With a freshman-dominant team, Cyclones men's basketball players grew as individuals and as a unit, even if their season ended earlier than expected.
In his second season running the program, Head Coach Kyle Huppe is trying to build a culture, a brotherhood, a family. The more the players connect and bond, the more success the team will have moving forward. He started preseason with team-building activities, and the athletes came together and played some solid games, but they didn't fully gel on the court until late January. A combination of injuries and new faces contributed to the inconsistency.
"When we were firing on all cylinders, we were dang good. At the Highland Tournament, we played well, but we didn't do what we wanted in the post-season," Huppe said. "All that being said, overall, I'm happy with the season and saw them grow throughout."
The Cyclones finished with a 15-16 overall record and were 9-5 in the Illinois Skyway Collegiate Conference for third place. During their run, the Cyclones reached the championship game of the Highland Community College Tournament in December, ended a five-game win streak by Morton College, won at the buzzer over Oakton College and dealt the ultimate conference champs, Waubonsee Community College, their first conference loss of the season in February, also breaking the opponent's 24-game win streak.
Early in the season, Huppe added a slate of nationally ranked teams to the schedule to work the Cyclones early and prepare them to compete at a high level.
"I gave us a gauntlet of a schedule; we faced some of the hardest teams possible. I told them it was going to be difficult, but I wanted that to help them grow," Huppe explained. "I'd rather we be battle tested then have a great record from playing bad teams. And I don't want us to play great teams we've never experienced before. We have to be firing on all cylinders at the right time – region playoffs."
Contributing to those successful outings were a trio of sophomores and a couple of freshmen. Sophomores Amarion Johnson (Tinley Park) and Deven Jiles (Richards) did everything the coaches expected. Johnson finished the season ranked No. 1 in the NJCAA Division II for blocks (105) and broke a Cyclones basketball record for most blocks in a career (187), earning All-Conference first team honors. Jiles was an all-around player and a battle-ax when the Cyclones needed him to score or play tough defense. He earned All-Conference honorable mention. Sophomore Juvon Crawford (Westinghouse) stepped up as point guard and became a leader when the team needed him. At the Highland Tournament, he earned All-Tournament Team honors for averaging 19 points and 8.5 assists per game. He also earned All-Conference honorable mention.
Once freshmen Jelani McGregor (Victory Rock Prep) and TJ Lee (Romeoville) got comfortable playing college ball, they stepped up to become big contributors, each earning All-Conference honorable mention. McGregor scored a career-high 40 points in a February matchup and earned All-Region second team honors.
"Next year, we'll be even better because we'll be sophomore heavy. We're bringing a lot of guys back, including some redshirts who should contribute and really help us solidify our guards. We'll have a really good core. We have a lot of guys excited to come back and finish the unwritten story," Huppe noted. "Overall, the wins and losses are important, but there's so much more to it – seeing these guys grow up into the men they are now and the sophomores moving on and being successful in life, that's rewarding for me."