Columbus North’s Cooper Horn shoots over Terre Haute North’s Chris Owens in Memorial Gymnasium at Columbus North High School.
The Republic file photo
Columbus North is thinking big this season.
With the new boys basketball sectional alignments coming out earlier this year, the Bull Dogs won’t have to go through the two Bloomington schools in order to capture the title that’s been eluding them for a decade.
North coach Paul Ferguson has plenty of talent returning, but still has some shoes to fill in certain spots.
Cooper Horn, a 6-foot-3 senior, will be one of the top players that the team needs in order to have success. His senior classmates in guards Ty Ferguson, Luke Harmon, Tyler Blythe and forwards Damon Edwards and Zac Horn will see plenty of significant varsity minutes this year.
The Bull Dogs lost their leading scorer (15.6 ppg) and rebounder (6.2 rpg) last year in The Republic Boys Basketball Player of the Year Sam King, who is now a preferred walk-on at Purdue. North’s only returning player that averaged double-digits last year was Cooper Horn at 14 ppg.
Columbus North’s Ty Ferguson sets up to shoot a free throw during a basketball game between Columbus North and Perry Meridian at Columbus North High School in Columbus, Ind., Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022.
The Republic file photo
Columbus North’s Luke Harmon, right, dribble while guarded by Perry Meridian’s Wes Vanek during a basketball game at Columbus North High School in Columbus, Ind., Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022.
The Republic file photo
Paul Ferguson said the Bull Dogs will have to try to find ways to rebound the ball better without the presence of King in the middle.
“A big part of it is rebounding by committee. We do feel like we will play a decent amount of zone again this year to help offset some of the size limitations we have,” Ferguson said. “At the same time, we‘ve got a lot of seniors that are physically put together and strong… Even though we don’t have a lot of height, we’ll make up for it for the physicality and quickness.”
One of the biggest risers that has caught the eyes of Ferguson is 6-4 freshman Drew Schiefer, who played football this fall. He will see lots of varsity time and has the size to challenge for boards in the paint. Juniors Phillip McKinley and Blake Osbourne also will be a part of the varsity rotation. Ferguson added that sophomore JV players Nate Enneking, Max Coomes and Garrett Long also could work their way onto varsity at any point during the season.
“When we need (Schiefer) to get a rebound, he can go get a rebound. He’s a very good rebounder. He’s going to add some bulk in the middle for us,” Ferguson said. “He’s going to be a big part in what we’re doing. He gives us post presence and gives us a lot of rebounding down there. He’s easy to play with and has a high basketball IQ. He learns things very quickly.
“For us to be successful, we have to be able to pressure teams. If we get caught in a half-court game the entire time, especially with a team that has some size, we’re going to struggle. We have to be able to use our quickness and athleticism,” he added. “Although we don’t have a lot of size, we’re quick, we’re athletic and we’re smart. Those are traits we can build on. Having depth to be able to run guys and have fresh legs is crucial for us.”
Last year as a team, the Bull Dogs shot 33% from 3-point range and 73% from the free-throw line. Even though the team has to improve shooting the basketball, Ferguson said it needs to find more ways to attack at the rim this year.
“We’ve got to drive it there, we’ve got to pass it there and we’ve got to rebound it there. I would say that we need to shoot more free throws in a game than 3s in order for us to be successful this year. When you’ve got Cooper and Ty and Luke and Tyler, we’re going to make 3-point shots. We’re a good outside shooting team and we saw that this summer, but we don’t want to fall in the mentality of chucking a bunch of 3s. Outside of Drew, we don’t necessarily have that post presence. We’ve got to find ways to get it into the paint other ways than just posting up.”
The Bull Dogs open the season with the first four games on the road, with three coming in a span of five days. They open Nov. 22 at Heritage Christian, then travel to Jennings County the day after Thanksgiving on Nov. 25 and end the week at Seymour on Nov. 26.
The new sectional alignment puts North in a sectional with Columbus East, Shelbyville, East Central, Whiteland and Franklin. The Bull Dogs, who will host the sectional, are optimistic to claim their first sectional crown since 2013, but Ferguson cautions there is plenty of work that still needs to be done.
“We had a couple teams that would have had a chance in a different sectional. We were close a few times, but we bumped into some good teams from Bloomington South and Bloomington North. We were excited about the realignment. At the same time, it’s still going to be a challenging sectional. I love the fact that we’re hosting it the first year. We’re really excited about that,” Ferguson said. “The other part of it is, we don’t spend a lot of time talking about winning sectional. Do we want to win it? Absolutely. Our focus, though, is on the process and not the end result. We believe if you focus on the day-to-day stuff, the results will take care of itself.”
The 2022-23 Columbus North boys basketball schedule:
Nov. 22;at Heritage Christian;7:30 p.m.
Nov. 25;at Jennings County;7:30 p.m.
Nov. 26;at Seymour;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 2;at Silver Creek;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 3;Martinsville;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 10;Greenwood;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 16;Columbus East;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 17;at Scottsburg;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 21;Terre Haute South;8 p.m.
Dec. 27-28;at Noblesville Tournament;TBA
Jan. 6;at Terre Haute North;8 p.m.
Jan. 13;Mooresville;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 17;Roncalli;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 21;at Perry Meridian;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 27;Southport;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 4;at East Central;2:30 p.m.
Feb. 10;at Bloomington South;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 17;Bloomington North;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 18;at Franklin;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 23;at Center Grove;7:30 p.m.
