Basketball season is almost here
And then there was one.
One team is still alive in the postseason - the Linton-Stockton Miner football team. All the other area teams have completed postseason play in their respective sports.
With all the buzz associated with Linton football - could this be the year the Miners finally make it to Lucas Oil stadium? - it's hard to believe basketball season is just around the corner.
In fact, girls basketball gets underway this week. White River Valley tipped off the season hosting South Knox Tuesday. Shakamak travels to West Vigo Thursday and Bloomfield, Eastern Greene and Dugger Union start their seasons Saturday. Linton-Stockton opens at Eastern Greene next Tuesday.
Seems like volleyball season just ended yesterday.
What's that you say? It did just end? Yes, volleyball season just ended last Tuesday, at least for our area teams.
Travis David and I will be coming around this week to meet with area coaches and players to compile our annual basketball season previews.
Here's a "sneak preview" of our area girls basketball teams.
Most area teams return veteran groups. But there will be some familiar faces missing.
Perhaps the most notable are Greene County Daily World 2015 Co-Players of the Year Sierra Hudson of Shakamak and Allison Wininger of White River Valley.
Hudson finished her stellar career with 1,069 points. Wininger tallied 1,111 points and helped lead the Lady Wolverines to back-to-back sectional championships.
WRV's two-time defending regional finalists return three starters. Shannon Pittman will man the post and defensive stalwarts Lexi Graves and Abby Denham return for Mark Graves' Lady Wolverines.
In addition to Wininger, the Lady Wolverines bid farewell to point guard Madison Hockman. Hockman was the sparkplug that made the engine go, running the offense and spearheading the Wolverines' vaunted pressure defense.
WRV's pressure typically forced opponents into 30 turnovers a game. Will coach Graves implement a similar strategy this season?
WRV finished 19-8, losing to Jac-Cen-Del in the regional final for the second year in a row.
Shakamak returns four regulars to begin the post-Sierra Hudson era. Forwards Alyssa Garo and Diamond Hinkle, tough-as-nails Kayla Gallagher and center Kiera Samm will be counted on to provide leadership for Troy Fougerousse's Lady Laker squad.
Hinkle hit the game-winning shot to take down Clay City in the sectional semifinal, before the Lady Lakers bowed to WRV in the sectional championship. Shakamak finished 12-13.
Ron Knepp takes over the coaching reins at Bloomfield this season.
Knepp inherits a Lady Cardinal roster that has every player returning from last season's team, with one exception. Starting center Madison Toon suffered a torn ACL during volleyball season.
Knepp is familiar with his new charges, having coached against them when he was at North Daviess.
Knepp has several goals in mind for this year's team. Chief among those are winning the SWIAC and sectional championship. And the new coach wants to put a defensive-oriented team on the floor.
The starting backcourt of Marisa McIntosh and Shelby Patton return, along with forwards Emily Bucher and Meaghan Bond, super-subs Felicity Graf and Kylee Moody and freshman Malea Toon, Madison's younger sister.
The Lady Cardinals finished 11-12 last season.
Eastern Greene also returns a veteran group. Only guard Libby Tarr graduated from Zack Stevens' 13-12 Lady Thunderbird squad.
A versatile group including Amanda Butler, Lauren Miller, Miranda Blocher, Sydnee Skinner, Lindsey Sparks and Zoie Cramer returns along with center Kayla Rogers and front-court reserves Hannah Lucas and Timber Falin.
Former Shakamak standout Jared Rehmel returns for his second season at the helm of the Linton-Stockton Lady Miners.
The Lady Miners have won just 7 games the last four seasons. No seniors were on last year's roster that finished 2-21 so Rehmel should have a veteran group on hand as he works to build the program at Linton-Stockton.
Somehow it doesn't seem possible that basketball season is already here. Maybe the 70-degree weather we're enjoying this week has something to do with that.
I've often said there are only two good things about winter - Christmas and basketball season.
Terry Schwinghammer is a sports writer for the Greene County Daily World. He can be reached by telephone at (812) 847-4487, ext. 27. He can also be reached via email at tschwing32@yahoo.com.
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