HANCOCK COUNTY — The last unbeaten team in Indiana, a pair of sectional champions and a team that reached the Final 4 in its classification puts an exclamation point on the quality of boys basketball played in the Hoosier Heritage Conference.
The league recently announced its All-HHC team, which had a heavy flavor of Hancock County.
Greenfield-Central went 7-0 in the HHC and was the last remaining undefeated team in the state. The Cougars set a record for wins in a season and winning streak with 24 victories. The HHC outright title was the first for the program since 2004.
With that outstanding season, Greenfield-Central head coach Luke Meredith was named the HHC Coach of the Year.
Six of the 12 players named to the team are from Hancock County schools. Greenfield-Central (7-0), Mt. Vernon (6-1) and New Palestine (5-2) took the league’s top three spots.
The Dragons avenged both of their league losses in the Greenfield-Central Sectional and won the sectional tournament for the second straight year.
New Palestine was 22-5 overall, the second-most wins in school history. The Dragons led the all-conference team with three selections.
Junior guard/forward Julius Gizzi was the second-leading scorer in the state, averaging 28.9 points per game. He also grabbed 8.0 rebounds — tops in the HHC — and dished out 2.3 assists per contest. He set a school record for points in a season with 810.
Junior point guard Moses Haynes ranked No. 5 in the state in assists, averaging 6.7 per game. He was New Pal’s second leading scorer at 11.4 per contest and also averaged 1.9 steals. He set single-season school records for assists (182) and steals (51). Haynes made 70 3-pointers — No. 1 in the HHC and No. 19 in the state — and shot 46 percent from beyond the arc.
Junior post player, and three-year starter Ben Slagley was a versatile contributor averaging 9.3 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.3 blocks per game. He ranked No. 3 in the HHC in assists and No. 2 in blocks.
Greenfield-Central had two selections with juniors Braylon Mullins and Boston Willard.
Mullins, the forward/guard who has offers from Indiana, Notre Dame, Iowa, and a number of other NCAA Division I schools, averaged 25.0 points per game, ranking No. 6 in the state. He added 6.2 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 3.2 steals per game. He shot 56 percent from the field and had 61 3-pointers. Mullins set a single-season school record for points in a season with 625. He ranked No. 1 in the HHC in steals, No. 3 in 3-pointers and No. 4 in rebounding. He also ranked fourth in blocks at 0.8 per contest.
Willard, a point guard, averaged 10.8 points, 4.8 assists and 2.2 steals. He hit 57 3-pointers and shot 51 percent from beyond the arc. He ranked second in the league in assists and fourth in steals.
All six county choices were underclassmen.
Mt. Vernon’s lone selection, guard Julien Smith, is only a sophomore. For the second straight year, he was the Marauders leading scorer. He averaged 14.4 points and added 5.1 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. The Marauders finished 15-9 overall.
Delta finished tied for fourth in the league at 3-4. The Eagles advanced to the Class 3A Final 4 and were 21-6 on the season. They are represented on the all-conference team with seniors D’Amare Hood and Jackson Wors.
Pendleton Heights (11-13, 3-4) had one selection, center Josiah Gustin.
New Castle (12-12, 2-5), Yorktown (14-11, 1-6) and Shelbyville (11-12, 1-6) also had one selection each. The Trojans’ choice was senior Colin Taylor. Yorktown was represented by senior Kieran Tewari. Shelbyville had the only other sophomore on the team, Caden Claxton.
2024 All-HHC Boys Basketball Team
Name;School;Grade
D’Amare Hood;Delta;12
Jackson Wors;Delta;12
Braylon Mullins;Greenfield-Central;11
Boston Willard;Greenfield-Central;11
Julien Smith;Mt. Vernon;10
Colin Taylor;New Castle;12
Julius Gizzi;New Palestine;11
Moses Haynes;New Palestine;11
Ben Slagley;New Palestine;11
Josiah Gustin;Pendleton Heights;12
Caden Claxton;Shelbyville;10
Kieran Tewari;Yorktown;12
Coach of the Year: Luke Meredith, Greenfield-Central
