Columbus East’s Ben Sylva eyes a shot over Silver Creek’s Cameron Wheeler Nov. 23 in the Orange Pit at Columbus East High School.
Ben Sylva has made his presence felt to opposing teams every time he steps on the hardwood.
Now a senior, Sylva has been one of the leaders for the Olympians the past few seasons, and this year is no different. Even though it’s been a slow start to the season, he and his East teammates hope to turn the corner starting on Friday with the annual crosstown rivalry game against Columbus North.
Sylva has been a starter the past three years. He’s also taken the leadership for role for the team, as well.
“Having the coaches trust me definitely gives me a lot of confidence to do that,” Sylva said. “Sophomore year, I had some guys to help me walk through that. Junior year, Will Rieckers was there to help me, and we got along really well together. This year, it’s me trying to work it down to someone else.”
Sylva is a multisport athlete, also playing soccer in the fall. He said the conditioning and training is a little different, but it helps him stay in shape. In soccer, he could be out on the pitch a maximum of 80 minutes, excluding extra time, and in basketball, a maximum of 32 minutes, excluding overtime periods. This year, Sylva has played on average 30 of the 32 minutes on the court.
Sylva was a Hoosier Hills Conference honorable mention selection in basketball last year and an HHC honorable mention pick in soccer the past two seasons.
“In basketball, it’s more that you’re running all the time, and in soccer, you get a little more breaks. I feel like I was pretty prepared stamina-wise,” Sylva said.
Last year as a junior, Sylva averaged 12.3 points per game and 2.2 assists per game. Both those figures have jumped this year to 18 points and four assists a game.
The Olympians are 1-5 to start the year heading into Friday.
“He’s an unselfish kid that wants to win and wants his teammates to do really well,” East coach Brent Chitty said. “The teammates look to him to do big things… He’s a positive kid. Everyone likes him. We’ve got to understand that his leadership has to translate in getting guys to practice hard and then take it into the game.”
Sylva hasn’t won a crosstown game against North. East’s last win against the Bull Dogs came in 2018, but the he is hoping tide changes on Friday.
“We know going into North, it’s a massive gym. There’s going to be a lot of people there,” Sylva said. “We’re going to have to stay calm. The younger guys will have to blank out the noise. I know the student sections are going to be crazy. We’re going to have to play our game and play as hard as we can.”
