High school basketball Preseason Fab 15: No. 9 Fishers

From now until the beginning of the high school boys basketball season we'll be counting down the Preseason Fab 15, a ranking of the top teams in Central Indiana. We started with No. 10 Tech, No. 11 Ben Davis, No. 12 Hamilton Southeastern, No. 13 Martinsville, No. 14 Mt. Vernon and No. 15 Pendleton Heights. Next on our list:

No. 9 – Fishers

Fishers returns two of its top three scorers and four players with starting experience from a team that won the Hoosier Crossroads Conference, knocked off North Central and nearly upset Carmel in a double-overtime sectional heartbreaker.

For the first time in coach Joe Leonard's nine years at Fishers, the program is a target.

"How will we play with a target on our back?" said Leonard, who is 91-83 at Fishers. "I've never had to answer that question. It's the first year we've won the conference. Now we're going to have to take it a step up because we're going to be the hunted. How are we going to react to that? That's something we ask them every day."

Fishers did lose a significant weapon from a 13-11 season with the graduation of leading scorer Keegan Kollmeyer (17.3 ppg, 36 percent 3-point shooter) and another starter in 6-5 Luke Wehner (7.9 ppg, 3.1 rebounds). But the Tigers bring back a strong core, led by 6-8 senior Cameron Wolter (12.3 ppg, 5.2 rebounds) and 6-5 senior Lance Dollison (10.3 ppg, 3.3 rebounds).

Wolter committed to Division I UMass-Lowell in September. Dollison is uncommitted but has interest from several Division I programs.

"With Cam, I expect to see guards throwing him the ball," Leonard said. "I know how difficult that can be with that 3-point line out there but that's what I expect. We can still run and do the things we've done. I expect Lance to have a good year. He's going to have to go inside against smaller guys. We need him to play both ends of the floor. He's a guy we can put on the other team's best player because he has the length and height. Will he buy into that?"

Other players with starting experience are 6-foot senior Zach Eaton, the starting quarterback on the football team, and 6-foot senior point guard Andre Small. Eaton (0.7 ppg, 5.4 assists) only took 23 shots from the field last year but led the team in assists. Small (5.3 ppg, 2.6 assists) is an improved player who will make an impact as a senior.

"I think we have one of the best, if not the best, center in the state in Cam Wolter," Dollison said. "He's really good. We're deep. We probably have nine or 10 guys who will play this year. I think that'll be a strength."

Reid Stephens (2.8 ppg, 1.2 assists), a 5-10 junior, is among that group. Others are 6-7 junior Joe Counts, who played entirely on the junior varsity last season, 6-2 senior Caleb Reitz, also a junior varsity player last year, and 6-4 senior Jarod Hundley. Senior guard Tyler Wolfe (2.1 ppg) also played some varsity minutes last season. Jamil Turner-Hall, a 5-10 sophomore, is a player who has impressed the veterans.

"I feel like playing together is definitely going to be a strenghth of this team," Wolter said. "If we do that, we'll be successful this year. Teams are going to be chasing us for the first time ever."

Leonard said the Tigers will have to learn how to handle adversity.

"We can be really good if we're unselfish," Leonard said. "When things get tough, will we revert to one dribble and a shot? We can't beat teams like that. If we're unselfish, we will be very good."

The goal for Fishers is the program's first sectional championship. Leonard feels like one of this team's biggest strengths – other than its size – is that he has several players with experience in big games, including last year's sectional battles with North Central and Carmel.

"That's our No. 1 goal this year," Wolter said. "That's what's on our mind. Not very many teams in our school have won a sectional so to be the first in basketball would be an amazing accomplishment."

Why Fishers could be higher: This team appears to have the size and guard play to match up with most opponents on its schedule. Wolter is one of the area's more underrated players and Dollison is capable of having a big senior season. Small and Eaton have played in a lot of big games and the inexperienced players have size.

Why Fishers could be lower: Kollmeyer will be missed. Take away the 3-point shooting of Kollmeyer and Wehner and the rest of the team shot less than 31 percent from the arc last year.

Circle the date: Dec. 18, at Hamilton Southeastern. Fishers beat HSE last year to end a six-game losing streak to the Royals.