Savannah Orgeron to play basketball at Illinois Central Community College
By FRED KRONER
Savannah Orgeron has played AAU basketball since she was in sixth grade, and it has prepared her for the future.
Just not in the way that many might expect.
Many of her travel-team teammates are athletes the Mahomet-Seymour senior has seen on the opposing side of the court while playing high school ball with the Bulldogs.
Next year, the story will take a different twist.
Orgeron has committed to Illinois Central Community College, in East Peoria while M-S teammate Durbin Thomas will be signing a letter of intent with Lincoln Land Community College, in Springfield.
They will each be joining two of the premier NJCAA Division II women’s basketball programs in the country. In the Nov. 21 junior college national rankings, Lincoln Land was 5-0 and ranked eighth while ICC was 4-2 and ranked 15th.
Those schools are two of the nine in Region 24 and will play against one another twice in the regular season. This season’s first meeting is scheduled for Saturday (Jan. 21, 2023) in Springfield with the rematch set for Saturday (Feb. 18, 2023) in East Peoria.
“Playing Lincoln Land next year against Durbin will be fun,” Orgeron said. “I have played against many former teammates over the years.
“Ultimately, on the court we will be competing against one another, with the main focus of helping our individual teams win.”
For the next three months, however, Orgeron and Thomas will be trying to help the same team – Mahomet-Seymour – win games. The Bulldogs are off to a 4-1 start.
Orgeron has led the team in scoring in all five games. Thomas is one of the primary ball handlers and has the most assists and steals.
Both athletes are fourth-year varsity players who will play in their 100th career varsity games – likely during the Mattoon Tournament in late December – and each have scored in double figures in each of their four years on the varsity. They have also been either first or second in three-pointers made in previous seasons and they each have had games where they have scored at least 25 points.
Orgeron is closing in on 1,000 career points and needs 191 to attain that plateau.
Next year will provide a different challenge for Thomas.
“Savannah has been one of my closest friends since pre-school,” Thomas said. “We have grown up on and off the court together.”
They have other traits in common.
“Savannah and I are both very competitive people and we both absolutely love the game of basketball,” Thomas said. “I know that Illinois Central will be a great team next year, but so will we.
“I am really looking forward to the challenge. I think it will be a great and fun game.”
In the meantime, both players expect many more fun games together before they head off in different directions.
In her younger years, Orgeron played softball and participated in the field events in track and field.
“I knew basketball was the right path for me,” she said. “I set the goal of competing in college after I started playing AAU basketball in the sixth grade.
“The process of taking my dream to reality started in my freshman year when my coaches had me thinking about colleges that I may be interested in.”
M-S head coach Garret Risley helped expedite the process. He sees a player who will continue to develop and improve.
“Savannah has all the intangibles of a college player,” Risley said. “She’s a multi-level scorer and wants to continue growing in all aspects of her game.
“The sky’s the limit for Savannah and I know ICC is excited to have her next year.”
The ICC coach is Karrie Redeker, who formerly coached at Parkland College and Unity High School.
She was impressed both by Orgeron’s size (5 feet, 10 inches) and her versatility. Orgeron has knocked down nine three-pointers this season, but is also the Bulldogs’ top rebounder (23).
Orgeron’s AAU coach with the Paris-based Indiana Havoc (Dan Gates) helped orchestrate the introduction to Redeker.
“The recruitment to Illinois College came about when Coach Gates invited a few college coaches, including Coach Redeker, to a practice we had during the summer going into my senior year,” Orgeron said. “After that, I looked more into Illinois Central College and my school coach, Coach Risley, reached out to send my highlights to her.”
Last year, Orgeron opted to go the junior college route for two years rather than make an immediate commitment to a four-year university.
“After visiting multiple colleges in the area, I decided that ICC was the best fit for me,” she said. “I was not concerned by committing now because I knew that ICC was where I wanted to play college basketball.”
Orgeron is listed on the M-S roster as both a guard and forward. She takes pride in the ability to play wherever needed.
“Throughout the years I have had the privilege of playing many different positions, and I feel like I am successful in more than one position,” Orgeron said.
She plans to continue refining her game.
“I feel as though I can grow and improve by working on my individual skills until college starts,” said Orgeron, who is averaging 17.6 points through the first five games of her senior season.
She is pleased that her college choice is set and she can now devote full attention to her final year with the Bulldogs.
“The recruiting process overall was exciting, but I did not expect how overwhelming it could be at times,” Orgeron said.
She plans on majoring in business with a minor in accounting.
“In 10 years, I hope to be coaching basketball and be an entrepreneur,” Orgeron said.
When she enrolls at ICC, Orgeron will be about 80 miles from her hometown of Mahomet.
That move could require more of an adjustment than what she will face on the basketball court.
“With moving an hour and a half away from home, I still feel as though the transition to college will be difficult because my family is very close to me,” she said.
Neither Orgeron nor Durbin have scheduled the date to sign their college letters of intent, but that is one more moment the friends are likely to spend together.
