HS boys basketball preview: Southport has unfinished business
Kyle Simpson had watched it only twice. In June, while traveling, he pulled up the clip on his iPad and watched it. Twice.
Then the Southport basketball coach put his iPad away and didn’t watch it again — until last Wednesday. In a quiet classroom, Simpson queued up the fourth quarter of Southport’s 49-48 loss to Pike in the sectional championship last season for his team. He let it play without stopping, flipped the lights on, and the team went to practice.
“We had a good practice,” Simpson said.
In other words, consider that door closed.
The revival of Southport basketball was in full bloom last year. The Cardinals were No. 1 in Class 4A much of the season, taking that ranking into the sectional. Fans returned to the Southport Fieldhouse in droves, including a remarkable packed-house setting at the end of the regular season, when Southport knocked off then-No. 1 Evansville Reitz 88-80.
So much was accomplished. Yet even a 23-3 record felt less than satisfying in the locker room after that loss to Pike. It would have been the program’s first sectional title since 2000.
“It left a bad taste for all of us,” said 6-10 Southport senior Joey Brunk. “The big thing is not forgetting but also moving past it. It’s a new year for us to accomplish new things.”
And then there’s Pike. Two of Southport’s three losses last year came to the Red Devils, the other a four-overtime loss in the Marion County tournament semifinals. Southport also lost to Pike in overtime two years ago in the sectional championship.Is this the year for Southport? The Cardinals are the preseason Associated Press No. 1 in Class 4A. There are contenders, especially locally. Lawrence North is loaded. North Central arguably has the best player in the state in 6-8 junior Kris Wilkes. Cathedral’s backcourt is outstanding.
“They expect to win,” Simpson said of Pike. “They know how to handle those moments. We were still learning how to handle moments like that. That’s where I’d like our program to continue to grow — to be like Pike.”
When asked if he’s talked to the Pike players since the sectional game, Brunk jokes that he’s “been trying to stay away from those guys.” Brunk thinks those heartbreaking losses have increased Southport’s resolve.
From top to bottom, the Cardinals’ roster stacks up with any team. Brunk, a Butler recruit, averaged 16.5 points and 9 rebounds per game last season and has expanded his game to be more of threat outside of the post. Daily battles against 6-9 junior Dut Mabok have benefited both players.
ALL-USA Indy-area boys basketball preseason team
“Joey reminds me of some of the kids I had at Bloomington South (as an assistant),” Simpson said. “He’s never satisfied. It’s always a question of what he can work on. The biggest thing for him is that he’s become more versatile. He’s put himself in position to be Mr. Basketball. He knows he just has to go out and produce like Caleb Swanigan, Gary Harris, Zak Irvin and those guys. It’s not pressure. He’s welcoming this.”
Then there’s 6-3 junior Paul Scruggs, one of the nation’s top players in his class with offers from Indiana, Purdue, Illinois, Michigan State, Kansas, Wake Forest and Xavier. Scruggs, who averaged 17.3 points, 7.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists last season, was particularly hard on himself after the Pike loss last season. A couple of uncharacteristic turnovers helped to spark Pike’s fourth-quarter comeback.
“We had some bad turnovers and bad shots taken,” Scruggs said. “That night we missed some shots we should have made.”
Leading scorer Malik Bennett (18 ppg) and key reserve DeMari Davis (3.6 ppg) are gone to graduation, but the remaining supporting cast around Brunk and Scruggs should be improved. Mabok wasn’t much of a factor last season, playing only a few minutes here and there in 16 games, but he gained experience in June while Brunk was away at national events.
“He had to play,” Simpson said of Mabok. “He got all the minutes and didn’t have Joey to bail him out. It was good for him.”
HS boys basketball preview: 5 storylines for this season
Senior Luke Johnston, the Cardinals’ standout quarterback on the football team, was the team’s most efficient 3-point shooter last year (18-for-43). Kyle Williams, a 6-4 senior and Ball State football recruit, figures to play a bigger role. Eli Walton, a 6-3 senior, averaged 5.6 points and 2.3 rebounds per game last season. Junior guard Jamie Burnett (1.7 ppg) is coming off a strong summer. Junior guard Blake Evans could emerge as a difference-maker. And 6-6 junior Sergiey Slaughter, a transfer from Triton Central, will be a factor.
In something of an oddity for a school its size, nine of Southport’s top 12 players also play football.
“Because we have so many guys playing football, our chemistry is higher than it’s been here,” Johnston said. “We know how to help each other out, and we also know how to push each other’s buttons and frustrate each other in practice.”
Simpson said he’s going to enjoy the journey more than he did last year.
“I think last year I got wrapped up in fearing to fail,” he said. “I didn’t want to let everybody down. We had all these people coming back to the fieldhouse, and I didn’t enjoy it as much as I should have.”
As for that Pike loss — it’s finished. Simpson draws a comparison to the recently defeated UFC fighter Ronda Rousey.
“I saw ESPN put out a tweet that said her career will be defined by what happens next,” he said. “I told our guys that, in a way, that’s like us. We were limping out of Perry’s gym after we got beat. No. 1 got beat. But we put that behind us now. We accomplished some great things last year. We’re going to have fun this year.”
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649. Follow him on Twitter: @KyleNeddenriep.
MORE BOYS BASKETBALL PREVIEW:
• 5 storylines heading into the season
• Top 30 players in Central Indiana to watch
• Kyle Neddenriep's preseason Fab 15