Columbus North’s Cooper Horn, right, shields the ball from Jennings County’s Owen Law at Columbus North in Columbus, Ind., Friday, Nov. 26, 2021.
The Republic file photo
A Columbus North boys basketball program that came within an eyelash of upsetting eventual regional champion Bloomington North in the sectional is looking for big things next winter after a productive summer.
The Bull Dogs showed flashes of brilliance during the month of June, when coaches are permitted to work with their teams in practice and game settings. The highlight was a division championship in the Super Hoops Team Camp at Indiana Wesleyan.
“We were missing some guys,” North coach Paul Ferguson said. “Cooper Horn was at the Top 100 (Showcase) that Saturday, so we were missing Cooper for part of our pool play, and Luke Harmon and Tyler Blythe were playing club baseball, so we were missing them for some of our pool play. But when the tournament started on that Monday, we had all of our guys there, and we made a run and played some really good basketball.”
The Bull Dogs began the month with losses to Franklin Central and Connersville in the IBCA Shootout at Franklin Central. They went 3-0 in a shootout at Martinsville, highlighted by a win against Conference Indiana rival Bloomington South.
North also played on three Mondays in the Greenfield-Central Summer League and went 4-2, and played on two Tuesdays at Hauser. The first Tuesday, the Bull Dogs beat East and Indian Creek, and the second Tuesday, they beat Indian Creek and lost to Jennings County, although they were missing their five football players on the that second Tuesday.
The month of basketball ended with an 0-4 finish in a loaded pool at the Charlie Hughes Shootout in Westfield. The Bull Dogs fell to Lawrence North, Brownsburg, Class 3A state runner-up Mishawaka Marian and Westfield.
“There were very few times this summer when we had our entire varsity,” Ferguson said. “The times that we did, we had a lot of success, but those were very few times.”
The Bull Dogs had to share a lot of athletes in June. Of the nine varsity basketball players, five play football and four are baseball players.
“We have a lot of multi-sport athletes,” Ferguson said. “It was a lot of juggling of schedules in June to kind of get it all done for all three sports. It was a busy June. There weren’t many nights when we had a full crew. But I think given all the conflicts, it was still very productive for us.”
Columbus North’s Luke Harmon, left, shields the ball from Jennings County’s Keegan Manowitz Nov. 26, 2021, at Columbus North in Columbus, Ind.
The Republic file photo
North returns three starters, but lost its only true post player in The Republic Boys Basketball Player of the Year Sam King, who is headed to Purdue. Returning senior starters Cooper Horn, Harmon and Ty Ferguson are guards, as are incoming seniors Blythe and Damon Edwards, the two other returners who saw significant action last season.
Incoming junior Connor Hensley split time between varsity and JV last season, and incoming junior Blake Osbourne and incoming senior Zac Horn are up from the JV. Freshman Drew Schiefer played with the varsity this summer and eventually could be an answer in the post.
“Obviously, we have a lot of new pieces,” Paul Ferguson said. “Losing Sam King, we need to play a different style than we did because we don’t have a true post presence. But overall, we’re real happy with our summer. Our players are understanding our system offensively and defensively, and as coaches, we got a sense of what the strengths and weaknesses of our team are.”
