NEW PALESTINE — Many are getting an opportunity their brothers didn’t have.
When New Palestine won last week’s Muncie Central Sectional it was the school’s first sectional title in three years, but due to the pandemic, that 2020 team didn’t get a chance to play in a regional.
Like this year’s sectional championship club, that team included members of the Gizzi, Roudebush, Stephens and Nunnally families.
The 2023 team, ranked No. 10 in Class 4A, is preparing to play No. 7 Brownsburg in a 1 p.m. regional championship game today at Southport Fieldhouse. The 2020 squad was getting ready to play a strong Lawrence North squad three years ago, but never got that chance.
“It was crazy,” senior Eian Roudebush recalled.
Eian’s older brother, Eric, now playing football at Hanover College, was a senior on the 2020 team. Eian was a freshman practice player helping get the team ready to play the Wildcats.
“I remember we had Thursday practice and after the practice we were checking our phones. March Madness had got canceled, a couple of other things got canceled,” Eian said. “It was a crazy moment and we didn’t know what was going to happen. We came to school Friday, they had canceled the game and we weren’t going to get to play, a crazy moment.”
Senior point guard Blaine Nunnally was the only current team member that played in 2020. He’s this year’s leading scorer averaging 17.5 points per game. He’ll get a chance to share the regional experience with his twin brother, Bryant Nunnally, another starting guard for the Dragons.
“It was really tough,” Blaine said of not being able to continue playing as a freshman. “We had a huge test coming up with Lawrence North with (Tony) Perkins (now playing at Iowa) and (DJ) Hughes (now at Butler) and all of them. You see them playing in college now, especially Perkins. He’s destroying Big 10 basketball every week, it seems like. I was excited (to play them). I think it got canceled the day of or day before. (It’s great) to be able to experience a regional game for the first time my senior year.”
Maximus Gizzi, the program’s all-time leading scorer, now playing at Marian University, was the starting point guard in 2020. He and Eric Roudebush were both big parts of the 2019 team that won a sectional and reached the regional championship game. Julius Gizzi is a sophomore on this year’s team.
Senior Ian Stephens, like Eian Roudebush, was a freshman practice player in 2020. His older brother, Eli Stephens, was also a member of the 2020 squad.
“I didn’t dress (for the games) but I remember walking in the gym and in the middle of the practice we had a talk of like, ‘What just happened?’ Ian Stephens said. “To see the disappointment on their faces, obviously, there was nothing they could do.”
“You want to be able to finish what you started, and those kids, I feel bad for the opportunity they didn’t have, the opportunity to go out and perform that Saturday,” coach Trent Whitaker said. “These guys do, it’s something we haven’t really talked about, I’m sure they’ve thought about it a little bit maybe talked about it at the family table. We haven’t talked about it. It’s 2023, and we’re taking care of business for these kids and I’m happy to have the opportunity for them to come back another week.”
That’s the thing Whitaker likes best, getting a chance to coach his team for at least one more week and hopefully more.
The Dragons are 23-2, won the most games in school history and have earned sectional and Hoosier Heritage Conference titles. Earlier in the season they set a school record by winning their first 15 games.
“This week was fun,” Whitaker said. “Winning the sectional championship is neat. We hang the team photo up in the locker room, it’s up there forever, you hang numbers on banners, but to get that extra week with the same group, that’s what’s been the most fun.”
Coincidentally, Brownsburg is in a similar situation. The Bulldogs sectional title is their first since 2020, also. They were scheduled to play Pike in the other Southport Regional game three years ago.
This year’s Bulldogs are 20-4 and boast one of the top juniors in the state in 6-foot-7 Kanon Catchings, a Purdue commit. Catchings averages 17.9 points per game.
Both teams have three double-digit scorers, all with similar numbers. Stephens is second on the Dragons with a 15.2 scoring average. Sophomore post player Ben Slagley is right at 10 points per game.
Following Catchings, 6-4 senior Elhadj Diallo averages 15.9 per contest. Grant Porath averages 10.3.
Stephens and Slagley are New Pal’s top rebounders at 7.9 and 6.8 per game, respectively. Diallo leads the Bulldogs at 6.9.
“At this point in time, everyone is good,” Whitaker said. “They’re a good basketball team, got a couple kids that can score. The group that we have here continue to impress me. They don’t try to do too much. They do what they do to help us win, whether that’s shoot the basketball, scoring it and rebounding it. We’re at our best when everybody is doing their job. They’ve bought into that, and have bought in defensively, and enjoy it.
“This team has a big belief in it is more about us than what other teams do. If we do what we do, and we do it well, we have a chance to win every ballgame.”
Along with similarities, today’s regional title game will have familiarity.
Whitaker said he knows the Bulldogs will be ready. He’s been on the other bench before with Brownsburg head coach Steve Lynch, who was formerly the head coach at Mt. Vernon. Whitaker was an assistant at New Palestine when Lynch was coaching the Marauders.
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New Palestine Dragons
No.;Name;Ht.;Cl.
3;Moses Haynes;5-9;10
4;Daniel Tippit;5-10;12
5;Ian Stephens;6-6;12
11;Bryant Nunnally;5-11;12
14;Blaine Nunnally;5-10;12
15;Kendall Hill;5-11;12
20;Brady Armstrong;5-11;11
21;Eian Roudebush;6-2;12
24;Julius Gizzi;6-3;10
44;Ben Slagley;6-4;10
Head coach: Trent Whitaker (116-83, eight year)
Assistant coaches: Mike Gizzi, Jordan Myers, Caleb VanderWal, Wade Whitaker, Danny Davison, Bart Lewis
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Brownsburg Bulldogs
No.;Name;Ht.;Cl.
