The Press-Dispatch
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D-6 Winter Sports Preview Wednesday, November 27, 2019 The Press-Dispatch 812-354-8404 292 W. Main St. • Petersburg ACCEPTING NEW PATIENTS Hours: Monday, 9am - 6pm Friday, 8am - 5pm Plus appointments by special arrangement. WALK-INS WELCOME Most insurances accepted. Adults & Children Good Luck! to all Pike Central SPORTS TEAMS! Pike Central Chargers seek to escape PAC cellar See CELLAR on page 7 By Dennis Marshall Press-Dispatch Sports Editor sports@pressdispatch.com A fter a tumultuous 2018 -19 campaign, the Pike Central boys' basketball team is preparing for a revenge tour, and the team has great aspirations of making some noise in the Pocket Athletic Con- ference and beyond. The Chargers return a cou- ple of players with varsity expe- rience, but will have a quite a few new faces as well. "This group put in a lot of time in the offseason and we have a lot of gym rats on this team, which is always a great thing for a coach and something we lacked last year at the varsity level," Pike Central head coach Hunter El- liott said. "We have the capabil- ity of really playing some great basketball, we will have five guys on the floor most of the time that can shoot the three-pointer and score the ball. We will have to be scrappy and hard nosed defen- sively, and on the boards to make up for our lack of size." Pike Central is focusing on a couple of different concepts this year, including its transition de- fense and not allowing easy buck- ets, its Pack Line defense and forcing a team to beat them from the perimeter, and finally, its ex- ecution. "We want to make sure we get a good look each trip, whether that is off a single pass or 15," Elliott said. "We want to value each pos- session and give ourselves a good opportunity to score. We really went back to the basics this sum- mer and built from the ground up. We felt that we needed to focus on our footwork, passing, shooting, ball handling and just overall un- derstanding of the game." Elliott said he is more focused on teaching his players how to play the game instead of how to run plays. "In the long run, we believe this will be the biggest benefit for our kids and the program," he said. "There were some growing pains this summer and I am sure we will have some in the season as well, but they are very receptive and are learning everything we are throwing at them." Senior Ethan Scott returns af- ter starting nearly every game a season ago and averaging about nine points per game. Scott is very athletic and has a great mo- tor, he plays extremely hard and is very competitive. "He played travel basketball this summer with Distinxion and really worked on improving his game," Elliott said. "Ethan has the ability to score the ball in a number of different ways and will be expected to guard the other team's best player most nights." Junior Ethan Gorby also re- turns. He started a large part of the season as a sophomore and gained a lot of varsity experience. "He is the definition of a gym rat and puts in a lot of time work- ing on his game," Elliott said. "He is a great shooter and can score off the bounce and in the post. Gorby will be a leader of this team and we will count on him to pro- duce every night." Junior Sean Hanselman ran the point guard spot on the junior var- sity last year and will step into that role on the varsity this year. "Sean is really a game chang- er for us," Elliott said. "When he plays well and is attacking, we are a much better team. He has a very good handle and plays with good pace, has the ability to get to the rim and finish, and can knock down the three-point shot as well." Colin Craig is a senior who had a tough year last year with some injuries and illness, but looked re- ally good this summer. "He rebounds the ball very well and his touch around the rim has improved," Elliott said. "Colin plays with a lot of heart and I al- ways know he will compete and give us his best effort when he is out there on the court." Jersey Mills is another senior who missed last season with a knee injury, but he's had a great summer and has looked very good in practices thus far shoot- ing the ball and defending multi- ple positions. Mills is a good athlete and a great natural leader. "He has the ability to do a lit- tle bit of everything for us," El- liott said. "He understands his role very well and will do what- ever it takes for the team to have success." Jaden Guth is a junior with a natural ability to score the ball. "He is a very good shooter and uses his body very well on drives," Elliott said. "When he is on he can really fill it up in a hur- ry. He is a very strong kid who will be asked to play bigger than he is at times this season." Junior Hunter Traylor has spent a lot of time in the gym working on his game. "He has always been very quick and athletic and been able to de- fend, but has really worked on the offensive side of the ball this offseason," Elliott said. "He can knock down the three-point shot and can get to the rim and finish. He will definitely be vying for var- sity minutes." Junior Aden Brown has also im- proved tremendously. He is a very intelligent basketball player and is one of the best cutters and pass- ers on the team. "He makes everyone around him better when he is on the court," Elliott said. "He has grown some and is really start- ing to come into his own. He had a great summer and will definitely surprise some people this year." Connor Young is a junior that is a flat out competitor who is long and athletic, and will play his heart out each and every night. He's also a good defender and re- bounder, and excels in the open floor at getting to the rim. Junior Trent Zimmerman ex- cels on the defensive side of the ball. "He is a great communica- tor and a good athlete that will make an impact when he is in the game," Elliott said. "He has put in a lot of time as well and continues We have the capability of really playing some great basketball, we will have five guys on the floor most of the time that can shoot the three- pointer and score the ball. We will have to be scrappy and hard nosed defensively, and on the boards to make up for our lack of size." – Head Coach Hunter Elliott " Go Chargers! 245 S. Glezen Center St. • Petersburg, IN 812-354-9909 Glezen Revival Center Front row (l to r): Jersey Mills, Ethan Scott, Colin Craig, Jaylon Mills, Gabe Caldwell and Hunter DeHaven. Back row: Aden Brown, Hunter Traylor, Ethan Gorby, Jaden Guth and Sean Hanselman. In any sport, Four Star Fabricators encourages all Pike Central athletes to work hard, play tough and win in life. Good Luck This season! Serving the Aluminum, Coal and Power Industries with Quality Steel Fabrication Phone: 812-354-9995 Fax: 812-354-3809 Four Star Fabricators P.O. Box 67, Petersburg, IN 47567 www.fourstarfab.com Boy s' Varsity Basketb all