If nothing else, next year’s Columbus North boys basketball team had plenty of chances to gain some valuable game-like experience last month.
The Bull Dogs played 28 games in 28 days from June 4 to Sunday. The IHSAA allows high school coaches to work with their teams in game and practice settings during the month of June — and in this year’s case, July 1.
North went 17-11 this summer, finishing with a 3-6 record this past weekend in the Indiana Wesleyan Super Hoops Tournament.
“We saw some good things,” North coach Paul Ferguson said. “We saw some areas we need to improve on. The biggest challenge for us was matching the physicality of a lot of teams up there. Playing more physical basketball is a growth area for us.”
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The Bull Dogs went 2-5 in pool play Friday and Saturday, beating Evansville North and East Noble and falling to Valparaiso, Penn, Noblesville and two Ohio schools. On Sunday, Columbus North led Penn for most of game, but lost by two on a layup at the buzzer, then beat Noblesville by 12 in consolation round.
Ferguson said beating East Noble, which won the 4A portion of the tournament, was the highlight of the weekend. East Noble is coached by Ryan Eakins, who was Ferguson’s JV coach in 2015-16, his first with the Bull Dogs.
“We got better as the weekend went on,” Ferguson said. “Our best game of the tournament was (Sunday) morning against Penn. We didn’t win the game, but I was pleased with the execution. We played well against East Noble, too.”
Columbus North’s JV team finished second, falling to Carmel in the championship game.
Earlier in June, the Bull Dog varsity beat Kokomo and Evansville Bosse in Indiana All-Star Shootout at Ben Davis. Columbus North then went 4-1 at the Hoop Mountain Shootout in Batavia, Illinois, falling in double overtime to Deerfield (Illinois).
The Bull Dogs also played in a pair of summer leagues. Then went 5-2 in the Shelbyville Summer League on Monday nights and 3-2 in the Conference Indiana Summer League on Thursday nights.
In the Conference Indiana league, Columbus North beat Terre Haute North, Terre Haute South and Franklin Central and lost to Bloomington South and Decatur Central. Franklin Central, which just joined the Hoosier Crossroads Conference, and Decatur Central, which is in the Mid-State Conference, played in the Conference Indiana summer league in place of Bloomington North and Southport.
“We had some really nice wins,” Ferguson said. “We had a couple games where we were really close, but just couldn’t get over the hump.”
The Bull Dogs did not have returning starting post player Trenton Kelley, an incoming senior who was focusing on football. Blake Barker, who will be a sophomore, is the only other full-time returning starter.
Incoming seniors Lakeevan Whedon and Patrick McKinley were part-time starters last season and are the only other players with significant varsity experience. Up from the JV are incoming juniors Nicholas Schiavello and Cameron Wischmeyer and incoming seniors Riley Ables, Cameron Ziegler and Blake King.
“I think we’ve tried to have the mindset of just getting a little bit better each day,” Ferguson said. “We’ve been pleased with the effort. I thought (the summer) was very productive.”
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This is the second of a six-day series recapping the summer basketball season for Bartholomew County teams. The schedule:
Monday: Columbus East boys
Today: Columbus North boys
Wednesday: Hauser boys
Thursday: Columbus East girls
Friday: Columbus North girls
Saturday: Hauser girls
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