Columbus North senior Sam King is The Republic Boys Basketball Player of the Year. He is pictured in the studio at The Republic in Columbus, Ind., Wednesday, March 23, 2022.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
After posting a 6-5 record the first half of the season, Columbus North made an adjustment to get 6-foot-7½ senior Sam King more involved around the basket.
King’s game took a leap forward, and the Bull Dogs ran off nine wins in a row. King ended up as the leading scorer and rebounder for a team that finished 16-8 and is this year’s The Republic Boys Basketball Player of the Year.
“We ran a lot of things through him and played him on the perimeter a lot and used his passing,” North coach Paul Ferguson said. “Sam has always been a really skilled perimeter player in terms of his passing and his shooting. But it was his development in scoring in the paint that really changed us as a team in the second half of the season.”
King admitted he had to get used to playing inside after playing mostly on the perimeter for his D-I Indiana travel team that reached the UnderArmour national finals last summer.
“It’s definitely something that came naturally, but I also did have to get more comfortable with it, especially coming off an offseason of playing on the perimeter a lot,” King said. “I kind of found myself wanting to be out there more, just because I kind of got more comfortable out there. But then around the middle of the season, I learned that when I got comfortable, and when I got better in the post, then all these teams would suck in on me, and it allowed me to facilitate out, whether it was to Cooper (Horn) or Luke Harmon or Ty (Ferguson) or Carson Dibble for a 3.”
Physical growth played a big role in King’s gaining confidence on the interior. He went from 6-5, 205 pounds as a junior to 6-6, 215 to start his senior year to 6-7 1/2, 225 to end the season.
For the season, King averaged 15.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals and 0.7 blocks per game.
“Sam had an outstanding season for us,” Paul Ferguson said. “I was so proud of the way he developed this year and how he grew into such an outstanding leader for our team. We saw some flashes of brilliance his junior year, then he really blossomed in the summer. He had an outstanding June for us and then continued on with his AAU season, and he really grew as a player during that time and that just carried into this season. He just got better and better as the year went on, and his game continued to develop.”
King didn’t play varsity until his junior year. He played on the freshman team his first year and junior varsity as a sophomore.
“It was a really good opportunity and experience, starting from my freshman year,” King said. “I wasn’t the best, but it taught me my place, that I had to work for everything. I wasn’t just going to be handed thing. Then sophomore, I started JV and dressed varsity, and it kind of made me realize the hard work is going to pay off. So as I worked in the summer on my shot and my perimeter game and my post moves, I kind of saw improvement. It was kind of like the light at the end of the tunnel going into my junior year. Then junior year, I kind of played a facilitator role, and then senior year, I knew I had to kick it up a little bit and turn the jets on, and that’s what I did.”
As a junior, King was the Bull Dogs’ fifth starter on a team that featured two-time Republic Boys Basketball Player of the Year Blake Barker, who now is playing at Army. Cooper Horn, then a sophomore, was North’s No. 2 scoring option that year, and this year, King and Horn provided a solid 1-2 punch.
“It definitely was a lot of fun just to see Cooper from last year to this year and even me from last year to this year improve and get our confidence up. It was different because last year, I had a role either first one off the bench or last to start, and I was kind of a facilitator for Blake and Coop. I knew that I had to help get them going to be successful. This year, I had to get other guys going, too, but it was unique to be in Blake’s role that he had his senior year. For Cooper and I to have the same role as being leaders, it was kind of fun because I’ve never had that captain-type role at North, and for it to be my senior year and to kind of progress to that point, it was really cool to be a part of.”
In the days and weeks following the end of their season, King and the Bull Dogs have been left to wonder what might have been. Horn had a close range shot, and King had a tip that bounced off the rim at the end of regulation in the sectional semifinals against Bloomington North. The Cougars ended up winning in double overtime, then went on to win the sectional and regional titles before losing a close game to Cathedral in last week’s semistate.
“That was one of the best games I’ve ever played in at North, but that would have sealed the deal,” King said. “It definitely made me think a lot where we could have ended up. We are very physical, but we were not the most athletic team in he state. But the way we play and how hard we play and how together we play, if we would have beat them in regulation, I feel like we would have gone all the way to semistate, and we’d have had a good chance against Cathedral. It’s always the ‘What if?’”
King, who wants to major in business finance, has offers to play at Division III Wabash, DePauw and Hanover, as well as a scholarship offer from Indiana University-East. Marian also is interested
Meanwhile, D-I Northwestern has offered King a chance to walk on, and King is waiting to see if he can get a similar opportunity at Purdue or IU.
“I’m really proud of him, and I’m looking forward to seeing what he decides to do,” Paul Ferguson said. “He has some options at the next level if he decides to pursue those and continue his career. He’s a heck of a basketball player.”
The Republic All-Area Boys Basketball team:
Sam King, Columbus North: The senior led the Bull Dogs with 15.6 points, 6.2 rebounds and 0.7 blocks and added 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals per game.
Cooper Horn, Columbus North: The junior averaged 14.0 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.1 assists and led the Bull Dogs with 1.9 steals per game.
Hunter Johnson, South Decatur: The senior led the state with 31.9 points per game, led the Cougars with 9.6 rebounds and added 2.3 assists and 1.9 steals.
Caleb Dewey, Edinburgh: The junior led the Lancers with 21.2 points, 3.1 assists and 2.1 steals and added 6.4 rebounds per game.
Travis Jones, Edinburgh: The senior led the Lancers with 7.5 rebounds and added 12.8 points and 2.7 assists per game.
Will Rieckers, Columbus East: The senior led the Olympians with 12.8 points and averaged 4.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 steals per game.
Ben Sylva, Columbus East: The junior averaged 12.3 points and led the Olympians with 5.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.8 steals per game.
Bryce Bates, Hauser: The senior senior led the Jets with 16.0 points, 8.7 rebounds and 1.5 steals and added 2.8 assists per game.
Keegan Manowitz, Jennings County: The junior led the Panthers with 10.3 points, 5.2 assists and 1.3 rebounds and added 3.0 rebounds per game.
Jacob Vogel, Jennings County: The senior led the Panthers with 6.0 rebounds and averaged 9.6 points and 1.5 assists per game.
Carson McNulty, Jennings County: The senior averaged 9.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.6 assists per game.
Gabe Ridder, Columbus Christian: The senior led the Crusaders with 18.1 points, 7.9 rebounds and 2.6 steals and added 1.5 assists per game.
Mitchell Hackman, Trinity Lutheran: The senior led the Cougars with with 14.5 points, 3.0 assists and 1.9 steals and added 4.7 rebounds per game.
Honorable mention
Brown County: Kaydon Bellmore, Carter Kelly. Columbus Christian: Peyton Rehlander. Columbus East: Julius Dailey. Columbus North: Ty Ferguson, Luke Harmon. Edinburgh: Landen Burton, Riley Palmeter, Jarrett Turner. Hauser: Koby Johnson, Eli Miller. Jennings County: Owen Law. South Decatur: Jacob Scruggs.
