Excited Clovers more than just a two-man basketball team

Cloverdale has won two straight sectional titles, and with one of the state’s top 10 seniors in Cooper Neese and one of the top underclassmen in junior guard Jalen Moore the Clovers look primed to go for a three-peat in March.

Neese signed with Butler earlier this month, and is the state’s leading returning scorer with 29.5 points a year ago (third best in the state) along with 9.2 rebounds.

Moore averaged 18.8 points a year ago, along with 4.4 assists per game, and has improved his strength and quickness.

Still, while coach Patrick Rady knows he has two excellent poker cards to draw to that it takes five cards to win a hand.

He has been encouraged by the play of his team over the summer and in preseason practice.

“I definitely think there’s some urgency from our veteran players on the defensive end of the floor,” he said. “We’re still not where want to be defensively positioning-wise to win championships, but I think a good sign is the urgency to play defense.”

Among the candidates to provide support for Neese and Moore is versatile junior Nick Winders.

“He had a great football season, and has increased his strength,” Rady noted. “Nick is shooting the ball extremely well from the perimeter.

“That will help to stretch the defense out. He shot well at times last year, but this past week he’s been more consistent.”

Rebounding will be a key statistic to watch this year in Clover games, and Rady feels Seth Pfaff will be a big asset in that area.

“He is kind of a guy who will play inside with his body,” he said. “Seth is doing a great job of judging angles and sealing people inside. He can also shoot the three. He had a couple of big games last year, and we are hoping to get consistent play out of him this year.”

Sophomore Jake Wilkes brings a lot of energy to the team, Rady says.

“This is just his third year of playing, and his best basketball is still ahead of him,” he said. “Jake brings athleticism and rebounding, and is starting to shoot the ball well. He has had kind of an awkward form, but is shooting a straighter ball as he improves.”

Sophomore Parker Watts looks for him to be the Clovers’ third ball handler.

“He can also knock down some shots,” Rady said. “I feel really good that so many guys have improved over the offseason. They will be able to add to our 1-2 punch.”

Neese is a 6-4, 188-pound guard who will draw attention from opposing defenses.

Rady notes that Neese is still improving, even at his high level, and has one other factor which sets him apart from most other players in the state.

“Cooper is one that is extremely competitive and hates to lose,” he said. “That was evident on day one when he stepped on the floor as a freshman. You could tell that he wanted to win every drill, individual or team, and that bled over to the games. He is such a fierce competitor.”

Neese’s dedication to the game has led to his successes.

“He has played a lot of basketball, year around, and he’s a gym rat,” Rady said. “He just has a great feel for the game in both passing and shooting. I don’t think people realize how great of a passer he is. He sees the floor really well.”

Neese know the area for his continued improvement.

“This year his goal is to be a better defender,” Rady said. “There were games last year when he guarded the best player for opposing team.”

Other teams have played “junk” defenses such as box-and-one and triangle-and-two to try to slow down Neese and Moore and make the other Clovers beat them.

Rady said that Neese has a rare mentality and skill set to handle the unorthodox situations.

“He deals with it really well,” Rady said. “He has seen it from seventh grade, and he moves so well without the ball and has deep range that it’s really hard to throw a lot of junk at him and be effective with it.

“He has a deep shooting range and can read the screen.”

The presence of Moore, a sneaky lefty who can create transition opportunities, helps Neese to avoid special strategies.

“Jalen is crafty with the ball, and if the trap is not right, he’ll split it,” Rady said. “He makes outstanding reads and can push the ball up the floor in transition. He and Cooper feed off each other.”

Moore is also an excellent long-range shooter and Rady says he changes speeds and directions as well as anybody he’s ever had the opportunity to coach.

Rady credits Clover assistant coach Greg Thomas, a former Division I player at Indiana State, with helping Moore to improve his body.

“Jalen is very dedicated in the weight room,” Rady said. “Coach Thomas takes care of our strength and conditioning, and has done a great job with them. Jalen will find drills online to go along with the ones that we have him to do.”

Rady identified two key areas as ones in which his team must perform better in order to advance farther in the tourney than last year.

“Last year, in nine games we gave up over a point per possession.” he said. “Eight of those we lost, and the other we won in overtime and could have easily lost.

“Our key is to improve getting back on transition and not give up easy baskets.”

Improved shooting percentage is also an important factor.

“On the offensive end, we have to get better shots,” he said. “Sometimes last year we took bad shots and were in the low 30s percentage-wise. We are too good of shooters to be shooting that low. If can do those things, we can do special things in March.”

2016-17 schedule

(Times listed are varsity tipoff)

Nov. 22 — vs. Illini Bluffs at Washington, Ill., 9:30 p.m..

Dec. 2 — Edgewood, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 3 — at Southmont, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 6 — North Central, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 9 — Indian Creek, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 10 — vs. Park Tudor at Southport, 4 p.m.

Dec. 13 — at South Putnam, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 16 — at Brown County, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 17 — at Greencastle, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 21 — Monrovia, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 26-29 — Wabash Valley Classic at TH South

Jan. 6 — at Owen Valley, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 7 — vs. Franklin County (Ky.) at New Castle, 3 p.m.

Jan. 13 — at Cascade, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 19 — North Putnam, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 21 — at Clay City, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 27 — Western Indiana Conference playoffs (TBA)

Feb. 4 — Danville, 1:30 p.m.

Feb. 10 — vs. South Putnam in Putnam County Classic at Greencastle, 7:30 p.m.

Feb. 11 — Putnam County Classic consolation and finals at Greencastle, 6/7:30 p.m.

Feb. 18 — Shakamak, 7:30 p.m.

2015-16 results (19-8)

at North Central W,68-39

Riverton Parke W,83-17

at Linton-Stockton L,49-63

at Edgewood L,69-78

Southmont W,67-58

at North Putnam W,61-54

at Monrovia W,70-53

South Putnam W,73-46

Brown County W,68-48

Greencastle L,67-75

Shakamak W,62-60

Edgewood L,53-68

Linton-Stockton L,51-67,

Owen Valley W,69-59

Covenant Christian L,62-92

Cascade W,64-40

Clay City W,73-55

at Shakamak W,71-70

at West Vigo W,77-63

at Greencastle W,75-71 (OT)

South Putnam W,71-42

Rockville L,68-87

at Eminence W,73-45

Sectional

North Putnam W,70-46

South Putnam W,65-48

MonroviaW,59-53

Regional

Northeastern L,74-94

2016-17 roster

Cooper Neese 6-4 Sr.

Nick Winders 6-2 Jr.

Parker Watts 5-10 So.

Jake Kelly 5-10 So.

Clayton Miller 6-0 So.

Jake Wilkes 6-3 So.

Jarren Rossok 6-0 So.

Seth Pfaff 6-1 Sr.

Jalen Moore 5-9 Jr.

Head coach: Patrick Rady