The changing sports landscape with frequent player movement is not just happening at the college and professional levels, but in high school, too.
After losing some key players, Mount Carmel added the freshmen duo of Da’Kylen Heard and Ronald Johnson to its roster and it’s paying off so far.
“We had six kids transfer this summer,” Caravan coach Phil Segroves said. “Kids went all over the place and we got gutted of some talented players.
“You have to have patience with these young guys, but we know they are going to play.”
A night after defeating Chicago area-ranked Loyola, the freshmen duo helped lift Mount Carmel to a 54-46 win against Lincoln Park at the Barry Shaw Memorial Shootout at St. Laurence on Jan. 10.
Heard was named player of the game after leading the Caravan (13-5) with 15 points and nine rebounds.
“It feels great,” Heard said, “It’s especially great knowing all the work I put in over the course of the year.”
Heard is no stranger to playing alongside Johnson as the two were teammates for the Chicago-based Mac Irvin Fire AAU program the last two years.
“Being successful with your brother before high school and now being successful with that same brother in high school has been great,” Heard said.
“That bond is only getting stronger,” Johnson after the win.
Segroves has enjoyed watching the freshmen grow and become better players as the season continues. He says it all starts in practice.
“Each and every day they’re getting better,” Segroves said. “They are great practice players. They are listening, asking questions and they have a ton of IQ for freshmen right now.”
Heard believes his teammates have helped him understand the mental side of basketball when things do not always go your way. Johnson has learned how to close out games and be better at the point.
“I learned to be a point guard after being a wing position,” Johnson said. “I feel like I got better at closing out games and doing so as a point guard.”
Johnson was the only other Caravan player in double figures against Lincoln Park with 13 points as well as seven rebounds. Sophomore guard Marshaun Thornton scored eight points.
Despite only being a sophomore, Thornton can seem himself in the duo and has been there at times for them with words of encouragement.
“I tell them to keep playing,” said Thornton, who is a Power Five football prospect. “Even through mistakes, as long as you’re 100%, you’re going to keep growing and be the best version of yourself.
“I know they are freshmen so the emotions are going to come. But I feel like they’ve grown up a lot in the past month to do what they need to do.”
After two big wins to start 2026 and making a good run to the title game of the Pekin Holiday Tournament, Thornton likes the way the Caravan are moving forward.
“We are turning in the right direction right now, getting good wins,” he said.
While the Caravan are getting big wins and working to stack some more, the freshmen are ready to take things up another notch.
“It’s just normal now,” Heard said. “The chemistry is definitely there. We will find each other on the court and that is an advantage we’ve got.”
“I think they’re really just scratching the surface,” Segroves said.