LSA State Tournament hopes. After his performance last season, he earned a long list of accolades including Illinois Athlete of the Year, the first basketball player to do so since Adam Miller in 2015, First-team All-State (media), First-team All-State (AP), and Second-team All-State (coaches) to name a few. He has proven himself to be a high volume scorer and that is exactly what the Eagles need.
Lucas Schmidt, 7th Grade, Small Forward/Wing
I am a huge fan of Lucas Schmidt's game, I love his defense, the tenacity he brings on the defensive end is going to be key. No offense to Gabe King from last season, who Schmidt is going to replace in the starting lineup, but King's defense and decision making was sometimes vacant and it hurt the team in some close games. Lucas Schmidt is not going to have those mental-lapses and is going to be a key piece for this team as the season moves forward.
Noah Oldham, 8th Grade, Power Forward
Noah Oldham is going to be an intresting case for the Eagles coaching staff. Oldham brings zero shot-creating into a lineup which could use some shot creating from the power forward spot. He also lacks an ability to shoot an open jumpshot or finish around the basket. But from a pure athlete standpoint, Oldham is the fastest and quickest forward out of the group and is probably going to get the starting nod.
Jeremiah Perkins, 8 Grade, Center
Perkins was a center on the JV team, but last year was converted into a point guard to back up Conor McCaffrey. This season Perkins will be forced to move back into the paint, a postion where he has improved at. Over the summer Perkins seemed to be comfortable shooting 5-7 times a game and pulling in 5-7 rebounds, while also contesting shots and being a versatile hub at the top of the key, allowing McCaffrey and Easley to work around him.
Key Reserves
Logan Allen, 8th Grade, Forward
Conor McCaffrey and Jace Easley both seem to prefer Logan Allen over Noah Oldham at the forward spot. But Allen is currently out for the first weeks of the season with ankle and knee injuries, meaning he will be a reserve when he returns and won't be starting. Allen however is a left handed glue guy, who can finish around the basket and really provide some protection in the paint to Jeremiah Perkins, or if Tristyn Carlove or Ian Klockenga are in the game.
Ty Seifert, 7th Grade, Guard
Seifert was the 2nd leading scorer last season on the JV team and won't see a lot of playing time this season, just because McCaffrey and Easley are such dynamic players. But Seifert could see minutes if Heppe wants to play small for a short amount of time and to try and get out and run, something Seifert can do very well.
Outlook
The 2019-20 edition of Our Savior's basketball will be a top-five team in the CIL LSA again. Whether they can be top two or win the conference remains to be seen. Schmidt and Allen are going to be players to watch for sure and if they can produce together at a high level, watch out because Our Savior' will continue to thrive.
The competition at the top of the CIL is tough. The Eagles could find themselves with a four or five seed in the State Tournament unless they receive an auto bid courtesy of the CIL Tournament.
I’m also interested to see how Jeremiah Perkins will do in this season. I think he can excel on the block and make plays off the ball, and he has done it before. He will be the x-factor for the team. While the Eagles have a strong group of forwards, the real strength lies in their backcourt. Look for McCaffrey and Easley to be the best backcourt tandem this year.
My bold prediction, the Eagles win the CIL Conference, Easley and McCaffrey differentiate themselves as a point guard-shooting guard duo, and the Eagles make the Final Four of the LSA State Tournament.