Columbus East’s Will Rieckers, right, watches his shot sail past Shelbyville’s Aidan Asher during a basketball game at Columbus East High School in Columbus, Ind., Tuesday, Feb. 15, 2022.
The Republic file photo
Ask just about any coach about their goals at the start of a season, and most will talk about wanting to be playing their best at the end of the season.
As the regular season draws to a close, Columbus East boys basketball can say it has met that goal. The Olympians have won five in a row going in to tonight’s regular-season finale at Floyd Central.
“No. 1, our seniors have done a great job of showing perseverance,” East coach Brent Chitty said. “Our guys have never stopped believing in what we could be as a team, and I believe we’ve gained a lot of confidence. They’re very coachable. They’ve been able to work on the things we don’t do well, and the things we have done well, they’re doing better.”
The Olympians’ five-game winning streak might not seem all that impressive until one realizes that five games is all they won in the previous two years — combined. They went 4-19 in 2019-20 and 1-18 last season.
East got off to a 1-10 start this season and was 2-13 before winning five games in a span of eight days, beating Jennings County, Franklin, Shelbyville, East Central and Madison. The Olympians came from 14 down entering the fourth quarter to win in overtime Thursday at East Central, which is 14-6.
“I think the energy which our team plays with has been night and day,” Chitty said. “Getting guys to play hard has been what this is all about. To me, energy is a real simple thing. When you wake up in the morning, you can choose ‘Woe is me,’ or you can say ‘Man, this is my day.’ From the start of this season to right now, there is no doubt these guys have picked their energy up. Hopefully, we can just keep it going.”
If there is one statistic that stands out in the turnaround, it’s defensive efficiency. Last year, East allowed 73.2 points a game. This year, the Olympians are giving up only 53.7.
“We’ve shot a lot better, and that builds a lot of confidence when you do that,” Chitty said. “Then defensively, we’ve been doing well all year. We’ve been giving up about 54 a game. That’s not bad.
“Our guys are competing,” he added. “They’re competing better than they have in awhile. If you compete and play with great composure, you have a chance.”
Offensively, East has been led by the trio of senior Will Rieckers and juniors Ben Sylva and Julius Dailey. Rieckers and point guard J.T. Kuhlman are the lone senior starters. Juniors Zane Moravec and Pete Coriden also have started most games, and senior Anthony Lloyd is the other rotational player.
Dailey has missed the past two games with a knee injury, and his status is day-to-day.
“We’ve had some guys that have had to set up in situations because of injuries or COVID,” Chitty said. “It’s just a learning situation this year. Every team chooses their own destiny, and the guys have done a really good job. We’re looking forward to having some fun.”
Floyd Central already has wrapped up the Hoosier Hills Conference title. The Olympians can tie New Albany and Bedford North Lawrence for fifth in the conference with a win tonight.
“What we’re looking to do is go down there and play with energy and compete against a really good team,” Chitty said.
East will open sectional play against Bloomington North at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Martinsville.
“There’s 16 sectionals in our class,” Chitty said. “Floyd Central is probably the favorite in their sectional. You’re talking about Bloomington North being the favorite of our sectional. We could be facing two of the top 16 teams in the state the next two games. I think you have to embrace that opportunity to go compete. You can’t beat No. 1 unless you play them. Nobody’s going to win in the tournament without facing good teams, so hopefully, we’re up for the challenge.”
