Columbus North’s Drew Schiefer gets off a shot under the basket during the regional game against Bloomington North Saturday March 11, 2023 at Seymour.
The Republic file photo
After winning its first boys basketball sectional in 10 years, Columbus North has several holes to fill.
All five starters graduated from the team that came within a last-minute Bloomington North comeback of winning the regional. Coach Paul Ferguson had a chance to see some of his younger players during the month of June, when coaches are permitted to work with their teams in practice and game settings.
“It’s definitely a changing of the guard,” Ferguson said. “It was a chance this summer to see a lot of different kids in new roles, how they fit together, how they play. It was a lot of learning and a lot of growth.”
The Bull Dogs went 2-2 in a shootout at Indiana Wesleyan. They went 1-7 in pool play in the Super Hoops Shootout the following weekend, also at Indiana Wesleyan, and fell to eventual champion South Bend Riley by four in the tournament.
Columbus North finished the summer season by going 1-3 in the Charlie Hughes Tournament at Carmel and Westfield. The Bull Dogs took Evansville North, which went 4-0 in the tournament, to overtime, and beat West Lafayette Harrison in their final game.
“We made a lot of progress throughout the summer,” Ferguson said. “I especially saw kind of the fruition of that growth in the Charlie Hughes Tournament. We played really well in the tournament. It was fun to see how much we had improved.”
Incoming sophomore Drew Schiefer, the team’s sixth man last season, is the lone returner with considerable varsity experience.
“Drew had a good summer for us,” Ferguson said. “He’s our most experienced player coming back. He was dealing with some injuries in June, so we didn’t have him the whole summer.”
Philip McKinley, the lone incoming senior, also played some varsity last year. Incoming sophomore Caleb Ferguson moved up to varsity at the end of the season and likely will take over the point guard role.
“Anytime you have a sophomore point guard, there’s going to be some growing pains, but he definitely gained some valuable experience,” Paul Ferguson said.
Incoming juniors Garrett Long, Nate Enneking, Max Coomes, Ben Ferguson, Nolan Pickup and Jackson Newman saw mostly JV action last season. They played varsity this summer, along with incoming sophomore Mason Acton.
“It’s a really young team,” Paul Ferguson said. “We’re really excited about continuing to work with them and seeing what the potential of this group is because there’s room for a lot more growth. We saw some of that growth this summer and are excited to see more during the year. There are going to be some growing pains, obviously, but we’re very excited about their potential.”
North’s JV team played in the varsity division of the Hauser Summer League, and the Bull Dog freshman team played in the JV league at Hauser this summer.
“We were really pleased,” Paul Ferguson said. “I felt like the summer showed us where some of our strength areas are, where are growth areas are. They’re coachable, and they’re competitive. We want to build on those and get these guys ready to play come November.”
