Recently, we unveiled our plan to name area programs’ top five players of the 21st century, which sits at 25 seasons in both football and basketball.
Reminder, this is based on high school career performance ONLY. This is by no means a definitive list and, if anything, is encouraging debate on potential omissions to this list.
Through exhaustive research, reaching out to former coaches and players and our own personal opinion, here is the OTH Quarter Century Team for Bluffton Tigers boys basketball.
Note: The list is in alphabetical order
Cody Cochran
Cochran starred at Bluffton, graduating in 2010 as a standout multi-sport athlete. He surpassed 1,000 career points — finishing with 1,266 — and once poured in 33 points in an ACAC tournament semi-final game. He was also an Academic All-State honoree for the Tigers and helped them to three straight ACAC Tournament titles from 2008-2010. Cochran’s senior year, he led the Tigers to a 21-2 season before a sectional loss to Bishop Luers.
Spencer Harris
Graduating in 2005, he was a contributor on Bluffton’s 2002 state finals team when he was a freshman, averaging 12.5 points per game across 24 games, including starting during the state finals. He then helped the Tigers win back-to-back Sectional titles during the next two seasons. As a senior, Harris averaged 19.8 points per game, the 13th highest scorer in Class 2A in the 2004-2005 season. He then advanced to play college ball, beginning at Tennessee-Martin.
Kaine Kinsey
He was a senior guard on the 2002 state finals team and a cornerstone of the program in the 2000s. Kinsey delivered 17.9 points and 3.9 assists per game over his senior season. In the state championship game against Speedway, he scored 24 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, and delivered 5 assists, with a pivotal 3-pointer late in the game. That standout season earned him a spot on the IBCA Senior First Team All-State.
Hayden Nern
He averaged 20.2 points, 6.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.4 steals, and 0.7 blocks per game in his senior season, ranking among the top 16 players in Class 2A. Highlighting his season was a game-winning 31-point performance during the ACAC Tournament where he hit a buzzer beater to top Woodlan. As a breakout junior, Nern averaged a conference best 17.4 points per game while adding 5.5 rebounds and 1.4 assists per game as Bluffton won the ACAC regular season. His excellence earned him First-Team All-ACAC honors and being named All-Area both his junior and senior seasons.
Jared Johnson
He surpassed 1,000 career points, finishing with 1,016 points, placing him in the Wells County Boys’ 1,000-Point Club, graduating in 2009 as Bluffton’s then-ninth best scorer ever. He was also known as a tough defender, often the best in the ACAC. Johnson was one of Bluffton’s primary scorers across his upper-class seasons and helped lead them to back-to-back ACAC titles.
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