NEW PALESTINE — While everybody else is playing regular-season basketball, the New Palestine Dragons are stuck on the practice court, waiting.
With a large chunk of the boys basketball varsity roster still playing football, the start of the season for the Dragons has been pushed all the way back to Dec. 7.
That’s more than two weeks after the rest of Indiana tips off.
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“It’s kind of a double-edged sword,” senior guard Matthew True said. “They might have more games than us and have more experience on the court, but we might have more practice time than other teams. It could be good or bad either way, pretty much.”
The Dragons have 14 people at practice without the dual-sport athletes with them. Only seven varsity players have been there since the official start of practice a few weeks ago.
That means when they do team drills, the varsity players are matching up with mostly JV players and younger members of the team.
“We have 14 kids in the gym every day for now, it’s going to be five weeks before we actually take the court against somebody,” New Palestine coach Trent Whitaker said. “We need to continue to make sure that we stay together out there. I know the younger kids are probably getting tired of getting beat up on a little bit. They want some reinforcements.”
They’ll get them, but it’ll still be a little bit of a wait while the football team plays for a state championship this weekend.
The team knows what it’ll be getting from the missing components. Maxen Hook filled in for standout point guard Maximus Gizzi last year after Gizzi broke his hand. Dawson Eastes will be counted on as a scorer and rebounder. Kyle King will bring strength, rebounding and toughness to the team. Jacob Hockett and Eric Roudebush will also contribute for the Dragons.
While they wait, the assembled Dragons are working hard. The learning curve is pretty small — almost all of the team from last year’s 15-10 squad returns, with Gavin Hausz being the one graduated player. That speeds up the process significantly.
“We all have done the drills before; we’ve experienced playing with each other for multiple years now,” True said. “We’re getting to do things a lot quicker and easier for us. It’s been easier for us to get ahead of the game during practices.”
Returning core
New Palestine is one of the most experienced teams in the county and conference, with four starters and almost the entire varsity lineup back for another season.
Leading the way is Gizzi, a junior, one of the county’s premier players. He averaged 16.5 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game last season, huge numbers for the Dragons.
“My mindset is the same as last year,” Gizzi said. “Yeah, scoring and all that is important, assists, stats, whatever, but the main focus is winning. At this point I’ll do whatever it takes to help the team win. If that’s scoring 17 or 20, or having 10 assists or whatever, then that’s what I’m going to try to do to help our team win.”
That’s indicative of the bigger role Gizzi will play for the Dragons, going well beyond the stat sheets.
“Honestly, he’s another coach on the floor, a floor general,” Whitaker said of Gizzi. “If there’s a situation, he’s seen it. He’s played a lot of basketball through high school, high-quality AAU. He’s seen pretty much every situation. He knows every single spot, every single play. We’ll have a lot of leaders, possibly, but to be honest, he is our leader. The kids know that. He’s definitely a confident young man, and he should be. The kids respect him and how he plays, how he treats them. That kid makes sure that from one to 12, they all feel like they are needed in some way.”
Joining him in the backcourt is True, a talented 3-point shooter who averaged 12.2 points per game a season ago.
Senior Dylan Romine, who averaged 9.0 points and 4.4 rebounds last year, is back. Eastes, a junior, returns once football ends. He scored 7.3 points and added 4.3 rebounds per game in 2017-18.
Possibly joining those four in the starting lineup could be a variety of players, including Hook, King or Jack Walker, a 6-foot-7 baseball standout who is back on the basketball court for his senior year.
The Dragons have a lot of pieces and a lot of options. They also have a good deal of confidence because of the shared level of experience.
“I think this team can be really good this year,” Gizzi said. “If we’re all on the same page and we’re all focused on the one common goal, we can definitely do some damage this year. We have some really good shooters, good defenders, we’ve got some size. We’ve got a little bit of everything.”
Higher goals
The goals are the same as most teams.
Win a sectional title. Win a conference title.
But it’s about getting past that stage for these Dragons. Last year, they saw their season end at the hands of county rival Mt. Vernon, a tough defeat in the sectional championship game.
They came out flat in that game, True said, before a big fourth quarter got them within striking distance. They came close, but they came up short.
“We know we have a really good team; we know that we can definitely do some good things,” Gizzi said. “So just sticking together, working hard and seeing where our preparation can take us, that’s really the end goal, I think. If we do those things, we’re confident that good things will end up happening for our team.”
“We’re pretty confident coming back,” True added. “We know we have a lot of returning pieces, but we know we need to fill Gavin’s leadership role. We’re looking to take the next step up this year.”
While they are still playing the waiting game, the Dragons are working with what they’ve got, building toward that next step.
There’s a buzz around the team. While the football team is enjoying success and competing for a state title, the basketball team is expected to have a strong year, too
“Expectations are high, and they should be,” Whitaker said. “People know that. The kids know that, but they take those expectations in stride. They know that they’re going to be a decent basketball team, difficult to beat, but they also know that on any given night, they can be beaten as well.”
New Palestine’s basketball program hopes to break out of a championship drought this year.
They haven’t won a conference or sectional title since the 2012-13 season. They tied for second in the Hoosier Heritage Conference last year, a five-way tie with Mt. Vernon, Pendleton Heights, Delta and Shelbyville.
They fell three points short of a sectional title. They are eager to take another shot at it, but they’ll have to wait just a little bit longer before that Dec. 7 opener against Greenfield-Central.
“As far as state titles, things like that, realistically, New Palestine High School, have we, basketball-wise, done that? No,” Whitaker said. “But let’s start with a conference championship, start with sectional, definitely. We talk about taking that next step. This is my year number four. We got beat on Tuesday night my first year, Friday night my second year, and Saturday night my third year in the tournament. Next step is definitely something that we’ve been talking about. The question is, how big is that next step?”
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Coach: Trent Whitaker
Last season: 15-10, 4-3 HHC, lost to Mt. Vernon in sectional final
Top returnees: Matthew True and Dylan Romine, seniors; Maximus Gizzi, Dawson Eastes, Maxen Hook and Kyle King, juniors
Key newcomers: Luke Ramsey, Austin Howell, Justin Rightley, seniors
What to expect: With so many returning players from a 15-win team, the Dragons have every reason to be confident and have high expectations this season. Gizzi, the only first-team all-county player back from last year, should be one of the conference’s best players. Having him alone would be enough to boost expectations, but with so many talented players around him, this will be a dangerous team that won’t be easy to beat. It’s a safe bet that the Dragons will raise their win total from last season, and they should compete for both HHC and sectional championships.
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