BOYS' PREVIEW: Cougars look to keep focusing on defense behind Gross, Smith

North Putnam returns two of its top three scorers from last year’s 10-14 team in seniors Elliot Gross (17.5) and Treyton Smith (9.0), plus promising 6-6 big man Andrew Pickel.

Beyond that trio, though, varsity experience is limited — but coach Collin McCartt is confident some of his younger players are ready to take up the slack.

Not everything that happened over the summer was positive, but McCartt was proud of the way his players fought through it.

“Treyton had an injury that kept him out for the summer,” McCartt said. “Near the end of our basketball season we lost [senior] Dylan [Hess, in an automobile accident]. Our guys had to deal with things on a number of levels that they haven’t had to deal with in life before.

“It was very challenging for them and very hard for them,” he added. “But in a lot of ways I think it brought them closer as a group.

McCartt considers this year’s players as “probably closer as a whole” than he’s had in his four years at North Putnam.

“We have a great group of kids, and they’ve been great to coach,” he said. “They are really close off the court, which I think really helps us right now.”

The Cougars lost seven seniors from last year’s team, with players such as Duke Duff, Preston Porter, and Corbin Judy all playing heavy workloads of minutes.

“We have got three who are really experienced, and then we have a lot of other guys who have been in the program and are ready to step up. On the surface, that’s a bigger concern for people on the outside looking in than it is for us.”

McCartt is glad to have the experience of Gross, who lived in Pennsylvania through his sophomore year, and Smith — who will be in his fourth year as the starting point guard.

Pickel has also grown a couple of inches from last year and added some weight.

“Treyton and Elliot have so much experience, and Andrew has also played a lot of basketball,” McCartt said. “He got a lot of good minutes for us down the stretch last year in some big games for us.

“We are probably more experienced than meets the eye.”

Gross is an undersized post player who uses shot fakes and both hands to score on much bigger opponents, yet can also step out and hit a 3-pointer.

“Elliot is one of the most efficient players I’ve ever coached,” he said. “There are so many things he does well. You’re not going to see anything flashy from him, but he knows how to score against anybody regardless of the size.

“He just kind of goes about his business, and it’s fun to watch.”

Smith and McCartt are entering their fourth season together, and the coach sees his player perhaps changing roles a bit this year.

“There are so many things he’s gotten better at,” McCartt said. “Losing the summer was not good for him, but he’s already back where he needs to be. He just does so many things for us, and he’s going to be looked upon to score more this year than before.

“He’s excited about that, and he’s looking forward to it,” he added. “His speed and quickness give him a variety of ways that allow him to score.”

Pickel can also play both inside and outside, using his length to make short jump hooks and also being able to step out and hit the 3-pointer.

“He’s very skilled, and is a really great shooter,” McCartt said. “He’s really long, and I’m really excited to see what he can do for us this year. He is bigger this year. We’ve added some weight training classes during the day, and it’s really helped a lot of our guys.”

Among the people looking to step up this year are senior Caleb Duncan, who excelled in both cross country and soccer for the Cougars in the fall.

“He’s had a lot of experience, and he’s a great leader,” McCartt said. “He will handle the ball for us and his shot has gotten better. His brother [James] is also very quick, and he will do some good things for us as well.

“James will be looked upon to do some things off the dribble, and he can also knock down the open shot.”

McCartt prides his teams on being tough defensively, and he expects this team to fall into that category.

“I think we have more speed than we’ve had, and because of that we can do some things defensively as far as ball pressure,” he said. “Defensively for us is vital because our depth isn’t great, and we’re going to have to be locked in each night on each opponent.”

McCartt agrees with his colleagues that the competition for the county title will be fierce.

“It’s definitely has a different look than it has in the past three years that I’ve been here,” he said. “Greencastle is going to be much improved. They have some young guys who can contribute this year, and Colin York is a great player.

“Cloverdale has some experience back, and Jalen Moore is one of the best players in the state,” McCartt added. “You have another really good player at South Putnam in [Allen] Plunkett, and they are all more experienced. It’s going to be a battle.”

North Putnam competes in the West Division of the Western Indiana Conference, along with Northview, West Vigo, Sullivan, Greencastle and South Putnam.

“Our side of the conference could be as logjammed as the county,” he said. “Our sectional lost Southmont and added Covenant Christian. They are obviously a very good program who has moved in, and the sectional will also be challenging.”

McCartt has a strong belief in his players knowing the history of Indiana basketball, and took the program to the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame on Saturday.

“I think that’s really important that kids understand the history of our state,” he said. “Sometimes that’s starting to get lost a little bit. Just understanding what has gone in this state before them is important.

“I like taking them to other gyms so they can see where the history has taken place. It’s a neat thing to get away as a group.””

The Cougars will travel to Tipton tomorrow for a scrimmage, and McCartt is excited to see what happens.

“These guys haven’t played a lot together yet, so it will be good to see how things go against a quality opponent like Tipton,” he said. “We just need to continue to work on the little things, and try to make ourselves better every day.”

2017-18 roster

Coach: Collin McCartt

2016-17 results (10-14)

Southmont L 61-72

South Putnam L 34-43

at Brownsburg L 32-72

Eminence W 78-62

Sullivan L 44-50

Northview L 56-74

at Riverton Parke W 58-57

Bethesda Christian W 72-71

Southwestern (Shelby) L,55-62

Brown County L,52-55

at West Vigo L,60-76

North Vermillion W,57-30

at Greencastle W,58-50

at Monrovia L,51-58

at Cloverdale L,78-92

at Owen Valley W,74-60

South Vermillion L,54-60

at Turkey Run W,64-48

at Greencastle L,51-56

South Putnam W,66-51

at North Montgomery W,63-61

at Covington L,61-70

Christel House Ac. W,100-58

Sectional

Cloverdale L,51-61

2017-18 schedule

Nov. 22 — at Southmont 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 1 — at South Putnam 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 6 — Covenant Christian 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 8 — at Sullivan 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 15 — at Northview 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 18 — Riverton Parke 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 22 — at Cascade 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 29 — vs. Indian Creek in Monrovia Tournament,1:30 p.m.

Dec. 30 — Monrovia Tournament

Jan. 5 — West Vigo 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 6 — at North Vermillion 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 12 — Greencastle 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 13 — Monrovia 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 18 — Cloverdale 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 26 — WIC Crossovers

Feb. 3 — at South Vermillion 2:30 p.m.

Feb. 6 —Turkey Run 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 8 — vs. Cloverdale in county tournament at South Putnam, 6 p.m.

Feb. 9 — Consolation/finals

Feb. 13 — N.Mont 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 16 — Covington 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 23 — at Eminence 7:30 p.m.