Changing the Culture: New coach eager to put Cougars on winning path

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Greenfield-Central’s Brady Mundell(11) tries to go up for a shot surrounded by a host of New Palestine defenders during their sectional game at Richmond on Feb. 26, 2019. Rob Baker

GREENFIELD — Winning hasn’t been a routine for the Greenfield-Central boys basketball team. Not for quite some time.

With only four wins last season, seven the year before and a sub-.500 finish at 12-13 in 2017-18, the Cougars have to trace back to 2015-16 to find only the second winning record for the program in the last 15 years at 20-5.

New Cougars’ varsity head coach Luke Meredith wants to change that trend in his first year, and it starts this season with three words: Build. Believe. Belong.

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“It’s about getting kids to understand what has been done in the past isn’t going to be what we do in the future. They have to bring energy and enthusiasm. That’s the juice aspect. And then compete,” Meredith explained. “Compete in the classroom, compete in every drill, compete in every possession, compete in every quarter and in every half and compete in every game.”

With the team’s top two leading scorers back in senior wing Jake Cochran, who averaged 13.7 points per game; and senior guard Brady Mundell, who provided 9.1 points a game, the Cougars won’t tower over the competition in 2019-20, but they will find their shots.

Set to run a two-guard offense, Cochran will look to improve on his 34-percent efficiency from 3-point range, where he converted 45 attempts. Brady Mundell and his brother Caleb, who is also a senior, combined for 22 3-pointers along with Gavin Robertson, who returns to the starting lineup with outside shooting range.

“We run a two-guard. Basically, we’re looking for driveway 3s, wide open that you’re shooting in your driveway where the paint touches,” Meredith said. “We’re looking to spread people out. We’re looking to attack gaps. That’s my biggest thing. We always talk about shot selection. Layups. Driveway 3s and free throws. That’s our goal.”

Brock Wheeler will start this season in the middle at 6-foot-2 with Robertson and both Mundells at 6-0 or shorter. The only true height will come off the bench in senior Tyler Antic at 6-4 and junior Chris O’Conner at 6-2.

“Our keys to victory are taking care of the ball, valuing possessions. The ball is gold. We want to have 12 or less turnovers in a game. We know we’re undersized, so we’re going to focus on making sure we are checking out and doing those little things. Win the boards and you usually win the game,” Meredith said. “And then, we talk about defensive stops, getting a kill. It’s basically three stops in a row. If we do that four times in a game, we’ll have a pretty good chance of winning the game.”

Long-term winning is a by-product of longevity, which Meredith is prepared to do with two young boys in Carter, 8, and Cole, 6, who he raises with his wife, Jessica. Both of his sons are heavily involved in the Greenfield-Central Youth Boys Basketball travel league, and Meredith’s goal is to hopefully coach one of them through the high school ranks.

A 2005 Ball State University graduate, Meredith played basketball at Beech Grove and launched his coaching career in 2005 at Avon. He served as the freshman coach and moved on to Ben Davis where he eventually became a JV head coach before returning to Avon.

Back with the Orioles in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference, he learned under head coach Jason Young as a JV coach and a varsity assistant. He was a varsity assistant for two years under Jeff Holloway until getting his opportunity at Greenfield-Central.

“I was lucky enough to be a coach under some great head coaches, and we had a good rapport and trust in each other where they let me do me. So, I didn’t necessarily feel like I was an assistant under them, although I was by label,” Meredith said. “I was the offensive coordinator, and that really allowed me to help grow as a coach.”

One thing he learned with to build a winning team, you need the right assistance, which is why he brought in Josh Mullins as his JV coach after years at the NCAA Div.-I level and varsity assistant Josh Johnson, who was a former head coach and athletic director in Franklin County.

“Really, we’re trying to bring some energy and enthusiasm to the entire community and the program literally from the ground up,” Meredith said.

Dylan Moles a 6-0 freshman guard, represents the program’s potential, but it will center around the team’s senior leaders like the Mundells.

“Those two young men, along with Jake Cochran and Gavin Robertson, are good people. They’re great representatives for our school, our community and our basketball program, but specifically, Brady and Caleb, they bring their hard hat. They’ve had success in soccer and baseball, so they know what it takes and they’re trying to bring along some of these young guys,” Meredith said. “Having young men like the Mundell boys with their character and integrity has really been a big boost to our basketball program.”

Without last year’s leading rebounder, Gavin Rose, who pulled down 161 boards, including 90 on the defensive end, the Cougars will need to be unified and cohesive.

Caleb Mundell had 70 rebounds as a junior, while Cochran had 62 and Brady Mundell totaled 68. O’Connor added 54 last season, so it’s not impossible for the Cougars to find some momentum to elevate the win column’s sum.

“I’ve been a part of the (Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference) and the HCC, and now being part of (the Hoosier Heritage Conference), these are the top three conferences in the state, but to be honest this year, we’re undermanned. We’re undersized, so when we talk about our kids to buy in, we got to get our kids to believe we can compete in our sectional and our conference, then we have to show people that we belong,” Meredith said.

“We lost at Avon last year to New Pal at regional, so I know (Maximus) Gizzi and coach (Trent) Whitaker bring to the table. I know the Mt. Vernons of the world and the New Castles are great programs and well respected. We’re trying to put G-C basketball back on the map.”