When La Salle-Peru sophomore Marion Persich missed about three weeks due to a torn labrum, there was a huge void on the floor for the Cavaliers.

“Him not being there made other people step up and pick up different roles, but it also hurt us,” L-P coach John Senica said. “He makes such a difference on the floor. We won a few games [when he was out], but it just made everything a lot harder.

“When he’s on the floor, I think everybody, I don’t know if I want to say ‘relaxes,’ but they know we’ve got him on the floor. There’s a sense of comfort when he’s on the floor.”

Doctors determined Persich did not need to have surgery, allowing him to return for the postseason. Persich was a difference-maker as he helped the Cavaliers to their third consecutive regional championship.

“It made a huge difference,” Senica said about Persich’s return. “It was a big confidence boost for the whole team.”

Along with a sense of comfort, Persich brought an all-around strong game to the floor for L-P.

Persich led the area in scoring at 18.4 points per game, ranked second in rebounds at 7.5 per game and tied for fifth in steals at 1.8 per game.

He was voted Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Class 3A All-State special mention.

For all he accomplished this season, Persich is the 2025-26 NewsTribune Boys Basketball Player of the Year.

“I think I had a really good season this year,” Persich said. “My injury definitely stopped me for a little bit. I missed on six games, which definitely impacted how I came into regionals. I was a little bit rusty, but other than that, I think I had a really good season.”

Persich said he worked every day trying to heal up for the regional.

“It was definitely hurting a little bit still [during the postseason],” Persich said, “but I was trying to do anything to get back on the floor with my guys so I could help them win the regional to go back-to-back-to-back. That’s a really good thing for a team to do.”

Persich said he was rusty for the regional semi, but he still finished tied for the team lead with 15 points on 6-of-16 shooting (37.5%).

He showed no signs of rust in the final.

Persich scored a game-high 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting (56.3%) and had a dominant stretch in the fourth quarter when he helped turn the tide in L-P’s favor. With the game tied at 48, Persich scored eight points in the final 4:16 to help the Cavs pull out a 57-53 victory over rival Ottawa.

“I just kind of lock in and do whatever I can,” Persich said.

Persich displayed all the ways he can score in the regional final as he hit 3-pointers, drove to the basket, scored in the post and hit mid-range jumpers.

“I thought he really grew from last year,” Senica said. “He added a few more things to his game this year. He added a mid-range jumper, and he had a little bit better ball-handling.

“He likes to get to the basket so much. We were trying to avoid charges, so when he didn’t have that open lane, we wanted him to stop at maybe 5 foot, 8 foot, 10 foot and hit those,” Senica said, adding that mid-range game made Persich an even better scorer.

“To have those different options makes him very dangerous, because you don’t know what he’s going to do or how to guard that,” Senica said. “If you get up on him to guard the 3, he’s going to drive around you. If there’s no help, he’s going all the way to the basket. If not, he’s going to pull up and hit that jumper. I think he’s a very difficult offensive player to guard.”

Being a 6-foot-4, 220-pound guard also makes Persich a difficult matchup.

“I’m usually one of the biggest guys on the court,” Persich said. “I’m a lot bigger and stronger, so it just makes the game a lot easier for me.”

Persich also used his size to rebound.

“With his size and aggressiveness, he got a lot of rebounds,” Senica said. “He really picked it up on the rebounding for us. He had a lot of putbacks. On defense, once he got the rebound, we got the ball up the court really quick, so he made a big difference for us there.”

Persich ended the season less than 100 points away from 1,000 for his career with two seasons to play.

“I’m going to keep the same mentality,” Persich said. “I’m going to keep working in the summer.”