Wow. Let’s break down another weird and wild week in Carmel Basketball. A very bad loss last Friday, followed up by a chance to get a good win over La Lumiere Blue. At the time I’m writing this, the tip for the La Lumiere game is 45 minutes away. (Update: WOW)
Let’s start by breaking down what was by every sign the worst loss of the Greyhounds season. An unassuming end of season MIC game started odd, and ended odd for the Greyhounds on Friday against the Warren Central Warriors. You may know me as the “personal hype man” of this team, and I’ve sung their praises all year when I thought they deserved it. This game, there really weren’t many things to praise. Starting with the good, the Hounds proved that they were able to shut down some of the best players in the state. Tae Davis is a 3-star Louisville signee and the Greyhounds all but silenced him. 11 points and 0/4 from three for Davis is a good sign for the Greyhounds, but that was about the only good sign for the Greyhounds all night. Starting into the negative, the most alarming stat is the shooting of the Greyhounds. Not only is 14/37 from the field bad, but it gets worse when you look at the three point shooting numbers. 2/14, yes, a whopping 14% from three is extremely concerning. While the hounds can light it up from range at times, they can also prove to struggle mightily at times shooting the ball. This streakiness is something that the Hounds will have to figure out before postseason rolls around. I wish there was a stat on the percentage of threes taken with no defenders in the Hound’s face, because I think it would stand out on Friday night’s stat sheet. Sam Orme had a rough night, shooting 0/3 from behind the arc, and Spencer White wasn’t any better, going 1/5. Add Josh Whack going 1/4, and there is grave concern. With no real standout player, Pete Suder was once again his senior leader self that carried the Hounds to make this game competitive.
Alright, where to start about the La Lumiere game, everything I just said above about how bad the Hounds were against Warren goes out the window when you look at their win against La Lumiere. On an empty Wednesday night at the ECAC, the Hounds started hot, stayed hot, and finished hot. The Hounds won 74-30 over a team that they knew nothing about. I still couldn’t tell you whether this La Lumiere Regional team was good, or whether they are so unknown that we didn’t know how bad they were. I don’t have stats from the Hounds shooting, but you should know one thing: it was really good. If Sam Orme was in a slump: he’s out of it now. If Josh Whack was in a slump: he’s out of it now. If anyone was in a slump, they are now out of it. What is my favorite part of the Hounds win? I mean this with all due respect: they did it without Pete Suder. Suder has at times been the only person that has been able to run the Hounds offense. The Hounds rely so heavily on Pete Suder, that the entire team needed to know that they could score without him in the game. Why was Suder out? Ankle injury, minor, and according to sources within the program, he’s fine. Don’t worry.
The Hounds were doing a good job down the stretch at Warren Central driving in, finding a kick, and getting the ball out to an open shooter, the concerning part is their inability to hit those open shots. Concerning? Yes. Ability to end the Hounds season in sectionals? Yes. Will it end the Hounds season in sectionals? No. Many people had many things to say after the loss, but again I rely on my blind confidence, and everything I saw against La Lumiere proved the WC loss to be a fluke. Everything is telling me that this problem is larger than I let on, but again I refuse to believe it. I will always be a believer, no matter how many missed threes they have.