3;Spencer Porath;6-2;11
4;Drew Thompson;5-11;11
5;Camren Reich;6-2;11
10;JD Lynch;5-8;11
11;Grant Porath;6-2;11
12;Elhadj Diallo;6-4;12
14;Kanon Catchings;6-7;11
21;Kyson Neddenriep;5-8;10
22;Kayden English;6-5;10
23;Bishop Bambo;6-1;12
30;Michael Addison;5-9;10
32;Jake Wilson;6-2;11
34;Brendan Lattimer;6-7;11
40;Brandon Addison;5-10;9
Head coach: Steve Lynch (171-73 in 10th year, 274-125 in 17th year overall)
Assistant coaches: Jeff Hanni, John Grimes, Tom Maples, Darayl Jordan
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New Palestine Dragons (23-2)
Date;Opponent;Result
Nov. 23;Richmond;W/75-51
Dec. 2;Eastern Hancock;W/62-53
Dec. 3;at Rushville;W/70-33
Dec. 9;at Greenfield-Central;W/53-46
Dec. 16;New Castle;W/85-60
Dec. 17;Franklin Central;W/77-64
Dec. 28;vs. Metropolitan;W/61-60
Dec. 29;vs. Gary 21st Century;W/76-57
Dec. 29;at Lebanon;W/59-48
Jan. 6;at Delta;W/62-48
Jan. 7;Southport;W/73-68
Jan. 12;at Pendleton Heights;W/58-41
Jan. 20;at Roncalli;W/58-41
Jan. 21;at Franklin;W/64-53
Jan. 27;Yorktown;W/60-53
Jan. 30;Lawrence North;L/58-59
Feb. 2;at Perryr Meridian;W/45-34
Feb. 7;Guerin Catholic;W/67-63
Feb. 10;at Shelbyville;W/61-51
Feb. 11;at Connersville;L/52-58
Feb. 17;Mt. Vernon;W/66-52
Feb. 18;at Whiteland;W/66-50
Feb. 24;Greenwood;W/61-31
Muncie Central Sectional
March 3;Pendleton Heights;W/48-35
March 4;Mt. Vernon;W/71-57
Southport Regional
March 11;Brownsburg;1 p.m.
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Brownsburg Bulldogs (20-4)
Date;Opponent;Result
Nov. 23;North Central;W/66-53
Nov. 26;Lakota West (Ohio);W/65-45
Dec. 2;Franklin Central;W/63-39
Dec. 3;Heritage Hills;W/73-50
Dec. 9;Pike;W/62-29
Dec. 10;at Chesterton;W/56-47
Dec. 16;at Avon;W/63-48
Dec. 17;Ben Davis;L/33-57
Dec. 29;Columbia City;W/78-37
Dec. 30;Warren Central;W/53-38
Dec. 30;at Kokomo;W/73-51
Jan. 3;Cascade;W/69-15
Jan. 6;at Avon;W/61-40
Jan. 7;Plainfield;W/69-54
Jan. 13;Fishers;W/57-51
Jan. 20;at Westfield;W/62-51
Jan. 21;at Carmel;L/42-53
Jan. 27;Zionsville;W/44-40
Feb. 2;at Attucks;W/49-46
Feb. 10;at Noblesville;W/60-54
Feb. 17;Hamilton Southeastern;L/54-60
Feb. 21;Center Grove;L/60-61
Plainfield Sectional
March 3;Terre Haute North;W/62-41
March 4;at Plainfield;W/64-48
Southport Regional
March 11;New Palestine;1 p.m.
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Class 4A Regional Pairings
At Michigan City
Class 4A Regional 1 Championship
1 p.m. (CT) – Chesterton (20-5) vs. No. 2 Penn (26-1)
Class 4A Regional 2 Championship
4 p.m. (CT) – No. 3 Hammond Central (25-1) vs. Mishawaka (20-6)
At Logansport
Class 4A Regional 3 Championship
4 p.m. – Fort Wayne Wayne (20-4) vs. Noblesville (19-6)
Class 4A Regional 4 Championship
7 p.m. – No. 5 Kokomo (21-4) vs. Fort Wayne North (16-9)
At Southport
Class 4A Regional 5 Championship
1 p.m. – No. 10 New Palestine (23-2) vs. No. 8 Brownsburg (20-4)
Class 4A Regional 6 Championship
4 p.m. – No. 6 Cathedral (19-5) vs. No. 1 Ben Davis (29-0)
At Seymour
Class 4A Regional 7 Championship
4 p.m. – Evansville Reitz (19-6) vs. Jennings County (23-2)
Class 4A Regional 8 Championship
7 p.m. – Bloomington North (18-5) vs. Columbus North (17-8)
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Admission (at all regional sites): $10. Children age 5 and younger admitted free.
Note: Rankings are from final Associated Press Class 4A poll.
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Class 2A Regionals 21 and 22
At Greenfield-Central
1 p.m. – Park Tudor (16-8) vs. Indianapolis Scecina (17-6)
4 p.m. – Parke Heritage (18-9) vs. Northeastern (21-5)
