Before we get to the Outside the Huddle All-Area Team and our end-of-year awards, Bounce wanted to take some time and take a last glance at area conferences and hand out some league-specific metaphorical hardware.
We continue today with the NE8.
PLAYER OF THE YEAR: Ethan Zahn, Huntington North
While Huntington North’s season was one that went up and down, it was rare for senior Ethan Zahn to not be ramped up every single night. He was an incredibly difficult player to defend, taking his shifty style to the next level as he led the Vikings.
Zahn earned IBCA All-State Honorable Mention after the season and it can be contributed greatly to his offensive output. Zahn finished tied for third in the area in points per game at 19.3, but the Vikings’ lead guard also had 5.1 assists and 4.3 rebounds per game throughout the season. He showed out in the biggest and brightest games, win or lose. Included in that was setting the program’s single game scoring record with 42 points at Southwood on January 11. That broke the single game scoring record of 40 held by Adam Thompson (2002) and Hunter Hollowell (2016).
HONORABLE MENTION: Nathan Bowker (East Noble), Sol Richard (Leo), Landon Richmond (Columbia City), Tarvar Baskerville (New Haven), Stratton Fuller (Columbia City)
MOST VALUABLE PLAYER: Sol Richard, Leo
If you know Bounce’s awards and OTH history, you know MVP means something different than Player of the Year. MVP to us is someone who is legit the most valuable to their team and overall success of that program.
With Leo in a bit of a flux as a program with a new head coach for the first time in 20 years and the graduation of their top two scorers, it was Solomon Richard that stepped up into a more stabilizing role for the Lions. They had multiple high level players and performances from a bigger cast than in the past, but it was Richard who kept things moving for the Lions.
He was named IBCA All-State Honorable Mention, which was a great indicator of his growth from his junior season to his senior season. Richard led Leo in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 15.3 points and 5.8 rebounds. When Leo was at their best, it was Richard who was taking the lead including the Lions in postseason scoring with 13 points per game as they reached a Sectional final.
HONORABLE MENTION: Jamal Lawrence (New Haven), Jadrien Ezell (New Haven), Landon Richmond (Columbia City), Ryker Quake (East Noble), Titus Schultz (Huntington North), Gavin Krull (Bellmont), Adam McBride (Norwell), Nathan Bowker (East Noble)
BREAKOUT/MOST IMPROVED PLAYER: Landon Richmond, Columbia City
Richmond was a big breath of fresh air for Columbia City as they rallied to capture a share of the NE8 title despite not being considered a preseason contender for the title. Richmond had a strong sophomore season the year before, but he became the Eagles’ most consistent player and scorer as a junior as they captured the title. Richmond led Columbia City with 13.8 points and seven rebounds per contest.
Richmond was really good at asserting himself into the positions he wanted, including at the basket. Despite the fact he wasn’t the basket making star in the Sectional final, he was a huge part in the Eagles capturing their first postseason title since 2016 (their 29th Sectional title overall). In the regional round, against eventual state finalist South Bend St. Joe, Richmond was massive in the first half, with 14 points and six rebounds at the halftime break.
HONORABLE MENTION: Jadrien Ezell (New Haven), Titus Schultz (Huntington North), Daniel Selking (Bellmont), Alex Scott (East Noble), Josh McBride (Norwell), Brady Vince (DeKalb)
COACH OF THE YEAR: Brandon Appleton, New Haven
New Haven accomplished A) Their first winning season since 2020-21 and B) Their first NE8 title – or share – since 2016.
And they did it all with a new head coach, a very different head coach and staff and style and focus. Winning as a first year head coach at a new school is not always easy to accomplish. New Haven was far from an empty cupboard when Brandon Appleton took over after years at Angola as both the boys and the girls coach at different times. They also were not a NE8 contender in the minds of most heading into the season.
But Appleton clearly gained the trust of his lineup pretty quickly, both upperclassmen and the younger guys that got their feet wet the previous season as freshmen. New Haven’s season was not just about the share of the NE8, which was their first conference title since the first year of the NE8 as a conference, but also about marquee wins. They topped regional champion Homestead, beat ACAC winner Woodlan, won four straight right before the postseason and had a classic against Marion on March 8, falling 92-88 in overtime of their Sectional title game.
HONORABLE MENTION: Matt Schauss (Columbia City), Derek Hinen (Leo)
GAME OF THE YEAR: Huntington North at East Noble, January 30
There were a lot of good contests this season in the NE8 and almost every night in the conference, there were games that had major NE8 title implications. While this one ultimately didn’t make a NE8 title decision, it was very much a big buzz game at the time in January when it was played after initially being postponed due to weather earlier in the season, with East Noble winning 63-60.
Part of the intrigue lay within a point guard battle of Ethan Zahn of Huntington North and East Noble’s Nathan Bowker, who had already separated themselves as two of the top players in the NE8. The two traded hard basket after hard basket all games long. While Zahn scored just 15 points, it was a team high and he was highly effective everywhere but behind the three point line, which ultimately was the nail in the coffin; as HN got the last shot with the ball, a really great unplanned East Noble trap forced Huntington North to get a less than favorable shot out of Zahn at the buzzer that didn’t fall. Bowker, on the flip side, hit some really tough shots including a second half banked shot from the baseline over multiple defenders; he ended with a game high 23 points.
Also big for this game was the return of Ryker Quake to East Noble’s lineup. After suffering a tear in his ACL in the fall, Quake returned to finish his senior season in January and this game was pivotal in the feeling out process post injury. As it turned out, Quake was very much ready to go including in this game.
EARLY 2025-26 CONFERENCE CHAMP PICK: New Haven
The Bulldogs return four of their top 5 and only really lose two guys as they will look to defend the conference title that they shared with Columbia City this season.
Tarvar Baskerville made a significant jump from his freshman to sophomore season, so in turn the Bulldogs are going to expect him to make an even bigger jump as he continues to be their marquee player into next season. Baskerville averaged team highs with 13.7 points and 2.9 assists per game. Back beside him is senior-to-be Jadrien Ezell, who also elevated his game quite a bit into this past season, averaging 13 points himself.
Both have substantial classmates back as well for this pretty full lineup. Junior-to-be Lavell Ledbetter has shown flashes of being a tough inside presence, even if he isn’t a traditional big, and if he can become more consistent offensively, he can help fill the gap that New Haven loses with the graduation of Jamal Lawrence. Also back will be senior-to-be DaMarcus Wright and his team high 4.6 rebounds per contest. He broke into double digit scoring eight times this past season, including double doubles in wins over Norwell and Heritage.
These opinions represent those of Bounce and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Bounce on Twitter at Bounce_OTH
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