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 Columbia City Eagles boys basketball.
Note: The list is in alphabetical order
Drew Benedict
At Columbia City, Benedict carved out a legacy as one of the most prolific shooters in program history. A 1,272-point scorer and three-time All-NHC pick, he set the school’s career three-point record (266) and became known for his deep range and scoring consistency. His shooting helped pace the Eagles’ offense throughout his career, and he went on to play collegiately at Indiana Tech and now coaches at Whitko.
Brachen Hazen
At Columbia City, the eldest Hazen brother emerged as one of the most versatile forwards in northeast Indiana. As a junior he averaged 13.0 points, 7.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.8 blocks per game. He raised his production as a senior, posting 16.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.4 steals and 1.8 blocks. His efforts helped guide the program to back-to-back Class 3A sectional championships (2015 and 2016) as well as a conference crown, Hazen was recognized as an Indiana All-Star, earned a spot on the IBCA Senior Supreme 15 All-State Team. He went on to play at Arkansas and Ball State.
Parker Hazen
He helped Columbia City to back-to-back Sectional titles as a sophomore and a junior. During his junior season, Hazen was named an Indiana Junior All-Star with averages of 15.8 points and 6.6 rebounds per game. He was also IBCA Supreme 15 as a junior. As a senior, Hazen raised the bar with 18.7 points and 8.9 rebounds per game and was selected to Hoosier Basketball Magazine’s Top 60 Seniors and earned IBCA Large-School All-State honors. He went on to play in college for Valpo and Lipscomb.
Marcus Moore
A lead guard on Columbia City’s 2004 4A state runner-up, Marcus Moore averaged 13.4 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 3.4 assists while shooting 46.4% from three his senior year, earning IBCA Senior All-State honors. He went on to Grace College, where he topped 2,000 career points and later transitioned into coaching. Moore went into the Columbia City Hall of Fame in 2023.
Mitchell Wilson
Graduating in 2020, he amassed 1,769 career points, landing him among the state’s elite in scoring and the leading scorer in the history of the program. During his senior campaign, he averaged 21.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals per game. Wilson was named First Team All-NE8, to Hoosier Basketball Magazine’s Top 100 Seniors and was honored by the IBCA as Senior All-State Honorable Mention. As a junior, Wilson averaged 21 points, 4.5 rebounds, 2.7 assists and two steal per game while shooting 60 percent from deep. He went on to play at Huntington University.
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