Tickets for the Bloomington basketball sectional tourney at South are on sale at the schools. Season tickets are $10.
The tournament opens Tuesday, with Columbus East playing East Central. On Friday, South hosts North at 6 p.m., and Columbus North will play the East-East Central winner in the second game. The championship game is Saturday night.
Fans are urged to get their tickets as soon as possible. With South and North playing each other on Friday the gym may be sold out.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
Four years have gone fast, and well, for Davis
By Rex Kirts
Dee Davis "usually starts laughing" when he watches the tapes of him in action.
It's not the reaction South basketball fans experience. With them it's an amazed look and wonderment at how in the world he makes all those shakes-and-bakes.
"It's just stuff I work on and think about the next time I can use it," he said.
So now we know - he does plan some of that stuff. From the stands it
Dee Davis "usually starts laughing" when he watches the tapes of him in action.
It's not the reaction South basketball fans experience. With them it's an amazed look and wonderment at how in the world he makes all those shakes-and-bakes.
"It's just stuff I work on and think about the next time I can use it," he said.
So now we know - he does plan some of that stuff. From the stands it
Dee Davis
all looks like completely unrehearsed moves, reactions from what the defense does, something he was born with.
There's one particular move that brings derisive comments from his teammates.
"When I flop," Davis smiled. That's normally on 3-point shots.
"Spencer, everybody comments. I'm more dramatic with it. I've been voted the best actor of the night," he laughed.
Spencer Turner shouldn't really be giving Davis grief because Turner is pretty substantial with the drama on the flop himself.
WHATEVER MOVES Davis is making, Bloomington basketball fans who haven't seen him should do so soon because his sparkling high school career is just about over. Then it's off to Xavier University in Cincinnati for basketball and studying sports administration.
"Time goes fast," Davis said. "It feels like last year we won state."
It was two years ago, and Davis was voted the Most Valuable Player in unbeaten South's championship game victory over Fort Wayne Snider.
It was not his first MVP award. That came with his nine-year-old baseball team. He is not, however, planning a return to the diamond this spring.
Davis said he's enjoying his senior season "a lot," and it's been his best statistically. He's averaging 22.1 points a game and has moved up to sixth in Monroe County's all-time career scoring list with 1,441 going into Thursday night's regular season finale at Decatur Central.
Leading the county in boys' scoring is Garrett Butcher of Edgewood with 1,820, followed by Sean May of North with 1,664, Jon Holmes of South with 1,536, Duany Duany of North with 1,532 and Chris Lawson of South with 1,481.
ONLY THREE SOUTH players have averaged more than 20 points in a season. Lawson tops the list at 26.6 in 1988-89. Chris Brand averaged 20.6 in 1990-91 and Chris Miskel 20.5 in 1991-92.
"I knew I had to step up the scoring, me and Spencer," Davis said. "J.R. said I had to be more selfish."
Well, selfish isn't exactly what was meant. More aggressive offensively is a better description.
And Davis has accomplished that. Always a great penetrator, he's become more of a 3-point threat this year.
"After the state game J.R. told me I had to shoot better and we'd have a better relationship," Davis laughed. I thought about that when I was shooting 50 per cent at one point this season (he's at 47 now)."
His 3-point improvement didn't just happen, either. It's the result of a great deal of practice in the summer. There's a mechanical device called "the gun," which collects shots and shoots them back out to the shooters. Davis became real familiar with it.
"I USED IT A LOT," he said. "Five hundred to a 1,000 shots every day. Three thousand one day."
Good Lord! Three thousand!
He's been sick lately, so his 3 wasn't falling. No legs. That's OK, Davis just turned to his driving. Last Saturday against LaPorte LaLumiere, which started a 7-foot center and 6-9 forward, he took the ball right at them. Go left, go right, spin and lay the ball up soft as a cotton ball. What a show, way worth more than the price of admission.
And afterwards the 6-foot Davis wanted to know how many rebounds he had (six).
"I was trying to get 10 rebounds. I wanted to go two nights with a double-double," he grinned. He had 13 points and 11 rebounds the night before at Perry Meridian, a Panther win that meant their fourth straight Conference Indiana championship.
