Guard Max Booher is enjoying a breakout junior season for Greenwood Christian.
Daily Journal file photo
Jackson Williams wasn’t unnerved when his team lost three of its first four games this season.
The second-year Greenwood Christian coach didn’t overhaul his starting lineup. Practices and film sessions weren’t longer or any more intense.
Deep down, Williams, who was witness to the Cougars’ collective maturity and togetherness on a daily basis, remained confident his team would right the ship and be a factor come tournament time.
At 16-6, GCA — winners of 10 consecutive games and ranked No. 7 in Class A — has rewarded his faith.
“If we look back at those early games, for the most part we played pretty well,” said Williams, whose club hosts Hauser this evening in its regular-season finale. “That period was going to show us where we were at very quickly.
“I think the boys are really focused on our opponent and do a good job of playing together. Everything in the back half of this season has just started to click. We have our identity of who we are.”
Part of this, Williams notes, was playing a more difficult schedule. Parke Heritage, Cardinal Ritter, Edinburgh, Eminence, Hauser and Shenandoah were new additions. Additionally, the Cougars defeated North Putnam and Borden (teams that are currently a combined 28-16) at the Monrovia holiday tournament before losing to highly-ranked Bethesda Christian, 48-36.
A little over a month later, Greenwood Christian again played Bethesda Christian, then ranked second in Class A. Williams’ ball club routed the host Patriots, 66-43.
The difference, said guard Max Booher, has been GCA’s willingness to better emphasize rebounding and defense during the win streak.
“We lost to Franklin about a month ago, and after that we just really focused on our defense,” said Booher, referring to a 65-47 finish on Jan. 10 in the first round of the Johnson County tournament. “That’s probably been the main focus since then.
“When we started 1-3, coach told us not to panic because everything was going to work out.”
Booher, a 6-foot-2 junior, leads the Cougars with a 15.3 scoring average in what is essentially a four-guard offense with 6-3 senior Parker Satre down low.
“We knew Max was going to have a good year, and he’s doing it at both ends of the floor, and not just scoring points,” Williams said. “He’s doing a really good job for us.”
Senior starters Blake Shewmaker (14.6 ppg, team-high 4.9 rebounds per game), a 6-4 wing, Satre and 5-11 guard Ian Reed all bring something different to what GCA is accomplishing; the same is true for sophomore point guard Noah Reed and backups Jordan Taulman, a junior, and soph Evan McIntire.
Every ounce of momentum Greenwood Christian has manufactured in recent weeks will be needed as it feeds into next week’s Indianapolis Lutheran Sectional.
On Tuesday, the Cougars face Tindley (11-12), which boasts a record not indicative of its talent or potential. The Tigers’ regular-season schedule included four opponents from Class 4A and eight from 3A. The winner of that contest is likely to face the host Saints (13-7 after playing three 4A and six 3A foes) in the championship game.
Williams, well aware of what lies ahead, has confidence in his players.
“The thing that’s surprising me is just the focus the group is bringing every single day,” Williams said. “Not just the older guys, but the younger ones, too. It’s becoming the culture.”
