Champ McCorkle’s academic background changed direction five times from kindergarten to the start of his sophomore year.
The same ability to adapt has benefited the 6-foot-5 Greenwood Christian Academy junior on the basketball court.
McCorkle was leading the Cougars in scoring (18.0 ppg) and rebounding (8.1 rpg) entering Friday’s games at the annual Monrovia holiday tournament. The eight-team event concludes today.
It’s been a breakout season for McCorkle, whose younger brother Styles, a 6-4 sophomore, averages 8.3 points, 4.6 boards and 1.6 assists for GCA.
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The Cougars’ Champ has been just that when it comes to coachability, productivity and versatility.
"Honestly, Champ has played the 5, the 4, the 3 and the 2, and when Q (senior guard Quentin Steele) goes out, he plays the point for us," second-year Greenwood Christian coach Jonny Marlin said. "Champ has a lot of versatility, which, for a coach, is nice.
"He’s not a natural back-to-the-basket player. I would say a 3 is most natural for him."
McCorkle, who was home-schooled from kindergarten through second grade, has since attended GCA (grades 3-6), Center Grove (7), GCA again (8), Franklin (9) and back to GCA starting as a 10th-grader.
Champ McCorkle weighed 171 pounds during his first season with the Cougars. He packed on 24 pounds of muscle in the offseason by devoting himself to working out and following a protein-packed diet heavy on chicken, turkey, eggs and peanut butter.
"My brother and I went on a strict diet and were committed to put on the weight. It got really boring after a while, but it became habit," he said.
Whatever the elder McCorkle is doing is producing impressive results. In the first five Greenwood Christian games this season he scored a total of 66 points — an average of 13.2 points. More recently, he broke loose for 33 points in a win over Indianapolis Lutheran and added 27 as the Cougars downed Covenant Christian.
The Lutheran victory included McCorkle grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing four assists.
Before the Monrovia tournament, McCorkle was averaging 3.8 attempts a game from behind the 3-point arc. The number is a slight increase over the 3.4 tries he attempted as a sophomore, though McCorkle feels he’s now a better inside presence at both ends of the court.
"It’s kind of game to game. Sometimes it’s being one of the perimeter guys offensively and other times it’s based on the other team’s size," McCorkle said. "If they’re a smaller team I play down low, and if it’s a bigger team I’ll play outside."
McCorkle plans to eventually adhere to the same offseason workout regimen with hopes of weighing close to 210 pounds this time next year. Marlin thinks another growth spurt could make McCorkle 6-6 or 6-7 during his senior season.
And though his body might change, his school won’t. McCorkle plans to remain at Greenwood Christian Academy through his 2020 graduation.
"I really like it here," McCorkle said. "Moving around, there is an adjustment. But at GCA, everyone knows everyone and everyone is pretty much friends with everyone."
