Former Columbus North coach Jason Speer, left, hoists the sectional championship trophy following the Bull Dogs’ victory over Bloomington South, Saturday March 2, 2013, at Columbus North High School. Speer now is the coach at Bloomington North, which the Bull Dogs will play in Saturday’s Seymour Regional.
The Republic file photo
When Columbus North captured its sectional title on Saturday night, it was the Bull Dogs’ first boys basketball sectional crown since 2013.
Columbus North’s coach in 2013? That would be Jason Speer. Yes, the same Jason Speer that now coaches Bloomington North, the team that the Bull Dogs will be playing in Saturday’s Seymour Regional.
“I think at the time, it was definitely a big deal,” said Evan Henry, who was the junior point guard on that 2013 team. “We were very well-rounded, from whatever five were on the court to the bench. I know we put in a lot of work in the offseason and preseason. A lot of guys put in work, and it paid off with the sectional.”
Columbus North’s Evan Henry, left, drives to the basket against Bloomington South’s Isaiah Gooch March 2, 2013, in the sectional final at Columbus North High School.
The Republic file photo
All five starters from that 2013 team went on to play in college. Josh Speidel (Vermont) was a 6-foot-7 sophomore on that Columbus North team. He and senior guard Sawyer Glick (Spring Hill, Barry, Emporia State) and Henry (St. Francis) were the scoring leaders.
Elliott Welmer was a 6-8 junior zone-buster who went on to play at St. Louis. The other starter was 6-7 senior Tori Jackson, who later played at Vincennes University.
“That particular team that I had at Columbus North that year, there were lots of different weapons any given night,” said Speer, who left after the 2014-15 season and coached the Bloomington North girls for two years before taking over the Cougar boys program. “We were a good basketball team, very connected. That team was very versatile. They could play in a lot of different ways. I wouldn’t say we had a go-to guy, but they were very good at stepping up when they needed to.”
Seniors Clint Cunningham, Garrett Larson and Paul Salee saw the most action off the bench. Another senior Gabe Hilt, likely would have played more, but was injured for most of the season, and was joined on the varsity by fellow seniors Chase Francoeur and Connor Oren and junior Christian Glass.
Columbus North’s Sawyer Glick goes in for a layup against Franklin Central in the Seymour Regional, Saturday March 9, 2013, at Seymour High School.
The Republic file photo
“One thing I remember is, being a senior-heavy team, we also had some young guys that wanted to compete, and I remember how fun practice was every day,” Glick said. “Those practices made college practices easy after practicing with those guys. I think that’s just a culture that coach Speer and us seniors created, so that we compete against the Indianapolis schools that we were playing and the Bloomington schools.”
The 2012-13 Bull Dog team went 23-2. Their only regular-season loss was a 76-74 decision on a last-second shot at Pike in an early-December game that ended up deciding the Conference Indiana title.
North bounced back from that loss to beat Columbus East, then sweep four games to win Richmond’s Bob Wettig Tournament for the second year in a row. That was the beginning of a 19-game winning streak.
“One of the things that comes to mind is, we were two points away from having a perfect regular season,” Speer said. “Losing at Pike the way we did, that kind of stood out. ”
The Bull Dogs beat East and Bloomington South to win the sectional at North. The win against Bloomington South avenged a loss from the previous year’s sectional final and gave North its first sectional title since 1997.
“It was a long drought, and that was very special for us,” Glick said. “I just remember when we started the season, the goal was to win the sectional. As the guys from (Saturday) night know, cutting the nets down in Memorial Gymnasium is very special. It means a lot. I know it something they’ll never forget.”
That 2013 North team was ranked as high as No. 2 in the state and was ranked No. 3 going into the tournament. The Bull Dogs had hopes of making it to state, but ran into a red-hot Franklin Central team that they had beaten in the regular season in the regional semifinals. The Flashes jumped out to a 21-6 lead, and that was the eventual margin in the Bull Dogs’ 69-54 defeat.
Columbus North’s Elliott Welmer takes a shot over Bloomington South’s Keaton Hendricks in the sectional championship Saturday March 2, 2013, at Columbus North High School.
The Republic file photo
“It was a special year,” said Welmer, who now works as a medical device salesman in Chicago. “It was a special group of guys. I have a lot of memories from that year. We had a lot of talent on that team. We had the opportunity to potentially go farther than that, but we got upset. But it’s something I’ll remember forever.”
“We won sectional, but we felt like we underachieved,” Speidel added. “We felt like we could go farther. But to win a sectional in Indiana is nothing to look down upon. To do it with those guys is something I won’t forget. We were best friends on and off the court.”
Columbus North’s Josh Speidel slips past Bloomington South defender Noah Marks for a basket Saturday March 2, 2013, in the sectional championship at Columbus North High School.
The Republic file photo
Speidel, the school’s all-time leading scorer, had his playing career ended after suffering a traumatic brain injury in a car accident late in his senior season. He now works as a teaching assistant at Richards Elementary and has helped coach at Northside Middle School since graduating from Vermont two years ago.
Henry, who started on two NAIA final four teams at St. Francis, earned his doctorate in physical therapist from Indiana University. He now works in Greenwood for Forte Sports Medicine and Orthopedics.
Glick, who works in his family business at Barkes, Weaver & Glick Funeral Home, also has coached in the North program. He was an assistant freshman coach when this year’s seniors were freshmen.
“You could just tell the competitiveness that those guys had from playing with each other for so long,” Glick said. “Especially with (varsity) coach (Paul) Ferguson, the way he plays, his style fits that team really well. I wasn’t part of their locker room this year, but I’m guessing it was sectional-or-bust for them because they definitely had that kind of talent to get it done.”
Clint Cunningham, left, Tori Jackson, right, and their Columbus North teammates hoist the sectional championship trophy after defeating Bloomington South Saturday March 2, 2013, at Columbus North High School.
The Republic file photo
