Who are the teams with the best chance to improve their record this year?
Continuing our season previews, I take a look at which teams have the chance to most improve this year from last year. There are a couple teams in the state that last year struggled but this year will be much improved. Last year, Monroe Central and Riverton Parke were the most improved over the 2015-16 season.
Both improved 11 games over the previous season as Monroe Central went from 10-13 to 21-2 and Riverton Parke improved from 1-22 to 12-11. Who has the greatest chance to improve their record the most this year? I highlight five teams that I think have the chance.
Blackford (2016-17: 1-22)
Blackford has the best chance out of all these teams to improve the most and that’s not just because they only won one game last year. Blackford has a new head coach, Jerry Hoover, and has a good roster to begin with. He has turned around countless programs in the state, the last being the Logansport girls. They return all but one player and have a few move-ins that will impact right away. Watch for a big improvement out of Blackford.
Fort Wayne South (2016-17: 5-14)
South really struggled last year which was no surprise, but this year is going to be a year that is much better. JJ Foster comes over from Fort Wayne Luers and will immediately make an impact. Asher Blum moves in from Warsaw and will be an early big contributor for them. They did lose five players but have back their best player, Trejan Didier, along with most of their leading scorers. I look for a big year out of South.
Greencastle (2016-17: 8-15)
This year Greencastle will have a different look team. Their main scorer will be senior Colin York but I expect a huge year out of forward Gavin Bollman. The younger brother of Greencastle standout Brody Bollman, who graduated a few years ago, is poised for a breakout year. Greencastle has been on the cusp of a breakout year and I think this is finally the year. They have a little bit of height and a few freshmen guards that have shown flashes of potential.
Indianapolis Shortridge (2016-17: 2-19)
Shortridge didn’t lose anyone from last year and actually put up good numbers but they play such a tough schedule it’s really hard for them to be good. This year they have the experience to win more games than last year and I wouldn’t put 8-10 win improvement out of the realm of possibility for them. They have a few pretty good players and should be improved this year.
Western Boone (2016-17: 7-17)
Like most other schools on this list, Western Boone has a new head coach as Bronson Lickliter steps in as the new man. Western Boone is probably the strongest team around the area with a ton of young talent. They have the pieces that they need to have to be good, they just need to put it all together after losing their leading scorer from last year. They have a pretty good shot to win their sectional this year for the first time in 18 years.