Columbus East’s Keaton Lawson, center, drives to the basket against Whiteland Nov. 27, 2024 at Columbus East High School.
Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Columbus East boys basketball coach Perry Nash has turned the program around in two years.
Now in his third season, Nash and the Olympians hope to take another big step forward this year and contend for a sectional championship after falling in the title game at the end of last season.
”I believe everyone in our program felt that we fell short of our goal last year,” East coach Perry Nash said. “I feel like we’re attacking this with a vengeance, and our kids not only now do they completely and utterly believe, we’ve got a little chip on our shoulder and let one slip away last year.”
Columbus East’s Carter Patterson shoots against Columbus North Dec. 20, 2024 at Columbus North.
The Republic file photo
The Olympians’ 15 wins last year were the most since the 2013-14 season, when they went 17-5. They lost a few pieces to graduation, but return their top two scorers in 6-foot-6 senior Keaton Lawson and 6-3 senior Carter Patterson. Lawson led East with 18.8 points, 8.5 rebounds, 4.6 assists and 3.0 steals; while Patterson added 14.4 points and 4.9 rebounds.
Another key player returning is 6-0 junior Judah Lewis, who averaged 8.9 points after missing the first half of last season after transferring from Columbus North midway through his freshman year.
“I think of our big three as Judah Lewis, along with Patterson and Lawson. Judah just has all the intangibles of a basketball player,” Nash said. “For Carter, the biggest area he has probably become one, in all the years that I’ve been coaching, he’s probably been the best leader from June until this point I’ve ever seen a kid be. He is holding our standards in practice. He teaches young kids. He’s doing extra things, and I’m proud of not only the skill work he’s put in, but he also knows he’s got to be a leader and bring these young kids with him.”
The Olympians will have a strong supporting cast with 6-1 senior Anthony Cowan, 6-1 senior Ben Ellegood, 5-9 junior Graham Preizer, 6-0 sophomore Logan Neal, 6-3 sophomore Carson Gallion and 6-0 sophomore Josiah Kiel.
“We’ve got nine guys. I think we’re the deepest we’ve been since I’ve been here. We’ve got guys that not only can play, but can go out and compete every single night,” Nash said.
Another thing East needs to avoid is the injury bug. Nash recalled there wasn’t a single point except the final game of the regular season last year where his top eight players were available to him, likely keeping the win total from going higher.
“For us to take that next step, we talked a lot about how we can keep guys healthy,” he said. “We’ve met with our athletic trainers about the injuries we’re seeing, and how we can prevent those. We’re doing a lot of things, post-practice stretching, ice packs and doing things to try to keep our players on the court as much as they can.”
The Olympians have one injury concern to start the year. The health status of Lawson for Wednesday’s season opener against Whiteland is in question after he sustained a broken collarbone in practice midway through the football season. However, Lawson has been practicing with the team and will have a doctor’s checkup this weekend to see if he’s cleared to play. Nash felt optimistic earlier this week about Lawson’s status for the opener.
“He can do some things and can’t do others. He’s able to get up and down with us in some aspects,” Nash said. “That way, he’s getting good, quality conditioning in, good, quality reps in. He might get released, or it might be another week, so we’re expecting him to be released. He might play the first game. I’d be shocked if he’s not playing.”
After the heartbreaking loss to Whiteland in the sectional final last year, East will be a hungry team and have a lot to prove to chase after the sectional title, something it hasn’t won since 1996.
“We’ve been talking a lot about it. Last year at this time, most of our guys didn’t believe we could compete for a sectional championship because it’s hard to imagine something that you’ve never done, but it’s the exact opposite of where we’re at now,” Nash said. “They’re expecting to win a sectional. Every day, we’re working toward that right now… I feel like they started this week and last week with the mindset of, ‘We’ve got to go in and work hard every single day.’ That way when March comes, we can get the job done.”
