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BOYS' PREVIEWS: Tiger Cubs to have blend of youth, experience in coming season
Bryce Rector has not let his Greencastle team forget the 43-28 score from last year’s sectional championship game, showing the video from that game on the first night of practice this fall.
Leading scorer Colin York was shut down by Lebanon that night, and the rest of the Tiger Cubs were unable to make up the difference.
They are facing that situation as their “new normal,” as York — the third-leading scorer in school history — has moved on to play for Franklin College.
“This year will definitely be a little different for us, learning to play without Colin and Jack Hutcheson,” Rector said. “They both played a lot and made great contributions to our team. A lot of what we did offensively was run through Colin, and we have spent a lot of time this summer and in our early practices trying to learn to play together.”
Rector thought that when York was “really good” over the past two years that it made his team difficult to defend.
“When we ran into teams who were able to take him away, it made it tough for us to score,” Rector said. “Spreading it out a little more on offense may make us more consistent this year. We will certainly miss someone of that caliber, and it’s not the kind of player you replace — even by committee.”
Senior Gavin Bollman is the team’s leading returning scorer at 11.0, and led the team in rebounds last year with 11.8 per game.
Seniors Andrew York and Trey Wood were also contributors last year, and sophomore Brody Whitaker was a starter from day one (averaging 9.9 points, 4.1 rebounds and 4.1 assists) and Benton Parmley added 5.7 points per game.
By the end of last year, fellow freshmen Nick Sutherlin and 6-6 Cade Plew had worked themselves into the varsity rotation.
“Gavin has played a lot of minutes for us, and Trey and Andrew know how to handle themselves at the varsity level,” Rector said. “We have a lot of young people who will get a lot of minutes this year, especially in that sophomore class.
“There are some growing pains having that many young players to have such big roles,” he added. “That’s going to be something we’re going to have to work through at times, but in no means does that mean they’re not ready to contribute this year.”
Rector said the team has played well together in the summer and this fall and he’s pleased with how things have gone.
“We have a team that enjoys each other,” he said. “They like being around each other, and they like each other’s camaraderie. They are one cohesive group. Our kids are responding well.”
Rector prides on his teams as being able to work at getting a good shot on every possession.
The Cubs, who doubled their win total last year to 16 from Rector’s first team two years ago, showed the ability last year to play different styles.
They won a game 71-65 at Western Boone, and in their next outing defeated Indian Creek 43-41 in the Western Indiana Conference third-place crossover game.
“We are going to see the ball spread out more offensively, in terms of production, which leads to probably trying to play a little bit faster,” Rector said. “It’s hard to tell when you’re going against the same people in practice every time. You’ll see how things play out the first 5-6 games of the year, and how what you have done in the off-season works.
“You then try to make some adjustments over Christmas break, and get ready for sectional time.”
Playing such young athletes is always risky, and Whitaker is a solid example of the normal fluctuations caused by youth.
Whitaker scored in double figures in three of his first five varsity games, including 25 points in a loss to Southmont in December, but saw his numbers tail off toward the end of the season.
“We tell the young guys that they’re normally not ready for the varsity level, and they’re not physically mature enough to hand the grind,” Rector said. “It’s going to be hard again this year; it’s even hard for the seniors.”
Rector agrees with his colleagues that South Putnam looks to be the favorite to unseat Cloverdale as county champs, if anyone does, based upon its experience.
“Allen Plunkett is obviously a really good player, but they can surround him with several other dangerous players,” Rector said. “None of the other teams are going to be easy to beat. Cloverdale has a lot of people back, despite losing Jalen Moore. There were times the past couple of years when the stars didn’t hurt us as much as some of the other guys who hit shots.
“North Putnam loses Gross, but brings back Andrew PIckel who is solid with some other pieces,” he added. ‘They are someone you have to look at and prepare for.”
Rector looks at the conference’s West Division as being another open race.
“Northview is kind of like us, having lost its leading scorer [Brigham Booe] but with some other good pieces back,” he said. “Sullivan is really the same way [losing Ty Drake, now at DePauw]. West Vigo got much better last year, so it’s going to be a real battle every night.”
The sectional field, which includes Benton Central, Lebanon and Western Boone besides the three Montgomery County schools, also seems to be open.
Lebanon and all three Montgomery County schools each lost their leading scorers.
“Like every team, we always look before each season at winning the county, conference and sectional titles,” Rector said. “They are very wide open this year, and you are very optimistic going into the season that you can accomplish all of those goals.
“There will be some major changes in all of those programs.”
Rector could not point to one point of emphasis to work on in preparation of Tuesday’s opener at Crawfordsville.
The Tiger Cubs host Michigan City Marquette, with Division I signee Colin Kenney (Furman), for their scrimmage game on Saturday afternoon.
“Our main goal is just to keep getting better at playing with each other,” Rector said. “It’s a group that doesn’t care who scores, and they just want to win. Just trying to find a way to be comfortable is our main goal.”
Rector loves the attitude his team has taken into this season.
“The way last season ended, only scoring 28 points in the sectional championship game, left a sour taste in a lot of people’s mouths. There are some players who didn’t feel they played up to their ability in that last game, and there has been internal motivation and drive throughout this sumer and this fall.
“In watching the sectional game, we wanted to remind them of where they were at last year at the end,” Rector added. “There is motivation to prove something for these kids.”
2018-19 roster
| Player | Yr. |
| Trey Wood | Sr. |
| Gavin Bollman | Sr. |
| Andrew York | Sr. |
| Trent Ross | Jr. |
| Conner Taylor | Jr. |
| Cory Taylor | Jr. |
| Brody Whitaker | So. |
| Nick Sutherlin | So. |
| Cade Plew | So. |
| Benton Parmley | So. |
| Evan Cummings | So. |
| Ethan Maier | So. |
| Evan Alexander | Fr. |
Coach: Bryce Rector
2017-18 results (17-8)
Crawfordsville, W 51-44
at Danville, L 60-42
at West Vigo, W 53-43
South Putnam, W 53-43
Southmont, L 50-49
at Sullivan, L 60-58
at Cloverdale, L 80-66
Cascade, W 55-39
Northview, W 50-49
at Rockville, W 37-35
at North Putnam, W 62-55
South Vermillion, W 46-40
at Western Boone, W 71-65
Indian Creek, W 43-41
at Tri-West, L 62-46
Monrovia, W 61-51
Brown County, W 50-27
South Putnam, W 55-40
Cloverdale, L 61-44
at Owen Valley, L 55-49
Edgewood, W 64-59
at North Montgomery, W 84-49
Sectional
Western Boone, W 68-46
Crawfordsville, W 54-36
at Lebanon, L 43-28
2018-19 schedule
(Game times 7:30 p.m. unless noted otherwise)
Nov. 20 — at Crawfordsville
Nov. 24 — Danville
Nov. 30 — West Vigo
Dec. 7 — at South Putnam
Dec. 8 — at Southmont
Dec. 14 — Sullivan
Dec. 15 — Cloverdale
Dec. 18 — at Cascade
Jan. 4 — at Northview
Jan. 5 — Parke Heritage
Jan. 11 — North Putnam
Jan. 12 — at Edgewood
Jan. 18 — at South Vermillion
Jan. 19 — Western Boone
Jan. 25 — at WIC crossover
Jan. 26 — Tri-West
Jan. 31 — at Monrovia
Feb. 2 — at Brown County, 1:30 p.m.
Feb. 7 — home vs. South Putnam in county tourney
Feb. 16 — Owen Valley
Feb. 22 — North Montgomery