Sacred Heart's 'Magnificent Seven' aim for state basketball glory
They could easily be called Sacred Heart’s version of The Magnificent Seven, the 1960 Western drama that featured Yul Brynner, Charles Bronson and Steve McQueen.
The Sacred Heart Knights compose their own Magnificent Seven - a group of seven seniors returning for their final year of basketball.
Meet Jason Marrs, Walker Tuttle, Luca Adami, Max Ehrlich, Mikey Matteucci, Jett Samuelson and Evan Bogart. They have helped the Knights to 44 victories in their three seasons and appear primed for a deep run next March.
“Towards the end of the season we really realized how good we can be,” said Tuttle, whose Knights began practice earlier this week for the 2023-24 season. “We were really young last year with no seniors so the juniors had to step up and lead which I think really helped us mature more as a team.”
Sacred Heart started 6-2 last year en route to a 13-10 campaign that ended with a 52-50 defeat to Bennington in the sub-state championship.
“I learned that we are able to battle,” Bogart said. “We had a much worse record in the regular season but we were able to make it farther in the playoffs.”
“Last year I learned that our regular season success doesn’t affect our post-season,” Marrs said. “Taking a game-by-game approach will lead to a consistent team all year.”
“I learned that everyone is very important and having good team chemistry leads to more success,” Ehrlich said.
Two years ago, these Knights were instrumental in a 6-0 start and 16-6 record. Their freshman year, the Knights were 15-4.
“Based on what I see in the open gyms, I think we can be a really good team,” said Adami, who averaged 14 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds and 1.5 steals a game in his Italian League. “We have shooters and playmakers. We are missing a real big center but we have a lot of physical players that can guard big men.”
“Two years ago was a big year for us seniors, we were only sophomores and most of us were playing significant roles for the team,” Matteucci said. “We had great leaders like Alex Disberger who helped guide us young players and gain some good experience for future years.
“Last year I learned a lot about our team. We played a tough schedule and still won a lot of games. Last year we made it the furthest I have ever gone in the sub-state tournament. That experience we gained will benefit us this year when we hopefully make it back there again.”
Samuelson said It was hard filling in for the seniors who left two years ago.
“We as a team had to step up and fill those spots,” Samuelson said. “Losing our big man was probably the biggest loss as we ourselves are not the biggest team heighth-wise, so we had to learn to play around the basket in different ways.”
Marrs, who averaged 6.9 points and 3.5 rebounds a game a year ago, noted this group started preparing for this season before the summer.
“Every practice and game has been an opportunity to get better,” Marrs said. “As far as this last summer is concerned we had some scrimmages against all levels of opponents, a handful of team practices, and the opportunity to get individual work.”
“We played a lot together this summer,” Tuttle said. “We all have grown up playing together since Kindergarten so we are all very familiar with one another. Every time we play as a team I think we learn more about each other and how we play.”
Some players gained five-star knowledge at a program that knows something about winning.
“This summer we played some basketball together,” said Matteucci, who averaged 14.2 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.6 steals and 5.1 assists per game last year. “A few of us went to Lawrence this summer and played at KU's basketball camp. It was a great experience and good for the team because we did not have everyone there and there were some freshmen who were able to gain some good experience.”
“We had open gyms where we all played with each other and against each other,” said Ehrlich, who contributed 13.5 points, 4 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.3 steals per game. “Playing within our team helps build chemistry and the chemistry will help us succeed more during the season. I didn’t play this summer because I broke my hand.”
Samuelson chipped in 4.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game a year ago for the Knights.
“We play together when we can over the summers but it is hard,” Samuelson said. “We all play different sports and have other commitments. When we were able to play together I liked what I saw.”
“We played together quite a bit. It helps us to keep building our chemistry while improving our overall game,” said Bogart, who netted 10 points and 6 rebounds a night as a junior. “We work a lot together in the offseason outside of summer. It helps us to build a brotherhood and build a competitive nature.”
“I think all the juniors had a great season last year and this year can make a bigger impact because they are seniors now,” Adami said.
The Knights open the season on Friday, Dec. 1 at Clifton-Clyde.
“I expect Will Tuttle and Luca Adami to have a much larger role this year than last year,” Marrs said. “Will is a sophomore and Luca is a senior. Both of them will hustle on the defensive end and will boost our ability to score the basketball.”
“We have a good-sized freshman class this year with a couple really good players. Dom Matteucci and Noah Hines,” Walker Tuttle said. “Will Tuttle is a sophomore who has improved a ton this summer and I think he can be really beneficial to the team. Another player I have high expectations for is Luke Koland. We all had to band together to try and get Luke to go out this year and I think he can be a great asset to the team.”
“I think Will Tuttle is going to be a major impact player,” Bogart said. “He is coming off a freshmen season where he had a lot of minutes and has only become more athletic in the past year.”
These Magnificent Seven hope they ride off into a Kansas March sunset with state championship hardware in tow.
“I think we have a chance to make a deep run in the playoffs,” Bogart said. “We have great team chemistry and a ton of varsity experience in the senior class. We also have fantastic leadership.”
“We have a chance of being very good this year, especially with the additions to the team and some of our underclassmen developing,” Samuelson said.
“No one can guarantee a number of wins, but I can guarantee that we will be a fun team to watch,” Marrs noted. “We will come to every game ready to compete.”
This article originally appeared on Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise: Sacred Heart's 'Magnificent Seven' aim for state basketball glory
