2023-24 BOYS' BASKETBALL PREVIEW: Greencastle Tiger Cubs

Growing pains were inevitable for Greencastle in the 2022-23 season.

Having graduated five seniors from the prior year and only bringing back two starters while integrating a strong freshman class, the Tiger Cubs struggled for most of the year until February, where the young squad picked up five of its seven wins on the season.

Now, while still a young team, Greencastle retrains most of its core components while having several different players available to augment the group ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.

Tiger Cub head coach Bryce Rector said the tough times of the previous season would make for a team that could make moves this year.

“While we lack years of experience at the varsity level, we return more experience than we did last year, which is a bonus,” Rector said. “A lot of our guys gained a lot of experience last year that had to be gained through court time and the best teacher is getting to play games, giving them invaluable experience.

“We saw a lot of improvement as the year went on and we’re going to see a little different team because of their experience, ability to handle pressure and execute in games. Last year, we probably lost four or five games that we should have won and a lot of that was down to a lack of experience.

“A lot of the issues we faced last year out things we’re better equipped to handle because of our experiences last year,” Rector added.

Greencastle’s sole senior is a newcomer both to the program and the school in Judah Amis, with a pair of juniors in Anthony Adams (6.3 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and Jacob Simmerman (3.3 rpg) returning after a year of heavy involvement in the varsity roster, joined by fellow classmates Taygan McRoberts, Ian Williamson and Treyten Clark.

“Judah is a kid who is here full time as a senior and seems to be getting along really well in classes as well as with his teammates,” Rector said. “He’s a big kid and hopefully can help us some as he fits in really well in this team.

“The juniors have some things to offer for sure as Anthony has the most experience of anyone, having had a scoring role as a freshman, and we’re looking to get him back and healthy. Jacob has quite a bit of experience as he got some time as a freshman but mostly as a sophomore. We’re relying on those two and their experience on the floor.

“Ian offers some physical things we really can use and need in terms of size,” Rector added. “He runs the floor well, is very athletic, as anyone who watched him during football knows, and we hope that translates onto the basketball floor.

“Taygan is going to be a surprise as he was out with an elbow injury for a large part of last year and, even when he came back, wasn’t fully recovered until after the season. The best thing he does is shoot at a high clip and the injury hindered him, so we’re excited to see what he can do this year.

“Treyten provides leadership for this class but he is going to surprise some people as to what he can offer at the varsity level.”

Center to the team is the sophomore trio of Cody Evans (11.7 ppg, 4.5 rpg), Sam Gooch (11.5 ppg, 4.2 rpg) and Nathan Sutherlin (2.5 ppg, 2.8 rpg), a core that started throughout the 2022-23 season and now has a year of experience and physical maturity to draw on, with classmates Connor Sullivan and Ashton Dayhuff on the varsity roster.

“All three of those guys are going to be relied on heavily and there’s no hiding that; we go as they go,” Rector said. “It’s a good thing for us as we have a core group in that sophomore class that has a lot of experience, having learned at the varsity level as freshmen, and all three have really improved since then.

“Sam and Nathan have both physically matured and they can do things now that their bodies couldn’t do last year. Some of your weaknesses get exposed when physically it’s difficult to compete and their growth is going to put them in positions to succeed.

“Cody missed a chunk of time after he broke his nose and lost some of the rhythm he started to develop but started to get it back toward the end of the season,” Rector added. “He’s continued to grow on that, having a great offseason with us and his AAU team, and will score for us at a high level.

“Connor doesn’t have varsity experience but will find his way into playing minutes for us as he’s a capable shooter and is someone who can play well for us. Ashton is a kid that, while it may not be now, is someone who will be an important player for this team.”

Freshman Cole Stephens adds another athletic body to the roster with Rector seeing plenty of positives that the Tiger Cub quarterback can add to the mix.

“Cole is a really athletic kid and some people might not realize that,” Rector said. “He has good side for a freshman and was able to compete physically at the varsity level in football, experience that can translate into other sports.

“He can play a big role for us in this program and is a bit of a wildcard. He plays hard with a good motor, something you can’t teach, and is someone to keep an eye on.”

Rotations in past lineups have been small for Greencastle though Rector said there was a chance for several players to get into the mix this season as the team had size and athleticism up and down the roster.

“One thing this group might have that others haven’t had is depth in that there can be some rotations and subbing we can utilize, getting into a routine that we haven’t had the ability in the past to do,” Rector noted. “This group also has the most size we’ve ever had and, along with that, we have the ability to handle the ball.

“It will take us a little while to figure out how to make it all work but with our personnel, we can find a way to make it flow as the year goes on.”

While several of the longer road trips from last year would be home games this season, Rector said the schedule was still going to demand a lot of the team at the start and would test the young squad early and often.

“Our schedule is pretty consistent where the beginning is tough.” Rector said. “Crawfordsville is always a good team, Cloverdale has significantly improved, having gotten some athletes back in (Clover head coach Karl) Turk’s second year, then we turn around to play Indian Creek, West Vigo, Sullivan and South Putnam.

“We can play well and still be sitting at just two or three wins. We go from that into the Wabash Valley Classic, which is always a challenge, but we’re better equipped to handle the start of the year and get into a groove after the break, something we have found ourselves in past year’s being able to do.

“There are a lot of back-to-back weekends in the second half of the season but this team is going to be super competitive most nights and in positions to win games,” Rector added. “We just have to find a way to make those wins happen.”

With plenty of optimism around the group, Rector said the team had the chance to make large strides during the 2023-24 season but added the team needed to make things happen when those opportunities came to it.

“Time will tell,” Rector said about how good the squad could be. “We’ll see how this group gels as it has a lot of talent, skill and seems to enjoy playing with one another.

“It will come down to how well they can buy in and execute game in and game out, as well as how they come into practice as it matters what you do day-to-day. Truthfully, it feels like this team is going to be very competitive and find themselves in positions to win basketball games.

“We’ll see how well they can execute and pull that off on a nightly basis.”