Strong senior leaders, newcomers to help Tiger Cubs with depth

Saturday, October 29, 2016
Jalyn Duff makes a pass during practice earlier this week. Duff has taken over the team's point guard role.
Banner Graphic/Joey Bennett

Last season was a rarity for Greencastle girls’ coach Bradley Key in regards to his team’s lineup.

“I told our team the other day that our lineup on day one was the exact same lineup that we played in our sectional game,” Key said. “That’s really a rare thing.

“You don’t normally get a group that stays the same the entire year,” he added. “This year, it’s not going to be that way.”

Key said earlier this week that he has a lot of different “puzzle pieces” he’s trying to fit together.

“We have about nine kids who can play, and some really good players on the JV,” he said. “I really like the leadership of my three seniors [Nailah Ray, Mia Stevens and Gracie Smith]. I am excited about the year for those three, and plug in the pieces and see where they fit.”

The Tiger Cubs lost three starters from last year’s 18-5 team – leading scorer Allison White (10.3 points, 8.7 rebounds per game), Bethany Burgeson (7.8 points per game) and Paige Bragg (7.4 points per game).

Several others will be moving up from a 15-4 junior varsity team to help fill in the holes.

Key is glad to see depth in one specific area.

“The one thing we’ve not had since I’ve been here is depth in the post area,” he said. “We have several girls who can play down low, and that will really help us.”

Stevens averaged 5.5 rebounds last year, while Ray averaged 4.5 rebounds.

Key is looking for big things from them, as well as sophomore newcomer Claire Gillen – who excelled as a goalie on the Tiger Cubs’ soccer team this fall.

“She’s deceivingly athletic, and we expect her to keep improving,” Key said. “Rose White [Allison’s sister] is a junior, and she’s long and athletic.”

The program also welcomes the addition of sophomore Jada Amis, a big hitter on the school’s volleyball team this fall and a regional qualifying shotputter last spring in track and field.

“She didn’t play last year, but several of her sisters have played her in the past,” Key said. “She’s really raw, but we think she’s going to be able to help us down the road.”

Sophomore Jalyn Duff will run the team from the point guard position.

She played some varsity last year, but Key is glad she wasn’t forced into the fire too quickly.

“I’m glad she didn’t have to play too much varsity last year,” he said. “Sometimes if kids get put in too soon, it can hurt their confidence. She got to play a lot of JV minutes, and watch and learn from two very good senior guards [Bragg and Burgeson].”

Duff, the daughter of North Putnam coach Jarrod Duff, has good court vision and is a natural at the point guard spot.

“She’s one of the better passers I’ve seen in girls’ basketball,” Key said. “We need her to play at a faster level and work on her shot, but she sees the floor really well. That’s part of being a coach’s daughter. She understands the game better than most kids.”

Key also likes Duff’s fiery and aggressive nature on the court.

“She’s a competitor, and Gracie Smith’s the same way,” he said.

Sophomore guard Seelye Stoffregen will also add depth to the backcourt.

“She’s a quick guard and her shot is developing,” Key said. “She will also see some varsity minutes this year. Layna Robinson is also someone who will come in and give us some good minutes.”

Like all coaches, Key’s ability to judge his team in the preseason has been hampered by a calendar change that moved up the start of practice this year.

“It’s super early,” he said. “It will take some time to develop. We had two great guards last year, and Paige and Bethany were great on top of our 2-3 zone. Allison White was a rebounding machine down low. They were great teammates and leaders.”

Key noted that Bragg and Burgeson were also good shooters, and that aspect may not be determined until game competition begins on Friday.

“Practices and games are entirely different, so we’ll have to wait and see who steps up there,” Key said. “We will be able to rebound, which is something we haven’t been able to do.”

Key figures his sectional to be tough, with Western Boone, Lebanon and Tri-West among the usual leaders.

Northview is expected to be one of the Western Indiana Conference frontrunners, Key said, while he expects South Putnam to also be good and Cloverdale on the rise as a young team.

The Tiger Cubs have added Terre Haute South to their schedule, and Key thinks the competition will be good.

“I think most of the teams we will play have gotten better, and that will help us,” he said. “If we can get people to fill the voids of leadership, we will have a fun year regardless of the wins and losses.”

Coach says great kids key to success

Bradley Key is in his eighth year as the Greencastle girls’ basketball coach, and things have gone well during his career.

Key has compiled a record of 99-57, and has had a winning record every season.

He grew up in Alexandria, near Anderson, and knows who to credit for his successes.

“I played under Garth Cone at Alexandria,” Key said. “He was a basketball fundamentalist and did things the right way. You play hard, you compete hard every day.”

Key served as the junior varsity coach under Glenn Hile in the 2008-09 season, and took over as varsity coach the following season.

“I’ve been lucky in terms of having a great group of girls every year,” he said. “Our team GPA every year is around 3.7 or 3.8. We have a hard-working group of girls who buy into what we’re selling.”

He feels fortunate to have also had quality assistants to help him.

“[Former Cloverdale head coach Bruce] Cook has been with me for several seasons, and I’ve had a lot of great help,” Key said. “We have a good program going, but it’s mostly about getting good girls to come out and play.”

Roster

Layna Robinson 5-6 Jr.

Jalyn Duff 5-5 So.

Seelye Stoffregen 5-5 So.

Marin Nally 5-5 Jr.

Gracie Smith 5-6 Sr.

Mia Stevens 5-10 Sr.

Claire Gillen 6-0 So.

Nailah Ray 5-11 Sr.

Rose White 5-10 Jr.

Allison Stevens 5-11 Fr.

Bailey Shuee 5-7 So.

Gretchen Weliever 5-7 So.

2016-17 schedule

(Times listed are varsity tipoff)

Today — Monrovia (scrimmage) 11 a.m.

Nov. 4 — at Cascade 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 5 — at Edgewood 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 8 — Owen Valley 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 12 — at Beech Grove 1:30 p.m.

Nov. 15 — Southmont 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 18-19 — Putnam County Tournament

Nov. 22 — Crawfordsville 7:30 p.m.

Nov. 29 — at Tri-West 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 2 — West Vigo 6 p.m.

Dec. 6 — Danville 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 9 — at South Putnam 6 p.m.

Dec. 14 — at Rockville 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 16 — Sullivan 6 p.m.

Dec. 20 — Cloverdale 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 4 — at Terre Haute South 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 6 — at Northview 6 p.m.

Jan. 7 — at Monrovia 12:30 p.m.

Jan. 10 — at North Montgomery 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 13 — North Putnam 6 p.m.

Jan. 20 — Western Indiana Conference playoffs

Jan. 21 — Western Boone 6 p.m.

Jan. 26 — South Vermillion 6 p.m.

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