All-County team: Boys basketball

A great athlete like Tayven Jackson can pick up just about anything and make it look easy. Throwing 70-yard touchdown passes at Lucas Oil Stadium? Check. Hammering golf balls close to 300 yards and shooting in the 70s on championship-level courses? <em>Nema problema.</em>

Center Grove basketball coach Zach Hahn got to reap the benefits of those talents this winter.

Jackson, who quarterbacked the Trojans’ football team to a perfect season and a Class 6A state championship, proved to be just as proficient on the hardwood. The junior was at his biggest in the biggest moments while leading Center Grove to county and sectional titles — and he is the Daily Journal’s Player of the Year.

Though Jackson plans to stick to football in college, Hahn believes he’d have just as bright of a future on the court had he chosen put his focus on it.

"He’s a Division I basketball player. He’s so freaking talented," Hahn said. "If he ever got to work on his game for those six months that (Lawrence North’s) Shamar Avance and C.J. Gunn and some of those guys are getting, I think he’s better than all of those guys. I do.

"He’s more all-around than probably any player I’ve had. It just took him two years to play the way we want him to play — but he did that this year."

Jackson’s overall numbers — 12.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game — don’t leap off the page, but when the Trojans needed someone to step up and be the best player on the floor, he was That Guy.

He delivered a momentum-shifting three-point play in the county title game at Greenwood, and he hit a pair of long buzzer-beating 3-pointers to help the Trojans survive sectional nail-biters against Franklin Central and the Woodmen.

Jackson averaged 17.3 points on 56% shooting against MIC opponents. The tougher the competition, the more important the moment, the better Jackson was.

Talent has never been a question for Jackson, who saw a good deal of varsity action as a freshman (and hit a game-winning 3 against Cathedral). But his sophomore season was a bumpy ride — a combination, he says, of having to devote more time to football and still having some more growing up to do.

"Freshman and sophomore year, I struggled with my attitude a lot," Jackson said. "I was so competitive in everything I did, and I let my emotions get the best of me.

"I was trying to be someone that I wasn’t."

He seems to have found his identity. Jackson was the picture of cool under center during the fall, and that newfound maturity carried over into basketball season and translated into All-MIC recognition as well as the aforementioned team accomplishments.

At the same time, he’s piled up more than 30 Division I scholarship offers for football, settling into his own lane and silencing the derisive chants he had heard in opposing gyms last winter as he struggled and older brother Trayce Jackson-Davis emerged as a star at Indiana University.

"When Trayce kind of took off, that put him in the back seat a little bit," Hahn explained. "I think it just took him a year of settling down, getting some offers, people showing him respect and him earning it, and he just — I couldn’t be more proud of what he did this year as a player."

The question going forward is whether Jackson will have the chance to build on his growth as a basketball player. He’s considering the option of graduating from Center Grove a semester early and enrolling next spring at whichever college he chooses to play football at.

Should he go that route, his days of hooping for the Trojans would be over.

"I have a big decision coming up, and I just have to listen to my heart and my family and do what’s best for me," Jackson said.

If he does end up going that route, Jackson ended his basketball career in style. He not only showcased the athletic ability that has made Hahn and so many others rave, but he harnessed it and used it to maximum effect.

"He’s a natural, but he works at it, too," Hahn said. "He’s just a kid that loves sports, and that’s what makes him special."

[sc:pullout-title pullout-title="All-County team" ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

The 2021 All-County team for boys basketball:

<strong>Rasheed Elemikan, Greenwood senior:</strong> Helped lead the Woodmen to an 18-win season and a sectional final, earning All-Mid-State Conference honors in the process … shot 57% from the floor while averaging 14.2 points and 7.1 rebounds.

<strong>Landin Hacker, Center Grove senior:</strong> Rock-solid floor general helped lead the Trojans to county and sectional championships … Averaged 12.1 points (16.1 against MIC teams) and 2.9 assists while connecting on 44% of his 3-point attempts.

<strong>Tayven Jackson, Center Grove junior:</strong> Earned All-MIC and honorable mention IBCA Junior All-State recognition for the county and sectional champion Trojans … Shot 51% from the field and averaged 12.4 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.5 assists.

<strong>Styles McCorkle, Greenwood Christian senior:</strong> PAAC Player of the Year led all county players in scoring with 21.4 points per game … Also averaged 5.9 rebounds and 2.6 assists … Earned honorable mention Senior All-State recognition.

<strong>Logan Willoughby, Whiteland senior:</strong> All-conference and honorable mention Senior All-State pick who could score from anywhere … Averaged 18.2 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists while shooting 51.4% overall, 52.5% (53-101) from 3-point range and 82.4% from the line.

<strong>Honorable mention</strong>

Noah Apgar, Greenwood; Charlie Bemis, Center Grove; Shane Bennett, Center Grove; Mason Britt, Indian Creek; Carter Campbell, Greenwood; Tyler Cerny, Center Grove; Isaiah Davis, GCA; Noah Detling, Edinburgh; Caleb Dewey, Edinburgh; Damon Dickey, Franklin; Quinten Gillespie, Whiteland; Carson Hunter, Franklin; Ethan Jones, Center Grove; Travis Jones, Edinburgh; Brock Kincaid, Greenwood; Isaac Roberts, Edinburgh; John Shepard, Franklin; Evan Stinnett, GCA; Max Sullivan, Whiteland; Ethan Williams, Indian Creek; Austin Willoughby, Whiteland; Christian Wiseman, Indian Creek

[sc:pullout-text-end]