Eastern Hancock’s Grant Gray defends against Southmont. The Royals defeated the Mounties, 63-47, to advance to the Class 2A Regional 11 championship game, Saturday, March 12, 2022.
Tom Russo | Daily Reporter
CHARLOTTESVILLE — You may call them role players.
You may call them rotational players.
But, you must call them key players in a thrilling Eastern Hancock Royals boys basketball season.
Senior Cole Rainbolt and junior Edric Miller get the starting assignments.
Sometime late in the first quarter it’s common to see senior Cyrus Burton and junior Grant Gray make their way to the scorer’s table to give Rainbolt and Miller a break.
They all have facets of the game they excel in, and the Royals don’t skip a beat regardless of the combination of players that join the lineup to go with double-figure scorers Landon O’Neal, Jacob Spaulding and Silas Spaulding — the trio logging the most minutes in this torrid tourney run.
“To us, the things they do are as essential or even more essential (to our success), rebounding, setting screens,” coach Aaron Spaulding said. “They aren’t always auxiliary (players). There have been games where they have led us in scoring. Those guys are pivotal.”
When the team beat stellar Class 4A neighbors Greenfield-Central, 49-46, shortly after Christmas, Miller was the leading scorer with 16 points, including three 3-pointers.
In a regular-season meeting against Northeastern, the No. 11-ranked team the Royals defeated to take the Hagerstown Sectional championship, Grant Gray led the way with 14.
Prior to taking on Southmont in a regional semifinal game, coach Spaulding said a key would be rebounding. Rainbolt, at 5-foot-11 playing the five (post/center position) grabbed a team-best six boards to go with a couple key 3-pointers in a game where he also added eight points.
Coach Spaulding calls Burton one of the best screen-setters he has ever coached. The senior helps guys get open, but if you leave him open, he can have a big game, too.
“It’s really great. When the other guys come in for me and Cole, they bring in a lot of energy,” Miller said. “And, when we come back in for them, we are bringing in energy, again. Our team, we need to support Jake, Si and Landon.”
The quartet has excelled during tournament time, too.
Miller has hit big free throws down the stretch in both the sectional and regional championship games. Rainbolt had a big game on offense and defense in the regional semifinal win over Southmont. Burton, along with setting screens, and helping guard top players, has had momentum-building buckets at both tournament sites. Gray had seven fourth-quarter points, including a pair of 3s, to help seal the deal against Southmont.
All are playing between 15-22 minutes per game. They are four of the team’s top-five rebounders, with Rainbolt leading with 4.6 per contest. They combine to average 22.8 points per game, with Miller topping the group at 7.6 per game.
Additionally, all, like the Spauldings and O’Neal, are quite proficient from 3-point range. Gray has hit 33 on the season. Rainbolt has 30 and is successful on 45 percent of his tries. Miller has 24 and Burton has made 11.
All seven of the team’s regulars are shooting between 35-45 percent from beyond the 3-point line.
“When other team’s best defenders are on Jake, Si and Landon, it opens the game for other people to get open shots and knock them down,” Miller said.
Rainbolt has been a big part of the varsity lineup since his freshman season.
“Any way that I can help the team, and I know everyone else thinks the same way, we all just love to win,” Rainbolt said. “Any way we can win, role-playing, getting rebounds, steals, things other than points, is always key to a good victory.”
They’ll look to get another win Saturday when the No. 9 ranked Royals face off against Clarksville Providence in the Class 2A south semistate at Seymour High School’s Lloyd E. Scott Gymnasium. The winner will move on to the state championship game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse on March 26 in Indianapolis to play either No. 3 Central Noble or No. 6 Carroll (Flora).
“On the bench, I don’t really anticipate going in,” Burton said. “I love watching whoever is on the court play. I just like to win and that’s all I care about. I love watching Cole play. I love watching Ed play. I love playing with and watching Grant. I couldn’t be happier with the way our team is.
“(When I get in) I try to bring a lot of energy and bring some excitement, bring some intensity into the game. I try to stay on my teammates, ‘Let’s get a body on somebody. Let’s play good defense.’ That’s what is going to win us games. I feel I do a pretty good job of bringing that attitude into the game.”
They all have different roles and they all have all bought into what it takes to win.
“Each bring their own unique talents,” coach Spaulding said. “It’s nice to be able to kind of, ‘We need a little more of this now or we need a little bit more of that.’
“The great thing is, these guys are all good with it. You never hear a peep about, ‘I didn’t play as many minutes …’ They just want to win. We’ve got guys that do different things. Depending on what’s needed at the moment, we have these guys to call upon.”