Davis started at North as a freshman and transferred to South as a sophomore. Holmes put him into the starting lineup immediately.
"He gave me a lot of structure," Davis said of the veteran Panther coach. "He gave me the chance to run the team, let me make decisions on the court, gave me the freedom."
It's worked out real well.
Two Davis stories:
Story one: Dee took his little sister, Dominique, to South's football game at North last fall. Now, some guys might not feel comfortable taking their little sister to a game like that, but Dee doesn't.
"I don't mind," he said. "She's the coolest person I know."
Story two: The Panthers attended a big IHSAA function last year that celebrated 100 years of Indiana high school basketball. Dee and Turner went up to Oscar Robertson, probably the greatest player in the state's history after leading the 1956 Indianapolis Crispus Attucks team to the state title.
"We asked for his autograph, and he snapped at me and Spencer for asking," Dee said. The Big O walked away without giving his autograph.
There's one particular move that brings derisive comments from his teammates.
"When I flop," Davis smiled. That's normally on 3-point shots.
"Spencer, everybody comments. I'm more dramatic with it. I've been voted the best actor of the night," he laughed.
Spencer Turner shouldn't really be giving Davis grief because Turner is pretty substantial with the drama on the flop himself.
WHATEVER MOVES Davis is making, Bloomington basketball fans who haven't seen him should do so soon because his sparkling high school career is just about over. Then it's off to Xavier University in Cincinnati for basketball and studying sports administration.
"Time goes fast," Davis said. "It feels like last year we won state."
It was two years ago, and Davis was voted the Most Valuable Player in unbeaten South's championship game victory over Fort Wayne Snider.
It was not his first MVP award. That came with his nine-year-old baseball team. He is not, however, planning a return to the diamond this spring.
Davis said he's enjoying his senior season "a lot," and it's been his best statistically. He's averaging 22.1 points a game and has moved up to sixth in Monroe County's all-time career scoring list with 1,441 going into Thursday night's regular season finale at Decatur Central.
Leading the county in boys' scoring is Garrett Butcher of Edgewood with 1,820, followed by Sean May of North with 1,664, Jon Holmes of South with 1,536, Duany Duany of North with 1,532 and Chris Lawson of South with 1,481.
ONLY THREE SOUTH players have averaged more than 20 points in a season. Lawson tops the list at 26.6 in 1988-89. Chris Brand averaged 20.6 in 1990-91 and Chris Miskel 20.5 in 1991-92.
"I knew I had to step up the scoring, me and Spencer," Davis said. "J.R. said I had to be more selfish."
Well, selfish isn't exactly what was meant. More aggressive offensively is a better description.
And Davis has accomplished that. Always a great penetrator, he's become more of a 3-point threat this year.
"After the state game J.R. told me I had to shoot better and we'd have a better relationship," Davis laughed. I thought about that when I was shooting 50 per cent at one point this season (he's at 47 now)."
His 3-point improvement didn't just happen, either. It's the result of a great deal of practice in the summer. There's a mechanical device called "the gun," which collects shots and shoots them back out to the shooters. Davis became real familiar with it.
"I USED IT A LOT," he said. "Five hundred to a 1,000 shots every day. Three thousand one day."
Good Lord! Three thousand!
He's been sick lately, so his 3 wasn't falling. No legs. That's OK, Davis just turned to his driving. Last Saturday against LaPorte LaLumiere, which started a 7-foot center and 6-9 forward, he took the ball right at them. Go left, go right, spin and lay the ball up soft as a cotton ball. What a show, way worth more than the price of admission.
And afterwards the 6-foot Davis wanted to know how many rebounds he had (six).
"I was trying to get 10 rebounds. I wanted to go two nights with a double-double," he grinned. He had 13 points and 11 rebounds the night before at Perry Meridian, a Panther win that meant their fourth straight Conference Indiana championship.
Davis started at North as a freshman and transferred to South as a sophomore. Holmes put him into the starting lineup immediately.
"He gave me a lot of structure," Davis said of the veteran Panther coach. "He gave me the chance to run the team, let me make decisions on the court, gave me the freedom."
It's worked out real well.
