BOUNCE: Boys hoops seniors who could shine

Concordia Lutheran’s Charlie Lang looks to make an inbounds pass during August’s Summit Summer League at PSM Fieldhouse. (Photo by Ayden Moore)

While a lot of focus goes to underclassmen when it comes to breakout performances or expectations of someone shining who may not be in our OTH Preseason Top 50.

But year after year, there are a whole smattering of seniors who raise their level of play, sometimes surprisingly. But those seniors bring an advanced maturity to the table to help their teams. So who are some seniors that we will be be looking at to potentially shine during the 2025-26 boys basketball season.

CHARLIE LANG, CONCORDIA LUTHERAN

Lang is a good sized senior guard at Concordia Lutheran. While he posted modest numbers in the 2024-25 season—averaging 5 points and 2.3 rebounds in 24 appearances, Lang stood out for his efficient shooting in select games as well as hitting three triples each against Bishop Dwenger and DeKalb. As a senior, Lang’s experience and role on this Cadets squad position him to provide veteran stability, floor spacing, and shooting depth—elements that could pay dividends as the program looks to develop. He showcased strong shooting both last year and in this offseason that could really space the floor well.

“Charlie is a great young man. He has worked hard from his 8th grade year to be where he is now. He put a lot of time into his athleticism and strength. His biggest growth is his ability to shoot the basketball. When we talked after his freshman year and told him he needed to work on his three point shot, he committed to that,” said Concordia coach Phil Brackmann. “That is now his biggest asset to his game, is shooting the basketball. Charlie is a great leader and teammate; [he] is a leader in our Fellowship of Christian Athletes chapter. We need him to take that next step this season as a senior. We need to lean on him for leadership, defensive toughness, and handling late game situations.”

DALTON HUSBAND, HUNTINGTON NORTH

Husband is viewed as an important piece of Huntington North’s roster heading into his senior season with a core of underclassmen really expected to shine for the Vikings. He averaged a team third best 9.8 points per game, grabbed a team best 5.9 rebounds per game, and dished out 2.2 assists per game, while recording 2.2 steals per contest. A consistent help, Husband shot 50 percent from the field last season.

“Seniors are priceless for a basketball team and Dalton is no exception.  He brings confidence and stability to the Vikings.  Dalton makes everyone around him better which makes us a team to be eckoned with when he is on the floor. Looking forward to the numbers Dalton is going to put up this season on both sides of the floor,” said Huntington North coach Eric Thompson.

GABE ARMSTRONG, GARRETT

Armstrong shot an efficient 49 % from the field and chipped in an average of 4.2 points per game. Armstrong, who was a KPC All-Area selection added 2.5 rebounds per game and 1.8 assists per game. His biggest area of impact for the defensive minded Railroaders last season was just that. At 1.3 steals per game, he helped pace Garrett’s pressure, and was often used as the primary defender on opposing standout players, including a breakout performance against Woodlan and OTH All-Area player Trey Yoder early last season.

“Gabe is a winner. He did a lot for us last year that would most likely go unnoticed by an outsider, but the impact he had on our team last year won us games. We have challenged him to continue to be one of our best defenders, but to also have the confidence to impact the game offensively for us this year,” said Garrett coach Logan Traylor.

MARSHALL GERBER, BLUFFTON

Gerber has quietly built a strong foundation in his lead guard role in coach Craig Teagle’s offense, averaging 3.6 points and 4.2 assists per game last season. His assist numbers and opportunities stand out, showing that he’s a facilitating lead guard who creates opportunities for his teammates and can manage the flow of the game. Despite modest scoring totals, his value comes in making timely plays, showing court vision, and integrating himself into the team’s system. That said, Gerber can be a big time shooter when the mood strikes, so he could really open up Bluffton’s offense more this season.

“Marshall started last year and handled some of our point guard responsibilities. He is committed, tough, feeds the post extremely well, can make the three pointer and is a great teammate and leader,” said Teagle.

LEVI COOK, LAKELAND

Cook brought consistency and smart play to his team last season as a physical presence that was hard to keep off the boards. Cook’s work ethic and basketball IQ emerged as key attributes, especially in tight moments where his toughness stood out last year, keeping Lakeland right in the hunt for the NECC title, a place they expect to be again this season. Last season, he led the Lakers with 4.9 rebounds per game while scoring 6.8 points, adding 1.5 steals per contest and taking a team high eight charges, all while shooting 58 percent from two-point range.

“Levi is a tenacious rebounder who can defend both perimeter and post. He’s a natural athlete who excels at three sports. He has really only scratched the surface of what he can do on the basketball court,” said Lakeland coach TJ Schneider. “Levi will get his college paid for by playing baseball or football, but also plays basketball at an all-conference level. He can and will have a huge impact on just how good we can become as a team this season.”

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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