BY KENZIE WINSTEAD
Content Editor
At Silver Creek, basketball is family.
When Silver Creek Brandon Hoffman took over the program in 2010, the Dragons hadn’t won a sectional title in 11 seasons.
It took Hoffman and the Dragons three years to win a single game in the sectional tournament.
Then the tide turned.
In 2014 against a tough-as-nails draw, the Dragons put it together and beat three solids teams — Madison, Corydon and Brownstown for the sectional title. It was the hardest draw possible.
As the Silver Creek players cut down the nets in 2014, they handed some of the clippings to some Silver Creek kids, a staple at all Dragon basketball events.
Little did Hoffman know but those little kids would grow up one day and take the Dragons to the semistate.
Now the Silver Creek basketball culture is a winning one. The Dragons (23-3) have won five sectionals in the last six seasons and they’ll be playing in Saturday’s Class 3A semistate against Indianapolis Attucks at Seymour.
As the sectional trophies kept filling the cases at Silver Creek, Hoffman said he changed and it became less about him and more about everyone else.
“Coaching became a lot more fun for me when I started to care about other people having success,” he said. “We have a lot of fans at Silver Creek who have been here before I even played.”
Hoffman said he enjoys helping his players reach their goals.
“Really, we’ve had a lot of players who are really good,” he said. “We’ve had plenty of Jimmys and Joes. For us, everything just snowballed.”
Hoffman admitted he knew this would be a special group — years ago — as they came up through the Silver Creek system.
“These kids are close and they trust each other,” he said.
Plus, they are talented.
The talent starts with two sensational sophomores — certain college prospects Trey Kaufman and Kooper Jacobi.
But the Dragons would not be in the semi-state without three senior starters Zane Gross, Jack Hawkins and Ty Kessinger.
Hoffman said Gross has grown up over the years and he’s now a certified leader on this team.
“He’s like having another coach on the floor,” Hoffman said of Gross.
Now the Dragons are just one win away from playing for the Class 3A title at Bankers Life in Indianapolis. “Just win one (game) — that would be something else,” Hoffman said.
But Silver Creek must beat a talented Attucks team.
“Obviously, there isn’t a bad team left,” Hoffman said. “I’m sure they (Attucks) expects to win; we do too.”