Two Davis stories:
Story one: Dee took his little sister, Dominique, to South's football game at North last fall. Now, some guys might not feel comfortable taking their little sister to a game like that, but Dee doesn't.
"I don't mind," he said. "She's the coolest person I know."
Story two: The Panthers attended a big IHSAA function last year that celebrated 100 years of Indiana high school basketball. Dee and Turner went up to Oscar Robertson, probably the greatest player in the state's history after leading the 1956 Indianapolis Crispus Attucks team to the state title.
"We asked for his autograph, and he snapped at me and Spencer for asking," Dee said. The Big O walked away without giving his autograph.
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Coaching, contributions from everyone beat LaLumiere
By Rex Kirts
There's a reason why J.R. Holmes has won more than 600 games in his career, and it showed Saturday afternoon against LaPorte LaLumiere.
He can coach.
He works awful hard. He prepares his teams well, and they work well together and play hard and smart.
And it helps to have players like Dee Davis, Spencer Turner, Joey Forney, Desmond Marks and Ben Stowell (the all-senior starting lineup), with junior Michael Bower coming off the bench. None have ever lost a varsity game at home.
They ate up basketball factory LaLumiere's tall bunch, 56-48, before a nearly full house that included lots of IU people interested in seeing recruit Hanner Perea.
The Hoosier group didn't see much to be encouraged about because the 6-4 Forney defended the 6-9 Perea out of the gym, holding the Colombian junior to four points.
MARKS WAS ON the other big man, 7-0 junior Obij Aget, and held him to four points.
Junior guard Bobo Drummond came in highly touted, but he didn't accomplish much against the combined defensive effort of Stowell and Davis, hitting just 2 of 11 shots.
South, said LaLumiere coach Alan Huss, was better prepared and better coached and out-toughed his team. South was the more physical team and hustled more, getting most of the loose balls, and committed few turnovers.
LaLumiere, which is not an IHSAA member and recruits players internationally, had won 15 in a row and South came into the game wore out from two weeks of illness and a hard game at Perry Meridian Friday night. The Panthers were totally gassed in the fourth quarter and made some turnovers but hung on.
They actually dominated the game much more than the score indicates. They didn't shoot well (.396), however, so a ton of missed layups kept the margin from being about 20 points.
LaLumiere didn't shoot well, either (.422). Nor was LaLumiere interested in playing a whole lot of defense. In fact, LaLumiere didn't even look too interested in playing the game.
South's defense might have had something to do with LaLumiere's flatness offensively. And the penetrating of the dynamic Davis certainly had something to do with LaLumiere not being effective defensively.
DAVIS, WHOSE outside shooting was off, charged into the long arms of the 7-0 Aget and 6-9 Perea and shot layup after layup to score 16 points. Turner had 18, including several free throws down the stretch.
And look at this remarkable stat: rebounds, South 31-27.
Marks had eight rebounds, Forney and Davis six, Turner five, Stowell four and Bower two. Bower didn't play a lot but made a couple of big plays, including a steal and keeping a ball alive that resulted in a layup for Turner.
A key for the Panthers (19-2) coming in was keeping LaLumiere away from the offensive boards. And they succeeded in limiting the tall visitors to just four offensive rebounds.
"I had fun," Marks said. "I've played them in AAU, so nothing was different.
"I knew I had to keep the 7-footer and Hanner off the boards and keep them from dunking. They got only one dunk, and that came on a fast break."
Forney worked on Perea pretty good.
"I just did the same thing as I did against Hollowell," Forney said. "I got under him and tried to make him uncomfortable."
FORNEY LIMITED Jeremy Hollowell of Lawrence Central to five points and Perea to four. Those are two major college recruits, three and five inches taller than Forney, who got a total of nine points against him. That's a life-long memory.
"I thought our defense was great all night long," Holmes said, speaking not just of Forney but the whole team.
Forney, and the other Panthers, were mystified that LaLumiere didn't get the ball inside more to the big men and mystified at the Lakers' demeanor.
"I think they were kind of star-struck by Indiana basketball and our fans," he said.
In addition to his defense, Forney hit a big 3-point shot and two big free throws in the fourth quarter.
Several of the Panthers have been sick lately, including Davis. He hasn't had his legs, and his 3-point shot isn't falling.
