There were good times at South Putnam this year. There were bad times at South Putnam this year.
After getting off to a 4-2 start and at one time sitting at 10-5, the Eagles would finish the 2022-23 season at 11-11, 5-5 in the WIC, having finished the season 1-6, playing most of that stretch with just six varsity players.
The one constant throughout that time was junior guard Drew Hill, who averages 17.3 ppg and 6 rpg across the season.
Hill’s efforts throughout the course of the year earned him Putnam County Boys’ Basketball Player of the Year honors as voted upon by the coaches of Putnam County.
Hill finished the season with 397 points, 138 rebounds, 31 offensive, 40 assists, 32 steals and 13 blocks, connecting on 71-of-146 shots inside the arc, converting 61-of-204 shots from three-point range and 72-of-93 free throws.
After winning a combined seven games in his first two season, Hill said he knew he was going to be relied on even more than he had been his first two years and said being mentally prepared for the load he was expected to carry as a junior was what he worked on between seasons.
“I was working on getting my mindset right from being a young player to having more pressure put on me,” Hill said. “I worked on ballhandling mostly, creating shots off the dribble, which was the biggest thing I had to work on.
“I knew I would have some help in ball handling with Jeremiah (Hibbeln) coming back but he wound up injured midway through the season. I had to work on my ballhandling even more after that.”
Having had two different coaches to start his first two years, a third would soon be on the way in the form of Kyle Swafford, whom Hill said he gained an understanding with early on.
“I talked to him and he told me what he expected of me,” Hill said. “Things like being a team leader and making sure everybody has good energy at practice.
“I also told him some of the things I was looking for. The past couple of years of practice hadn’t always been the best, so I offered some ideas on what we could do better in practice.”
Hill did not play basketball outside of South Putnam between his sophomore and junior season, leaving him a chance to work with a group in the summer that was far different than the one he saw the previous year.
“With the team, it was about building chemistry,” Hill said. “We wanted to have good chemistry and be able to play with whoever was on the floor.
“Without AAU this past summer, I worked on a lot of shots and consistency, as well as being able to do anything on the floor.”
Hill added that Swafford quickly brought a different style into the program, one that the players were encouraged by.
“It was good,” Hill said about working with Swafford early on. “He brought a good energy to practice and hyped everybody up.
“We all loved Swafford. Practices were pretty good. Our younger guys just needed time to adapt to varsity basketball and once they do that, they have talent and they’re going to be really good.”
With only a few players returning from the previous year, Hill said it took time for the group to figure things out once practices began for the upcoming season.
“It took everybody a little bit,” Hill said. “It took us a little bit of time but at practice, we figured out what everyone was supposed to be doing.
“The plays we ran this year were good but Ilke how (coach Swafford) trusted us to run stuff, to play off of and react to what the defense was doing.”
Early losses to Clay City and North Putnam were followed by a four-game winning streak, including a key win over Greencastle and a win at West Vigo.
“I thought we should have won our first couple of games,” Hill said. “Things happen and I wasn’t that mad about it but after that, when we went on a winning streak, I knew we had something, even if I don’t know if anyone else did.”
With Austen Branam, Griffin Garner and Fisher Jones as seniors, the return of Jeremiah Hibbeln from injury after missing the previous year, the addition of Cam Bozell and promotion of Wyatt Mullin, Wyatt Switzer and Zach Dorsett, the Eagles found themselves building into a solid team as even losses to Parke Heritage and Sullivan were highly competitive outings.
With each player providing plenty of options on offense, Hill said teams weren’t able to focus on him as much as they likely wanted to.
“It was nice because if I was trapped in a corner or the defense was hedging towards me, I could hit an open teammate on a cut or in the open corner,” Hill said. “The other team wouldn’t expect that from some guys but I trusted the other guys completely.”
“We were feeling way better because everyone was getting more comfortable with our playstyle,” Hill added as the middle of season approached. “Things took off from there.”
A win over Northview marked a high point for the team, as well as the starting point for a six game winning streak.
The following game against Cascade marked the turning point in the year for South Putnam when Hibbeln exited after hurting his knee.
“We talked about it when it happened,” Hill said in the moments after Hibbeln’s injury. “We just said, no matter what happens, to keep playing our hearts out for (Jeremiah).
“It was his first year back playing and he was already out for the season, even if we didn’t know it then.”
The Eagles would win their next four games, including over Cloverdale in the opening round of the Putnam County Classic, but the loss affected the team on several levels.
“It was weird at first,” Hill said. “We were used to Jeremiah making big plays for us.
“We had to adapt our play and change some things around. Wyatt (Mullin) stepped up big time for us this year.
“It changed my role a lot,” Hill added. “I would be up top when (Jeremiah) would go to the paint but with him out, I was the guy that would go there instead. It was little things like that but nothing that I couldn’t handle.”
Following the loss in the Classic final to North Putnam, the Eagles would finish the season 1-6, playing several contests with just six players season action, a style that took a toll on the team both mentally and physically.
“The energy kept going down and down the rest of the year,” Hill said. “The day that Jeremiah wasn’t at practice, the energy just wasn’t there like it had been.
“We still tried our hardest but you could tell at practices everyone was frustrated. It is what it is, though, and we still had to play through it.”
The last loss came to Parke Heritage in the opening round of the Southmont Sectional, leaving the Eagles at .500 for the season.
“It was definitely a big mood kill,” Hill said about the season as a whole. “I still loved the season and hanging out with those guys at practice.
“It was just a bummer about how it finished.”
Hill, who earned All-County and All-WIC honors for a third-straight season, said getting a taste of a solid season early on made the end of the year feel disappointing, even if he felt his own play, was decent throughout the year.
“I thought I was pretty solid,” Hill said about his play over the course of the season. “Toward the end, it felt like it has been in previous years, which made it weird.”
Hill said he planned to play AAU basketball this offseason with a goal of being able to run more of the offense with several key members of the squad graduating.
“I feel it will help me with getting through traffic,” Hill said. “I feel there will be a lot more pressure on me than in previous years because I won’t have Jeremiah, Austen (Branam) or Griffin (Garner) around.
“It’s going to be tough but I’m excited for next year. We’re still going to do good.”
Above all, Hill said he wanted his senior season to be enjoyable not for just himself but everyone involved with the South Putnam program.
“I just want this upcoming year to be my best year,” Hill said. “The last three years have been rough; this year started off good but went downhill as it went on.
“I want it to be a good year next year. I want people to be excited to go watch us again.
“I want to have the most fun with the younger guys and want them to have as much fun as they can.”
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