Siuslaw boys basketball coach Dylan Perry was one of the biggest boosters of the Vikings' state champion football teams.

He's also near the top of the list who wanted to see the season end.

Monday, Perry welcomes about a half dozen football players for basketball practice.

The season tips off Wednesday with Bandon visiting Glenn Butler Court.

"My expectations are for us to compete for and win the Sky-Em League this season," Perry said, in his preview of the season. "That is our No. 1 goal going into the 2021-2022 season.  

"When we were at or close to full health of our roster last season when we defeated Junction City and Marshfield and we all saw what impressive seasons they accomplished last year."

Marshfield is ranked No. 1 in Class 4A in the OSAAtoday coaches preseason poll. Marist is No. 3 and Junction City is No. 6.

Perry also will have three members of the Vikings' state-champion cross country team in Chad Hughes, Kyle Hughes and Sam Ulrich.

The Vikings will be tall and talented and ready to rock and roll.

Here is coach Perry's preseason assessment, along with a tentative roster and season schedule:

"We are very excited for the upcoming season and high expectations.

"This season will be more ‘normal' than last in that for now we have a full schedule of games compared to a five-week season we got last year. Starting Monday, we will have two practices as a full team before we tip off the season against Bandon at home. In that case it will be very similar to our ‘Covid' season last spring where we had one week to prepare to play but got many athletes the week of games starting as they finished their track/baseball seasons.  Luckily for our program we have a strong group of seniors and juniors who have been in the program and understand what we are trying to do.

"League play will be very competitive once again this year in the Sky-Em League. Marshfield returns almost their entire roster that won the 4A culminating week tournament. Marist will reload with plenty of talent from their impressive program. Junction City returns the majority of their core who were ranked No. 1 in 4A for the majority of the season last year. Cottage Grove returns their entire roster that is extremely athletic and should be very competitive. Elmira has a new coach and should improve with most of their young players returning this season.

"My expectations are for us to compete for and win the Sky-Em league this season. That is our No. 1 goal going into the 2021-2022 season. When we were at or close to full health of our roster last season when we defeated Junction City and Marshfield and we all saw what impressive seasons they accomplished last year. So, we know that we can play with and beat the teams in our league which in my opinion is the toughest league in 4A. Which will then prepare us for hopefully a deep postseason run in the 4A playoffs. The majority of our varsity roster will consist of players who have accomplished a lot in their respective fall postseasons with our cross country runners winning the state title and our football team just completing their own state championship victory. That type of experience is invaluable and will most certainly carry over a confidence and experience needed for our basketball program to follow.

"Our staff is very strong. We will miss Sam Johnson in our program. He brought energy and competitiveness that will be hard to replace. We still have Nick Johnson who is a great coach for us and has lots of experience from his playing career and his roles with our program and the football program here at Siuslaw. Nick teaches at the middle school and has a strong relationship with all of our players. Brian Carmer is coming into his second year with the program, and he has been an extremely valuable addition. Brian also now teaches full time at the high school which is huge to have our coaching staff in our school system and create those strong relationships with our players. He brings an extraordinary amount of experience and knowledge with him, and I can't stress enough how valuable it is to have great coaches around me and our players.

"We have a strong senior class that will contribute as well as some juniors who will round out the varsity roster.

"Braydon Thornton will be a key member of the roster this year as he is returning for his senior season and has been recognized by the Sky-Em coaches as a first-team all-league player in his previous sophomore and junior seasons. I believe he has what it takes to gain those honors again and be recognized as the league MVP if we are fortunate enough to win the league title.

"Brody Terry also returns for his senior season after being recognized by Sky-Em league coaches as a second-team all-league member, who was just on the edge — by one vote — of being on the first-team all-league Sky-Em last year. Brody is one of the most skilled players I have ever coached, and he has the capability of going for 30-plus points on any given night. Brody has every capability of challenging his teammate Braydon for the league MVP in my opinion. Siuslaw is very lucky to have such a dynamic backcourt tandem.

"Izaac Mattson, a senior, was one of our most improved players last year. He has a confidence and competitive nature that you need in the game of basketball to be successful. I've always told him and the entire program that Izaac is the best shooter in Siuslaw basketball history. It may have started out as somewhat of a joke and way to give him confidence in his early years, but it may just end up being true.

"Avery Hart is another senior who was in contention with Izaac for most improved player during his junior year. Avery plays post for us but also has guard like qualities that gives him an advantage against his opponents. Another advantage Avery has is his size and strength. When he gets position on an opponent it is almost impossible to move him and with his skill around the basket it is very difficult for most to defend him. Avery has the ability to dominate opponents inside and out and we will look to use the mismatches he creates to our advantage this year.

"Aiden Jefferis is yet another senior for our program who has put in an extraordinary amount of time to develop himself as a basketball player. Aiden is a combo between a guard and a post, who has the ability to take bigger defenders off the dribble to attack the basket but also the ability to punish smaller defenders in the post. He will be a mismatch for almost any defender that is lined up In front of him.

