Peoria Notre Dame has a Big Ten basketball recruit, but he's not the Irish's only weapon

PEORIA — Imagine having a hard-working, sharp-shooting and basketball-savvy 6-foot-9 player on your team.

Now picture having two.

That’s the luxury Peoria Notre Dame has every night with Cooper Koch and Eoin Dillon. The junior duo has the Irish coming off an emotional 58-55 buzzer-beating victory over Peoria High from Tuesday.

In the nonconference win, Iowa commit Koch (17 points, nine rebounds) and uncommitted Dillon (14 points, eight rebounds) took over the third quarter in building a double-digit lead. Dillon scored half his points in the frame, including a deep 3-pointer, while Koch worked in the post for four of his team-high total.

“They’re the two names,” PND coach Tom Lacher said, “and they’re both very skilled big men.”

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Dillon has gone from a role player and part-time starter as a sophomore to a top contributor this season. Lacher says Dillon, who now must be "1A to Cooper’s 1" and embrace the pressure of playing in crunch time, was a completely different player against Peoria High than he had displayed in his first eight games.

Playing against some of the opposing team’s top defenders had initially been a struggle for Dillon, who leads PND (3-6, 0-1) into its Big 12 Conference opener with Danville (3-5, 0-1) at 7 p.m. Friday.

“That’s a mental and physical adjustment,” Lacher said. “You’re getting better competition and we’re asking him to do more, too, on top of that.”

Working to become a better player

During the offseason, Dillon worked diligently to become a more assertive player. He took the opportunity to improve himself from being a self-proclaimed "stand in the corner shooter" to continue playing hard defense and being an aggressive, all-around scorer.

Colleges are starting to take notice with Bradley, Illinois State, Eastern Illinois, Loyola, Belmont and Cal Poly believed to be showing interest.

“My confidence has grown a lot,” Dillon said. “I had a pretty good summer, and it definitely gained my confidence back to shoot more shots and make my teammates better throughout the season.

“I used to just be a spot-up shooter, but I definitely worked on my dribbling and going into the paint.”

Koch has also seen the growth from his teammate dating back to their fourth-grade days at St. Vincent de Paul.

“He’s really developed from being a guy that just likes to shoot the ball to being able to drive, kick and do everything," Koch said. "I think he’s going to be a great player come college.”

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Iowa commit returns

Following a medical procedure, Koch is back after missing the season’s first six games. He says this is the third instance of air sockets forming on the outside of the lungs, causing his lung to collapse.

Getting his wind and legs back has become Koch’s top priority. But didn’t seem to be much of a problem in his first game back last Friday. He scored 26 points on 11-for-15 shooting in a 63-61 win against reigning Class 1A state champion Yorkville Christian.

“This team needs me,” Koch said, “and I need them. We’re just going to work together, and I think we can be good come playoff time.”

Lacher likes what he’s seen in the small sample size of Koch. He says when Koch learns how to handle his increased role, then mixes it with his willingness to compete, that will translate into him becoming a very dangerous player.

Ultimately, Koch has a lot of expectations on his shoulders.

“Whether it’s real or imagined,” Lacher said, “a lot of pressure is on Cooper to do a lot more than just be the guy who we can play off of. Now we have to play through more with the ball in his hand.”

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Big goals for the Irish

Winning is also important for the Irish. PND looks to return to the Peoria Sectional where their season two years ago was cut short prior to the sectional championship due to the pandemic.

Holding on in close games like the Peoria High victory is a step towards that bigger goal.

“We got grit,” Koch said, “and that’s what’s going to win us games. We want it. We want to win and we’re going to do everything in our power to do that.”

Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria Notre Dame basketball: Iowa commit Cooper Koch and Eoin Dillon