By Jordan Burton (For OzarksSportsZone.com)
Tommy Egan’s first five years at Skyline have been nothing short of incredible, with the Tigers going 109-33 including three district championships and a Final Four run in 2020.
Now Skyline must adjust to life after the Class of 2022 – headlined by Lawson Beem, Kourt Creek and Jaytin DeFreece – who were at the core of so much success.
“Those guys and all their teammates went down as one of the most successful classes to ever come through Skyline,” said Egan. “They set a high standard of winning that hopefully every player that comes through the program strives to achieve.”
Now a new group of Tigers will look to continue that legacy.
Senior Weston Owen is the only returner, back after averaging 6.5 points and 3.2 rebounds. He is expected to be one of the top players in the Mid-Lakes Conference this winter.
“Weston is really the only player we return that played significant varsity minutes last season,” said Egan. “We will be leaning heavily on him to provide us with contributions in all areas of the game. Weston has all the physical tools to have a solid senior season.”
Fellow seniors Ricky Woodhouse and Azlen Metscher, as well as Caden Crawford, will also see increased roles. Ricky and Azlen are football standouts that are playing high school basketball for just the second time. Caden gives the Tigers another perimeter shooter.
Junior AJ Dampier will also see a larger role. He is another guard that can make shots and defend at a high level.
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Egan is also excited about his crop of youngsters, including a big sophomore class.
Guards
5-foot-11 Tyler Henry
6-foot Camden West
6-foot-3 Carter Millbern
6-foot-1 Conner Millbern
Forwards
6-foot Jayden Moppin
6-foot Isaiah Pippins
A trio of freshmen could also see varsity minutes with Paxton Foster and Brett Dougherty adding some size. Classmate Aiden Meade could be in line for major minutes at a guard spot this season.
“Aiden is a very smart and talented basketball player,” said Egan. “To go along with it he has a tremendous work ethic. He has the chance to be a special player and we are excited to see how his season and entire high school career plays out.”
With so many young players competing for minutes and carving out new roles, getting everything settled could take some time for Skyline. This will be the least experienced roster Egan has had in his time in Hickory County.
“The hardest part of having so many guys adjusting to new roles is just figuring out exactly what we have,” said Egan. “As is typical for Skyline athletics, we have a number of multisport athletes, along with some older guys that are fairly new to the program and incoming freshmen that look to be varsity contributors from the start. With that being the case, we have not had a whole lot of time working together as a unit. We will not be able to completely play in the manner we have in the previous four seasons. It is going to take some time to establish our roles and figure out how to have the most success both offensively and defensively with so many new faces. The great news is we have an extremely coachable group that will play with tremendous effort.”
Even with all the turnover, this is a program that has a proud basketball tradition. Since 2009, the Tigers have had seven 20-win seasons and seven district championships. Routinely they’re one of the highest-scoring teams in the area as well.
Now the challenge for this group is to write the next chapter for a storied program. For that to happen, they’ll have to get used to playing a little differently than Tigers of the past.
“We need to play extremely fundamental,” said Egan. “Early in the offseason we were extremely sloppy on both ends of the floor and we really struggled. As the offseason progressed, we executed a lot better and became much more competitive. Player and team development, offensive and defensive schemes, and team chemistry will all progress throughout the season, but none of that stuff will matter unless we can play in an extremely fundamental manner.”
Skyline will open the 2022-23 season at the Warsaw Tournament.
