Ty Egan, pictured left. Nathan Perry, pictured right.
Our new normal looks a lot different in today’s world, and the same could be said in high school sports. As for student athletes in Illinois, they had to make a lot of sacrifices when it came to playing basketball again.
Ty Egan and Nathan Perry–seniors from LeRoy High School–are just two examples of students who had to adjust to COVID-19 basketball. For much of the year, they did not expect a season to take place.
“I was very shocked when I found out that we would have a basketball season because of how late in the season we already were,” said Egan.
Preparation in high school basketball is one of the keys to winning games, but that was difficult this year.
“Having three games a week this year definitely made preparation a lot harder,” said Egan. “Our job as players was pretty easy if we just remembered what the coaches told us to do prior to the games.”
All high school basketball players in Illinois had to wear masks during their games, and Egan and Perry were only permitted to have two spectators each at their home games.
“It was a weird transition,” said Perry. “The fan situation took time to get used to because it was weird playing in some high tempo games without the noise.”
Egan and Perry started every game for the Panthers this season. Their senior leadership paid dividends, but at times the motivation was not always there. The Illinois High School Association made the decision to not hold a postseason for basketball.
“When I found out there was no postseason, I was very upset,” said Egan. “I know that this team could have made a very good run in the postseason.” His teammate Perry had similar thoughts saying, “In the beginning, I did feel very unmotivated.”
As the season progressed, the thought of a conference title ultimately kept this team playing like everything was on the line.
“When I found out we could win a conference championship, my attitude changed,” said Perry.
That conference title the team saw they had a shot at finally came, and the shortened season became a huge success.
The LeRoy boys’ basketball team finished the season 12-1, winning a share of the HOIC regular-season title.
“Nobody in the conference thought that we would end up at the top at the end of the year,” said Egan. “I think this title shocked a lot of people around our community because of how difficult this conference is to play in.”
“It was such a good feeling because there are a lot of things being taken away from the seniors. It was nice to have one good thing happen,” said Perry.
This season was unique, but seniors across the state were grateful to step on the court for one last season.
“Being able to have one last ride with these guys was amazing. We’ve all grown up playing basketball together for over 10 years,” said Egan. “We’ve been talking about how good our group could be since middle school.”
“To be able to play with my boys one last time was a blessing,” said Perry. “It really meant a lot to get one last dance with them.”