"I'VE HAD THE FLU," Davis said. "Tonight we had a lot of adrenalin at the start."
Davis' attacking the big men off the dribble was highlight stuff, as usual. He was cradling the ball and then getting it over them. "I practice that," he said.
"I played with these guys in AAU," Davis added. "They were just being nice to me and not blocking my shot.
"I think we just came out and played hard. We had a lot of momentum going into this game, after winning the conference." The win at Perry Meridian gave South the Conference Indiana title four straight years, this year sharing it with Franklin Central, which beat Pike on Friday.
Davis, all (listed) 6-feet of him, asked, "How many rebounds did I have?" It was six, after getting 11 at Perry Meridian. That means, despite being sick, he's still hustling.
TURNER SAID the game, "was a lot of fun." It was Senior Night and the last regular season home game of his career, although South will host the sectional.
"It came fast, four years," Turner said. "I haven't lost a game here. I've been so blessed to have the coaching staff I have."
While other Panthers started slowly shooting the ball, Stowell picked up the slack with a couple of 3-balls. Another one who's been battlling the flu, he finished with seven points.
"I thought we didn't play well for a long stretch but kept fighting and hit our shots when we had to," Stowell said. "Other than 4 (No. 4, point guard Aaron Emanuel, the only Laker in double figure scoring with 14 points) they weren't attacking at all."
Holmes felt a key to holding down Perea was keeping him from getting the ball where he could drive and keeping him off the blocks. That countered all the missed Panther layups
HOLMES HAS ENJOYED bringing in, and beating, high profile teams the last three years, Detroit Country Day and Lexington Catholic before LaLumiere. Now he's hoping for the 20th win this year when the Panthers close out the regular season Thursday at Decatur Central.
"It's an opportunity for 20 wins in the regular season. That's huge," Holmes said.
There's a reason why J.R. Holmes has won more than 600 games in his career, and it showed Saturday afternoon against LaPorte LaLumiere.
He can coach.
He works awful hard. He prepares his teams well, and they work well together and play hard and smart.
And it helps to have players like Dee Davis, Spencer Turner, Joey Forney, Desmond Marks and Ben Stowell (the all-senior starting lineup), with junior Michael Bower coming off the bench. None have ever lost a varsity game at home.
They ate up basketball factory LaLumiere's tall bunch, 56-48, before a nearly full house that included lots of IU people interested in seeing recruit Hanner Perea.
The Hoosier group didn't see much to be encouraged about because the 6-4 Forney defended the 6-9 Perea out of the gym, holding the Colombian junior to four points.
MARKS WAS ON the other big man, 7-0 junior Obij Aget, and held him to four points.
Junior guard Bobo Drummond came in highly touted, but he didn't accomplish much against the combined defensive effort of Stowell and Davis, hitting just 2 of 11 shots.
South, said LaLumiere coach Alan Huss, was better prepared and better coached and out-toughed his team. South was the more physical team and hustled more, getting most of the loose balls, and committed few turnovers.
LaLumiere, which is not an IHSAA member and recruits players internationally, had won 15 in a row and South came into the game wore out from two weeks of illness and a hard game at Perry Meridian Friday night. The Panthers were totally gassed in the fourth quarter and made some turnovers but hung on.
They actually dominated the game much more than the score indicates. They didn't shoot well (.396), however, so a ton of missed layups kept the margin from being about 20 points.
LaLumiere didn't shoot well, either (.422). Nor was LaLumiere interested in playing a whole lot of defense. In fact, LaLumiere didn't even look too interested in playing the game.
South's defense might have had something to do with LaLumiere's flatness offensively. And the penetrating of the dynamic Davis certainly had something to do with LaLumiere not being effective defensively.
DAVIS, WHOSE outside shooting was off, charged into the long arms of the 7-0 Aget and 6-9 Perea and shot layup after layup to score 16 points. Turner had 18, including several free throws down the stretch.
And look at this remarkable stat: rebounds, South 31-27.
Marks had eight rebounds, Forney and Davis six, Turner five, Stowell four and Bower two. Bower didn't play a lot but made a couple of big plays, including a steal and keeping a ball alive that resulted in a layup for Turner.
