Team Preview: Hillsboro Indians
Lead Summary
By
Stephen Forsha-sforsha@gmail.com
The 2013-14 Hillsboro Indians' boys basketball team will feature a mix of players with at least a season of varsity experience, along with players who will be getting their first crack at the top level of high school basketball.
The Indians, who went 10-14 one season ago (4-10 in the South Central Ohio League), welcome back two seniors and a total of six players who had high-to-decent minutes at the varsity level last season.
The seniors this year are Jordan Captain and Wes Sears. Captain was the second-leading scorer for the Indians last year and the eighth-leading scorer in all of Highland County during the regular season.
Captain was a Division II Associated Press Special Mention All-District player and Coaches District 14 All-District honorable mention player during his junior year. He averaged 10.8 points per game in the regular season, scoring 237 points in 22 games.
"Jordy was our second-leading scorer and rebounder last year," third-year HHS head coach Brett Prince said. "Toward the end of last year, I thought he gave us a second go-to guy. He gave teams a lot of problems last year, which helped open up other guys.
"I'm expecting a lot from him this year. He started 24 games last year, and he's been our go-to guy in scrimmages and practice."
Also returning are Zach Young, Trey Moberly, Latrell Haithcock and Austin Bagshaw. Also back after taking a season off is Logan Lesley, who Prince said brings toughness and athleticism.
Gone are graduated seniors Jarrod Hart and Reese Leibreich, who played a lot of minutes for HHS last season. Hart was the leading scorer for HHS last year, averaging 17.2 ppg (378 points in 22 games).
Prince said he believes the style of the Indians will be similar to previous seasons, with a few new things possibly mixed in.
"I don't think one guy is going to replace (Hart)," Prince said. "Losing him is a piece of the puzzle. It's a big piece, but we've got plenty of guys to step in and fill in the void. A player like Jarrod is hard to replace.
"We have very competitive practices. We just have 10 guys getting after each other, competing."
Prince spoke about expectations for this year's team.[[In-content Ad]]
"We lost a lot, but we have five or six guys who logged quality minutes," Prince said. "By the end of last season, our sophomores were no longer sophomores. They were experienced. This year, they aren't green like they were when they started last year. This year, we won't look as young as they did at times last year.
"They know what to expect at the varsity level and know what it takes to play here. It took them a while to adjust to the speed and level of play at the varsity level last year. We threw them to the fire early, and we expect them to be ready to go this year."
During the 2012-13 season, the Indians played a lot of close games, especially in the second half of the season. They held the lead during the fourth quarter in nine to 10 of their losses.
"When you don't finish games, a lot of that is due to the inexperience of not being out there," Prince said. "This year, we hope we've changed that at the end of games. We've talked a lot about closing the deal.
"To win games, you win games at the the end. You win with guard play and taking care of the ball in the fourth quarter. Hopefully this year, with the experience we gained from last year, we win the closer ones."
There are other expectations for Prince and his team, and it is no secret they want to become the SCOL champions once again. Prince led HHS to an SCOL title his first season at HHS, which was a second straight league title for the Indians at the time.
"Our goal is to win the league title every year," he said. "We expect to win the league. We don't think about the words 'reloading' or 'rebuilding.' We just come in with the expectation to win the league … that's what we try to do. After that, everything else is a bonus."
The SCOL this season will be a very competitive league, with many of the teams bringing back quality players. Prince said playing in the SCOL can only help prepare his team for the postseason and make them a better team overall.
"Since most of the teams in our league are Division II, anytime you have to play and go through the grind of playing these teams twice a year, it gets us ready for tournament play.
"You see that type of style in the tournament. It's a physical type of play, and our league is somewhat physical, so it gets us ready. Any team in our league has a chance to make a nice run."
The Indians, who went 10-14 one season ago (4-10 in the South Central Ohio League), welcome back two seniors and a total of six players who had high-to-decent minutes at the varsity level last season.
The seniors this year are Jordan Captain and Wes Sears. Captain was the second-leading scorer for the Indians last year and the eighth-leading scorer in all of Highland County during the regular season.
Captain was a Division II Associated Press Special Mention All-District player and Coaches District 14 All-District honorable mention player during his junior year. He averaged 10.8 points per game in the regular season, scoring 237 points in 22 games.
"Jordy was our second-leading scorer and rebounder last year," third-year HHS head coach Brett Prince said. "Toward the end of last year, I thought he gave us a second go-to guy. He gave teams a lot of problems last year, which helped open up other guys.
"I'm expecting a lot from him this year. He started 24 games last year, and he's been our go-to guy in scrimmages and practice."
Also returning are Zach Young, Trey Moberly, Latrell Haithcock and Austin Bagshaw. Also back after taking a season off is Logan Lesley, who Prince said brings toughness and athleticism.
Gone are graduated seniors Jarrod Hart and Reese Leibreich, who played a lot of minutes for HHS last season. Hart was the leading scorer for HHS last year, averaging 17.2 ppg (378 points in 22 games).
Prince said he believes the style of the Indians will be similar to previous seasons, with a few new things possibly mixed in.
"I don't think one guy is going to replace (Hart)," Prince said. "Losing him is a piece of the puzzle. It's a big piece, but we've got plenty of guys to step in and fill in the void. A player like Jarrod is hard to replace.
"We have very competitive practices. We just have 10 guys getting after each other, competing."
Prince spoke about expectations for this year's team.[[In-content Ad]]
"We lost a lot, but we have five or six guys who logged quality minutes," Prince said. "By the end of last season, our sophomores were no longer sophomores. They were experienced. This year, they aren't green like they were when they started last year. This year, we won't look as young as they did at times last year.
"They know what to expect at the varsity level and know what it takes to play here. It took them a while to adjust to the speed and level of play at the varsity level last year. We threw them to the fire early, and we expect them to be ready to go this year."
During the 2012-13 season, the Indians played a lot of close games, especially in the second half of the season. They held the lead during the fourth quarter in nine to 10 of their losses.
"When you don't finish games, a lot of that is due to the inexperience of not being out there," Prince said. "This year, we hope we've changed that at the end of games. We've talked a lot about closing the deal.
"To win games, you win games at the the end. You win with guard play and taking care of the ball in the fourth quarter. Hopefully this year, with the experience we gained from last year, we win the closer ones."
There are other expectations for Prince and his team, and it is no secret they want to become the SCOL champions once again. Prince led HHS to an SCOL title his first season at HHS, which was a second straight league title for the Indians at the time.
"Our goal is to win the league title every year," he said. "We expect to win the league. We don't think about the words 'reloading' or 'rebuilding.' We just come in with the expectation to win the league … that's what we try to do. After that, everything else is a bonus."
The SCOL this season will be a very competitive league, with many of the teams bringing back quality players. Prince said playing in the SCOL can only help prepare his team for the postseason and make them a better team overall.
"Since most of the teams in our league are Division II, anytime you have to play and go through the grind of playing these teams twice a year, it gets us ready for tournament play.
"You see that type of style in the tournament. It's a physical type of play, and our league is somewhat physical, so it gets us ready. Any team in our league has a chance to make a nice run."