Class 5A Preview: Heritage
(Photo credit: Villager Publishing)
2014: 12-13, 3-7 in Continental League, missed playoffs
Top 100 prospects: Jack Peck, No. 60 in 2016
Key returners: Peck (14.2 points, 4.2 rebounds per game last season); Thomas Ornelas (3.9 ppg)
Key losses: Heritage loses four senior starters in Tom Skufca (13.9 ppg last season), Ethan McCauley, Dalton Lundberg and Eric Lawson.
Outlook: Anytime you lose four starters as they Eagles have, there will be a bit of a back-to-drawing board approach to a new season. Luckily for Heritage and coach Jentry Byleveld, the one returning starter is the talented Jack Peck, a 6-foot-2 guard who does a little bit of everything for the squad.
Byleveld has praised the growth not only in offensive and defensive skills from Peck, but also his maturity and leadership.
The Eagles will also benefit from the return of an experienced point guard in senior Thomas Ornelas, who was a solid ball-handler off the bench last season and will be primed to assume a starting role.
Two players who received significant playing time as sophomores last season, Casey Opitz and John Carlson, are also primed to make a big impact this season.
“We have a pretty good junior class,” Byleveld said. “We’re going to have a lot of juniors play for us this year.”
Byleveld knows there could be some growing pains as new players work themselves into new roles. But he has been pleased with what he has seen during open-gym sessions he runs three times per week.
“It’s a new crew, but I like this crew,” he said. I’d say chemistry, learning how to play together. These guys took a big step this summer. But you know as well as I do that summer games are different than when you get into league or into a varsity schedule. What I found about our team is that we have a pretty good basketball IQ as a team. We’re not very tall, as always. We’re pretty small. But they’ve got a good basketball IQ. So I think this year, instead of relying on one guy that scores, we’ve got guys who start and on the bench who can contribute in many different ways.”
Heritage begins official practice on Nov. 12 with its first game at home against Littleton on Dec. 1.