A key for the Panthers (19-2) coming in was keeping LaLumiere away from the offensive boards. And they succeeded in limiting the tall visitors to just four offensive rebounds.
"I had fun," Marks said. "I've played them in AAU, so nothing was different.
"I knew I had to keep the 7-footer and Hanner off the boards and keep them from dunking. They got only one dunk, and that came on a fast break."
Forney worked on Perea pretty good.
"I just did the same thing as I did against Hollowell," Forney said. "I got under him and tried to make him uncomfortable."
FORNEY LIMITED Jeremy Hollowell of Lawrence Central to five points and Perea to four. Those are two major college recruits, three and five inches taller than Forney, who got a total of nine points against him. That's a life-long memory.
"I thought our defense was great all night long," Holmes said, speaking not just of Forney but the whole team.
Forney, and the other Panthers, were mystified that LaLumiere didn't get the ball inside more to the big men and mystified at the Lakers' demeanor.
"I think they were kind of star-struck by Indiana basketball and our fans," he said.
In addition to his defense, Forney hit a big 3-point shot and two big free throws in the fourth quarter.
Several of the Panthers have been sick lately, including Davis. He hasn't had his legs, and his 3-point shot isn't falling.
"I'VE HAD THE FLU," Davis said. "Tonight we had a lot of adrenalin at the start."
Davis' attacking the big men off the dribble was highlight stuff, as usual. He was cradling the ball and then getting it over them. "I practice that," he said.
"I played with these guys in AAU," Davis added. "They were just being nice to me and not blocking my shot.
"I think we just came out and played hard. We had a lot of momentum going into this game, after winning the conference." The win at Perry Meridian gave South the Conference Indiana title four straight years, this year sharing it with Franklin Central, which beat Pike on Friday.
Davis, all (listed) 6-feet of him, asked, "How many rebounds did I have?" It was six, after getting 11 at Perry Meridian. That means, despite being sick, he's still hustling.
TURNER SAID the game, "was a lot of fun." It was Senior Night and the last regular season home game of his career, although South will host the sectional.
"It came fast, four years," Turner said. "I haven't lost a game here. I've been so blessed to have the coaching staff I have."
While other Panthers started slowly shooting the ball, Stowell picked up the slack with a couple of 3-balls. Another one who's been battlling the flu, he finished with seven points.
"I thought we didn't play well for a long stretch but kept fighting and hit our shots when we had to," Stowell said. "Other than 4 (No. 4, point guard Aaron Emanuel, the only Laker in double figure scoring with 14 points) they weren't attacking at all."
Holmes felt a key to holding down Perea was keeping him from getting the ball where he could drive and keeping him off the blocks. That countered all the missed Panther layups
HOLMES HAS ENJOYED bringing in, and beating, high profile teams the last three years, Detroit Country Day and Lexington Catholic before LaLumiere. Now he's hoping for the 20th win this year when the Panthers close out the regular season Thursday at Decatur Central.
"It's an opportunity for 20 wins in the regular season. That's huge," Holmes said.
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
After years of work, shooting starts with confidence
By Rex Kirts
There's no doubt at all in Spencer Turner's mind that shooting begins with confidence.
But that confidence starts building with a tremendous work ethic that includes a lot of shooting.
Five years ago South coach J.R. Holmes said the best shooter in town might be a kid in middle school named Spencer Turner. At the time, Holmes had a pretty good sophomore shooter named Jordy Hulls, who went on to perform many fine feats and become Mr. Basketball.
There's no doubt at all in Spencer Turner's mind that shooting begins with confidence.
But that confidence starts building with a tremendous work ethic that includes a lot of shooting.
Five years ago South coach J.R. Holmes said the best shooter in town might be a kid in middle school named Spencer Turner. At the time, Holmes had a pretty good sophomore shooter named Jordy Hulls, who went on to perform many fine feats and become Mr. Basketball.
Spencer Turner
Turner stepped onto the court at South and became a four-year varsity player and one of the school's best long-range shooters ever, with a ball so high-arching that it silences the gym until it collides with net or iron.
