Scouting St. Viator
St. ViatorCoach: Quin Hayes (5th season, 76-40)
Last year's record: 24-6, 9-0
Graduated players: Peter Lambesis, Matt Doersching, Jack Geary, Cori Korab
Returning players: Jeremiah Hernandez (6-5, Sr.) Treyvon Calvin (6-1, Sr.), Connor Kuchera (6-4, Sr.) Michael Huene (6-8, Jr.), Kevin Murphy (6-2, Sr.), Patrick Hammarlund (6-2, Sr.)
Newcomers: Jack Mahoney (6-0, Jr.), Owen Hickey (6-2, Jr.), Mike Campagna (6-2, Jr.)
Outlook: The Lions feature two of the Chicago area's top seniors in Hernandez, who is in his third year on varsity, and Calvin. Calvin turned eyes last season with big games in big games. He also took home the Class 4A crown in the state's 3-point shooting contest and second overall. With Kuchera and Huene having strong summers and the return of Kevin Murphy from a broken leg that sidelined him through most of the season, the Lions are a legit contender in Class 3A. When coach Quin Hayes was asked for this team's strong point he said, "defense. We are a very strong defensive team up and down the lineup," said Hayes. "Last year we had some really good shut down players on defense. We have more this year. We're very excited about that." With Hernandez and Calvin looking to do a bulk of the scoring the others will be able to build on their games. Look for juniors like Mahoney, Hickey, and Campagna to play some big minutes. "We will need the younger players to mesh with our core players," said Hayes. The juniors will need to find their roles and know where they will fit in." With the IHSA allowing teams to play 31 regular season games the Lions beefed up their schedule with 30 games. "We're going to be playing a lot of high quality teams," said Hayes. "What we have to do is to be able to juggle practice, games and rest for the players." St. Viator's schedule is not NBA put pretty close. De La Salle, at Ridgewood, Leo, at Curie, Marmion, Hersey, Taft, Waukegan, Loyola, Jacobs, Bloom, Payton, and Lake Forest Academy round out the nonconference schedule. Then there's the rugged East Suburban Catholic where the Lions, who were the undefeated conference champions a year ago, have Notre Dame, St. Patrick, Marian Catholic, and Benet waiting. The Lions will host their annual Thanksgiving tournament starting Monday and go to the Wheeling Hardwood Classic over the Christmas holidays with one of the strongest fields ever.