"Harrison Hubner is probably the most improved player in this senior class from their freshman year. Harry is an extraordinary athlete that has learned to use his speed and explosiveness to create scoring opportunities for himself and teammates. He is a top-notch defender who can give opposing guards fits trying to bring the ball up the court.

"Jimmy Allen, a junior will be a key contributor to our varsity roster this season. Jimmy has been dominating on our JV team the last two seasons. He has several 30-plus point performances in his high school career. He is an outstanding shooter and has the ability to get to the rim, the kid just knows how to score the basketball. He will undoubtably make a big impact in his first full year on the varsity roster.

"There are a few new faces on our roster this season from last.

"Camp Lacouture did not play his junior year but was in the program his ninth- and 10th-grade years where he contributed great minutes for us on the varsity roster. Camp is an absolute monster who has the competitive drive to win that is unlike most high school athletes I've ever seen. I can't stress enough how important it will be to have him back in our program! Camp's leadership and willingness to do whatever it takes to win will be a critical component for our program being successful this year.

"Chad Hughes is another senior who didn't play his junior year but contributed varsity playing time earlier in his high school career. The length and athleticism that Chad brings to our roster will be pivotal to our program. He has the ability to block shots and protect our basket that we haven't had in a really long time. That alone will take our defense to the next level. Chad also will be a force on the offensive side with his ability to post up and use his 6-foot-6 frame to score inside as well as his ability to shoot the ball from the 3-point line.

"Kyle Hughes is a junior that is playing basketball for the first time in his high school career. But if anyone were to walk in the gym and watch this young man practice they wouldn't have any idea he only has a few practices under his belt. He has the athleticism to compete at the varsity level right away and his willingness to soak up everything that is thrown at him has been great to see. He always has a smile on his face and is intent on learning as much as he can as fast as possible.

"Sam Ulrich, Odin Smith and Vic Ayala are a few other juniors that I envision contributing on the varsity level this year.  These young men work very hard and compete as hard as they can. All three also have the winning pedigree bringing their state title experiences with them into our winter seasons. We are very senior dominated at the guard positions but there will be opportunities for these juniors to contribute.

"There will most likely be other Vikings that will make the varsity roster but given that we will only have the opportunity starting Monday to see who is actually playing this season makes it very hard to give an exact breakdown of our 2021-2022 roster.

"Go Viks!"

 VARSITY ROSTER
  0 Kyle Hughes, junior
  1 Chad Hughes, senior, center, 6-6
  2 Braydon Thornton, senior, guard, 6-2
  3 Izaac Mattson, senior, 6-2
  4 Sam Ulrich, junior
  5 Camp Lacouture, senior, 5-11
11 Jimmy Allen, junior
12 Harrison Hubner, senior, guard
13 Brody Terry, senior, guard
21 Aiden Jefferis, senior
22 Odin Smith, junior, 5-10
23 Joe Slaughter, senior
34 Avery Hart, senior, center, 6-5
Coach: Dylan Perry
Assistants: Brian Carmer, Nick Johnson

JUNIOR VARSITY ROSTER
  0 Kyle Hughes, junior
  1 Chaz Edblom, freshman
  2 Victor Ayala, junior
  3 Justin Allen, Allen
  4 Sam Ulrich, junior
  5 Michael Felkins, freshman
10 Landon Severy, sophomore
11 Ray Brito Xilot, freshman
12 Andrew Jensen Norman, sophomore
13 Jordan Strickland, sophomore
15 Max Reynolds, freshman
22 Odin Smith, junior
35 Ryan Klampe, freshman
Coach: Nick Johnson

SCHEDULE
Wednesday, Dec. 1 — Bandon, 7:15 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 3 — at Newport, 7 p.m.
Monday, Dec. 6 — at North Bend, 7:15 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 8 — at Pleasant Hill, 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 10 — vs. Monroe, 4 p.m., at Harrisburg Tournament
Saturday, Dec. 11 — at Harrisburg Tournament
Tuesday, Dec. 14 — Newport, 7:15 p.m.
Friday, Dec. 17 — vs. Sutherlin, 4:30 p.m., at Creswell Tournament
Saturday, Dec. 18  — at Creswell Tournament
Tuesday, Dec. 21 — Pleasant Hill, 5:45 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 29 — at Newport Tournament
Thursday, Dec. 30 — at Newport Tournament
Tuesday, Jan. 4 — at Sutherlin, 7 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 7 — at Sky-Em/Skyline Crossover
Saturday, Jan. 8 — at Sky-Em/Skyline Crossover
Friday, Jan. 14 — at Marist, 5:45 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 18 — at Marshfield, 5:45 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 21 — Elmira, 5:45 p.m.
Tuesday, Jan. 25 — at Junction City, 5:45 p.m.
Friday, Jan. 28 — Cottage Grove, 5:45 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 4 — Marist, 7:15 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 8 — Marshfield, 7:15 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 11 — at Elmira, 7:15 p.m.
Tuesday, Feb. 15 — Junction City, 7:15 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 18 — at Cottage Grove, 7:15 p.m.