GREENFIELD — When Greenfield-Central girls basketball coach Bradley Key first got the job in 2018, he had an idea of what he was getting with the returning roster.
He knew Hannah Farrell was a “pretty good” basketball player.
What he didn’t know at the time was that “pretty good” was a large understatement. He didn’t know just how good she was.
He also didn’t know he was inheriting a player who, after his first season, would lead the all-county team and be named the Hancock County Player of the Year.
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“It’s super exciting. When I took the job, I knew that Hannah was a pretty good player. I think she averaged about 14 points a game the year before,” Key said. “But I had no idea what all she was capable of. For her to get that award this year is really a kudos to her.”
Farrell was named all-Hoosier Heritage Conference and earned all-state underclass honorable mention after an incredible statistical season. She was the county’s leading scorer by a big margin, at 19.2 points per game. She also led all county players in steals per game and was second in assists and third in rebounds.
Getting the distinction of the best in Hancock County was something special for the junior.
“It means the world, honestly, just having this honor in front of my community,” Farrell said. “Just nothing better than that. That’s who you enjoy playing in front of, your community. It doesn’t compare to anything.”
“It was definitely one of my goals. I wanted to get this,” she added. “It’s just honor, is all I can say really. It’s truly an honor.”
Ups & downs
What turned out to be a fantastic junior year for Farrell didn’t start so smoothly. It didn’t finish that way, either.
First, the news came that, for the third straight year, she’d have a new coach. That meant a new offense, new terminology, new practice styles, new everything.
Key and Farrell have worked well together, but it was another big transition and learning curve for the junior.
“It’s definitely been tough. You just never know the new coach’s expectations,” Farrell said. “But I feel like I became a better player because each coach has different views. I feel like it’s given me a variety, which can be a plus.”
In the first half of the season, Farrell quickly excelled despite the changes.
The Cougars weren’t winning many games, but she was averaging well over 20 points per game and was playing at an even higher level than her final stat-line suggests.
“What she did in late November, early December, oh my goodness,” Key said. “I think that gets overlooked a lot because we didn’t win a lot of games, but what Hannah was doing to keep us afloat was just super impressive. She was doing all that, and teams were straight keying on her, and she was still doing that.”
But a long-standing health issue cropped up on Dec. 19 during a game against Lapel. Farrell, who has had bad ankles “for quite some time now,” sprained an ankle in that game.
“I was pretty happy the first half of my season, but when I hurt my ankle the first time, that sort of threw off my physical and mental game,” Farrell said. “Hopefully next year, no injuries. That is the goal.”
She only missed one game, but she said she was limited for much of the rest of the season. She still put up big numbers on a regular basis.
“Coach Key would agree with me that I wasn’t full speed until sectional time again,” she said.
Second season
Almost immediately after her junior season ended, Farrell was back on the court and hard at work again.
She isn’t satisfied with her team’s 10 wins or even with her individual numbers from the 2018-19 season. She wants to get better, wants to keep improving.
There’s not a much better place for that than with AAU basketball. Farrell plays for the Indy Magic, teaming with some of the area’s best players over the years as she works on her game and hopefully gets more interest from colleges.
“She has improved each and every year she’s played in our club, adding a new skill each year,” Indy Magic coach Kelvin Scott said. “What makes her good is her desire to be great. She’s had some pretty good players and coaches around her to help mold what she’s becoming as a player and person.”
Farrell started on the Freshman Magic team as an eighth-grader, her first year with the club. She started high school playing for Doug Laker and teaming with Madison Wise, a Miss Basketball finalist in 2017.
She’s teamed with some Hancock County standouts on the Magic, including New Palestine’s Leah Seib, last year’s Hancock County Player of the Year.
This year, she teams with another New Palestine standout, all-county first-teamer Jordan Reid, who happens to be one of Farrell’s best friends.
They played softball together for a long time — Farrell played travel softball until seventh grade, when she chose basketball and quit softball — and have been friends for years. They’ve played against one another on the basketball court, and now they get to team up.
“Playing against her has been cool these past years, and playing against her in middle school. We just like having fun and to compete with each other,” Reid said. “Playing with her, it’s a blessing. She’s a great player, her family is great. She’s just all-around a great friend. I’m super proud of her for Player of the Year. I hoped she had it. She’s just going to keep growing, and next year she’s going to have an even better year. It’s just cool to watch one of my friends grow and excel on a team like she does.”
With the departure of New Castle standout Cameron Tabor from the Magic this year, Scott expects Farrell’s offensive role to grow this summer.
He still expects her to be her “defensive self,” though, he said.
“Hannah is one great kid, period,” Scott said. “She’s a team-first player and has sacrificed a lot of her game, especially offensively, for the better of our Indy Magic teams she’s been a part of. She also has this tireless work ethic. She’s constantly working on her game.
“I’m hoping this will be the break-out summer for her from a recruiting aspect. She’s ready. I know she can play at the next level and will be a value to whoever lands her.”
Impact player
Greenfield-Central went through some growing pains this year. There’s no doubt about that.
But there was significant growth, something Farrell said helped her in the second half of the season, especially when she was slowed down. The Cougars will lose one starter and two other seniors, but there are pieces in place for the team to continue improving next season.
“It was a learning experience for all of us, especially with a new coach,” Farrell said. “I feel like it’ll just make us stronger for next year. We did lose three seniors, so that’ll be tough adjusting to that, but I feel like as a team, we’ll be all right.”
Having the Hancock County Player of the Year back will certainly help the Cougars.
“You don’t know until you’re in it, but having Hannah is a complete and total game-changer,” Key said. “The cool thing with her is, we can use her in the post, at the point guard. She’s basketball savvy, so she knows how to post up, how to do all sorts of things. But in terms of developing the program, I know that some of our middle school players look up to her, go to the games to watch her. That’s super special to develop that culture.”
As he looks ahead to his second season at the helm, and Farrell’s senior year, Key sees some changes in store for his star player.
He’s excited, and he thinks an adjusted role will help show off, even more, what a good all-around basketball player Farrell is.
“I think we’re going to have some more pieces around her, and I think we’re really going to see how great of a point guard she is,” Key said. “I think next year, her assist numbers are going to be really good. I think we’ll see more of a complete player.”
“Hannah, and of course I’m biased, can be one of the best combo guards in her class, and I don’t think she’s come close to reaching her ceiling,” Scott said.
Her senior season will be the last chance for Farrell to accomplish something she hasn’t been able to. She badly wants to win a sectional title before her high school career comes to a close.
“It is something I really want to do,” Farrell said. “I would love that.”
She’s a competitor. Ten wins weren’t enough for her. As bad as she wants the sectional title, she also just wants to help her team compete and experience more success than they did this season.
She was part of a 17-win team her freshman year. That dipped to 11 as a sophomore and 10 this year. That’s a trend she wants to reverse.
“To win some games. That is our goal,” Farrell said. “One of our goals team-wise would be just compete in sectional again, see what we can do. Individually I would say just help my team win. Do whatever it takes.”
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Four other Hancock County athletes join Hannah Farrell on the all-county team. For the full list of who made the first team and who earned honorable mention, see Page BX.
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Greenfield-Central junior Hannah Farrell had a huge individual season, helping lead the Cougars to double-digit wins while posting big numbers herself. All stats are per game (with county ranking).
Points: 19.2 (1st)
Rebounds: 7.8 (3rd)
Assists: 3.0 (2nd)
Steals: 3.4 (1st)
Nine double-doubles
Six games with 5+ steals
Scored 30+ points three times
Set school record for 3-pointers in game (8)
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