This season season has had some downs as well as ups for Turner, who is shooting 36 per cent on 3s compared to 40 last year, 46 per cent during the state championship year and 43 per cent as a freshman. A lot of the downturn can be traced to just a couple of games, however. Lately the 6-4 senior has been back on target.
"Once you miss three or four it's almost like you've forgot how to hit a shot," said Turner. "The basket gets smaller. But I try to stay positive.
"SHOOTING ALL STARTS with confidence," Turner said. "The guys around me, Dee (Davis) is always picking me up and telling me to shoot the ball. And Joey (Forney). It's all in your head." It's been a positive season for the 6-4 senior and 17-2 Panthers. He's second on the team in scoring to Davis with a career high average of 16 points a game, is second on the team in rebounding to Desmond Marks and second in assists to Davis.
Turner and Davis were the obvious two for opponents to concentrate their defense on this year, but he said he's not being defended differently.
"We saw a lot of triangle-and-2 last year but not much this year. I think we'll see it in the sectional," he said. "When they do that, trailing you and face-guarding you, you almost have to become a screener to get open shots for other guys. You've got to screen hard and screen well.'
If the triangle shows up, that should mean good looks for Ben Stowell, Marks and Forney. All have shown the ability to take advantage of such opportunities.
During the pre-season Holmes said this is one of the toughest schedule he's ever had. That's OK with Turner.
"I DEFINITELY GET UP for some teams more than others," he said. "You've got to get up for someone like Center Grove. I think the stats show I play tougher against better teams."
He slumped in the Hall of Fame loss to Center Grove but bounced back for a 24-point night in the winning rematch meeting last week.
Center Grove is one of the "pothole" games Holmes has highlighted for this season.
"We wanted to fill the potholes on the white board," Turner smiled. The Panthers just finished a three-game homestand with a Conference Indiana win over Columbus North, the rematch win over Center Grove and a victory over a talented Warren Central team.
This weekend is a challenge, too. They can win the conference championship Friday at Perry Meridian and on Saturday afternoon host LaPorte LaLumiere and IU recruit Hanner Perea.
Few players enjoy practice as much as Turner, and he likes to joke around. But he's totally serious at game time.
And he's still waiting to see what happens when everyone hits their stride at the same time.
"I don't think we've reached our peak yet," he said.
Turner stepped onto the court at South and became a four-year varsity player and one of the school's best long-range shooters ever, with a ball so high-arching that it silences the gym until it collides with net or iron.
This season season has had some downs as well as ups for Turner, who is shooting 36 per cent on 3s compared to 40 last year, 46 per cent during the state championship year and 43 per cent as a freshman. A lot of the downturn can be traced to just a couple of games, however. Lately the 6-4 senior has been back on target.
"Once you miss three or four it's almost like you've forgot how to hit a shot," said Turner. "The basket gets smaller. But I try to stay positive.
"SHOOTING ALL STARTS with confidence," Turner said. "The guys around me, Dee (Davis) is always picking me up and telling me to shoot the ball. And Joey (Forney). It's all in your head." It's been a positive season for the 6-4 senior and 17-2 Panthers. He's second on the team in scoring to Davis with a career high average of 16 points a game, is second on the team in rebounding to Desmond Marks and second in assists to Davis.
Turner and Davis were the obvious two for opponents to concentrate their defense on this year, but he said he's not being defended differently.
"We saw a lot of triangle-and-2 last year but not much this year. I think we'll see it in the sectional," he said. "When they do that, trailing you and face-guarding you, you almost have to become a screener to get open shots for other guys. You've got to screen hard and screen well.'
If the triangle shows up, that should mean good looks for Ben Stowell, Marks and Forney. All have shown the ability to take advantage of such opportunities.
During the pre-season Holmes said this is one of the toughest schedule he's ever had. That's OK with Turner.
"I DEFINITELY GET UP for some teams more than others," he said. "You've got to get up for someone like Center Grove. I think the stats show I play tougher against better teams."
He slumped in the Hall of Fame loss to Center Grove but bounced back for a 24-point night in the winning rematch meeting last week.
Center Grove is one of the "pothole" games Holmes has highlighted for this season.
"We wanted to fill the potholes on the white board," Turner smiled. The Panthers just finished a three-game homestand with a Conference Indiana win over Columbus North, the rematch win over Center Grove and a victory over a talented Warren Central team.
