GREENFIELD — Luke Meredith knows the score.
An optimist and a realist with an inspirational spirit, the Greenfield-Central boys basketball coach isn’t disregarding the obvious numbers.
He’s crunched them more than twice over this offseason.
"Last year, it was a senior-laden team. We had five seniors that played a lot, four starters. We’re losing 85 percent of our scoring, and so, this year, it’s everybody moving into another level," Meredith said.
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In his first year at the helm, Meredith wanted to embed a new philosophy, and his Cougars responded by bringing the ‘Juice,’ going all-out and leaving everything on the court to finish the 2019-20 season 12-12 overall.
The program’s season-ending record this past March was the first non-losing campaign in three years for the Cougars since former coach Michael Lewis steered the team to a 20-5 finish in 2015-16.
In his second year, Meredith isn’t projecting any particular number of wins for his program. Instead, what he is predicting is what he knows his players are more than capable of showcasing on a daily basis.
"We talk about ‘Juice’ and ‘Compete,’ and that’s the stuff everyone hears, but the ‘Standard’ is the standard, and the standard has been set," Meredith said.
"When you’re watching Greenfield-Central, you will see a team that plays hard and will do the things we need to do in order to be successful because talent-wise we’re not as talented as many of the teams on our schedule or in our conference or sectional, but just doing things right and outworking teams, that’s the Greenfield way."
The ‘Greenfield Way’ resulted in a trio of winning streaks spanning three games or more last winter, including a key victory over rival Mt. Vernon, 44-39, on Jan. 10.
An overtime win against Westfield, 55-51, on Feb. 1 highlighted a stretch where the Cougars won eight of 10 contests, and a 60-59 triumph versus Roncalli on Feb. 18 propelled the team to a four-game winning streak.
The common denominator, coincidentally, was the venue.
A true home team, the Cougars went 8-3 inside their gymnasium last year, and with two cornerstone returnees back in sophomore Dylan Moles and junior Gavin Roberston, Greenfield-Central is looking improve on that margin.
"Whether it be Dylan or G-Rob, who went from just being on the report to being starred on the report, to other kids on JV having to fill new roles on varsity to the freshmen guys moving up and having to figure out what it takes at the JV/varsity level; everyone is taking that next step," Meredith said.
"There will be some growing pains along the way, but it is really good to have a group that works hard and is trying to figure everything out."
Moles, a 6-foot, point guard, has the talent and drive to ease the aches.
As a freshman starter, Moles averaged 9.1 points, 2.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.3 steals per game. Moles was fourth on the team in scoring behind graduated seniors Jake Cochran (11.7 ppg), Brady Mundell (11.5 ppg) and Caleb Mundell (10.5 ppg).
This season, Moles will be the focal point, and he’s been putting in the time to elevate his production.
"He earned the name ‘Big Shot Bobby,’ and he’s one of those kids where it won’t get to his head when you give him compliments like that. He’s just a good, young man," Meredith said.
"I can’t get my phone to stop ringing off the hook with him wanting to get in the gym. He is the definition of a gym rat. He’s put on around 20 pounds of muscle. He works hard on the court, and he can do more than just shoot it."
He can pass, pressure and moves well without the basketball, though the Cougars’ offense will undoubtedly go through Moles, who shot 47 percent from the field and 42 percent from 3-point range a year ago.
"I’m going to put him at point guard because I can trust him, but he’s probably a two guard. He’s going to be a really good player for the next three years, and I’m excited to see his maturation as a player and a person being a leader," Meredith said.
The same goes for Robertson, a 5-10 guard that provided 6.4 points a game and fired 33 percent from beyond the arc.
Senior Will Vanduyn (2.5 ppg), a 6-1 forward, will join the duo in the starting five, along with 6-1, junior forward Adam Lester (2.6 ppg) and 6-4, senior forward Caleb McIntire, who added 3.5 ppg as a sophomore.
McIntire was home schooled as a junior and rejoins the program after a year away.
"We’re going to be undersized again. We’re going to be undermanned and have a lot of youth. We’re going to have some guys who may not be ready to play in the 7:30 game, but they’re going to be thrown into the fire and see how they handle that," Meredith said.
"But, the standard is, this is who we are. We’re going to execute. We’re going to play hard and do the things we need to do."
Joey Roland, a 6-0, junior wing, will be the first player off the bench, followed by sophomore Tyler Kerkhof and multi-sport athlete Rashawn Street, a 6-0 guard.
Senior Carson Gibson, who is committed to play baseball at Indiana Wesleyan, will supply leadership as a reserve, and 6-4, junior Ben Montgomery could be a contributor in the post this January.
"It’s kind of a rebuild. Last year, I felt, we kind of had to prove ourselves as a program and as a team. This is what you’re going to see in my tenure. But, with our staff, we have everybody back," Meredith said.
"It’s been nice to have the development of a program in year two. Although we didn’t have a spring or a summer (because of COVID-19), we’re still utilizing the same things we had success with last year because that’s who we are as a program. It’s been great."
After a special preseason visit by motivational speaker Jonathan Darling, a friend of Meredith’s, the Cougars are eager to ‘Unlock’ their potential once the season opens Tuesday night at home against Guerin Catholic.
"We know we’re going to be underdogs. We know we’re not expected to do much this year, but I kind of like it that way. I’m excited about our program. I’m excited about our team," Meredith said. "I don’t know how talented we are, but we work hard, and I can’t ask for anything else. We’re going to be talking about ‘Unlocking Our Potential.’"
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DATE;OPPONENT;TIME
Nov. 24;Guerin Catholic;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 4;at Hagerstown;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 9;at Triton Central;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 11;New Palestine ©;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 12;at Speedway;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 18;at Yorktown ©;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 22;Connersville;7:30 p.m.
Dec. 30;(N) Alexandria Tournament;TBA
Jan. 2;Mooresville;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 8;at Mt. Vernon ©;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 15;at New Castle ©;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 16;at Lapel;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 23;Shelbyville ©;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 29;Pendleton Heights ©;7:30 p.m.
Jan. 30;at Richmond;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 4;Delta ©;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 6;Greenwood;1:30 p.m.
Feb. 12;at Franklin County;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 13;at Western Boone;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 20;Martinsville;7:30 p.m.
Feb. 24;at Plainfield;7:30 p.m.
© HOOSIER HERITAGE CONFERENCE GAME
* Schedule subject to change
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