This weekend is a challenge, too. They can win the conference championship Friday at Perry Meridian and on Saturday afternoon host LaPorte LaLumiere and IU recruit Hanner Perea.
Few players enjoy practice as much as Turner, and he likes to joke around. But he's totally serious at game time.
And he's still waiting to see what happens when everyone hits their stride at the same time.
"I don't think we've reached our peak yet," he said.
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Determination, strong work ethic worked for Kaila, too
By Rex Kirts
Kaila Hulls knew a long time ago, from watching older brother Jordy, what she wanted to do.
"I always wanted to be like Jordan," she said Monday. "He's the reason I work so hard after practice and want to get better all the time."
Jordy, a sophomore at IU and becoming more of the leader on the team every game, helped South win the state basketball championship and became Mr. Basketball.
A four-year starter, Kaila has made her youthful goal come true and is creating her own outstanding career. With 1,320 points going into the regular season finale against Bedford North Lawrence she is only six points shy of tying Cyndi Valentin for second place on the all-time Panther record set by Beth Morgan.
Kaila Hulls knew a long time ago, from watching older brother Jordy, what she wanted to do.
"I always wanted to be like Jordan," she said Monday. "He's the reason I work so hard after practice and want to get better all the time."
Jordy, a sophomore at IU and becoming more of the leader on the team every game, helped South win the state basketball championship and became Mr. Basketball.
A four-year starter, Kaila has made her youthful goal come true and is creating her own outstanding career. With 1,320 points going into the regular season finale against Bedford North Lawrence she is only six points shy of tying Cyndi Valentin for second place on the all-time Panther record set by Beth Morgan.
Kaila Hulls
This year Hulls is averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds for the Conference Indiana champions.
"SHE'S A GYM RAT," coach Larry Winters said. "She made up her mind early that she wanted to be a basketball player."
The 5-11 Hulls might have excelled at other sports, too, such as softball. In her early years she played first base on a baseball team and made the all-stars.
Her mom, Joni, a former player herself and a South assistant coach, said, "Kaila is very competitive, like Jordan. She's very much a perfectionist and doesn't want to make mistakes. She's very focused and very disciplined."
Kaila's workout regimen has been structured a lot by her father, J.C., another outstanding player in his high school days.
"Before the season I shot a lot in the gym on my spot shooting," she said. "After school I work on my conditioning, doing something different every day, and shoot after that.
"Dad has helped a lot, with everything I need to know. He's taught me there's always room to improve."
WITH GROWTH and a lot of work in the weight room Kaila has trimmed out. She's strong and quicker than last year.
"I've worked on defense and to get faster," she said. "I still need to work on that."
Winters knew was inheriting a good thing four years ago and has seen her get better.
"Kaila's understanding has always been above most," Winters said. "Her progression this year has come on the defensive end of the floor as well as her patience offensively. She doesn't rush it any more on offense.
"She's still got to work on her quickness (for playing in college at Bowling Green in Ohio), but she'll work in it because she knows that's what she has to do."
The Panthers have had good success this season even after losing another Division I player, Jessica Parker, to graduation. And they've been successful without having to change Hulls' role.
"KAILA'S ROLE hasn't changed, but she's picked up what the team needs," Winters said. "We lost Jessica and Morgan Woodruff, and Kaila's rebounds went up from seven to 10."
Hulls is driven by the love of the game and the desire to be successful like Jordy. Her goals this year included winning the conference, and that's been done, and to win sectional and regional and get a crack at state champion Ben Davis in the semistate. First up in the sectional is Columbus East, which the Panthers barely beat last week at South.
"We were a little shaky against East. It was just crazy," Hulls said. "We beat them by 30 in the summer. We just didn't play very well (last week). I think we'll be a lot more focused in the sectional."
The Panthers drew East in the short bracket in the sectional. The game will be Friday, Feb. 11 at East Central.
A 4.0 student, Hulls wants to study pharmacy. Bowling Green doesn't have a pharmacy school, so she's thinking of attending Purdue after Bowling Green. In between colleges she may try to play basketball professionally in Europe.
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