By GREG MENGELT
Creek will look a little different this season. Trey Kaufman-Renn is now redshirting at Purdue and Kooper Jacobi is averaging 3.8 points and 4.3 rebounds as a freshman at Toledo. But Branden Northern is back after averaging 14.9 points, 6.8 assists and 3.1 rebounds as a junior. Northern will likely take a bigger role on a team still filled with talent.
The Dragons open their season tonight against Columbus East in the Hoosier Hills Hoops Boys’ Game of the Night.
East is likely to be better. It almost has to be. The Olympians won one game last season. But it doesn’t really matter. This game will be about the 2-time champions returning to the floor.
New Albany, which won the state championship in 2016, begins its quest for more titles in 2022. Also loaded with talent, the Bulldogs begin their 24th season under New Albany legend Jim Shannon. They host Clarksville tonight. It’s the first game on the bench for new Generals head man Kyle Hankins.
Then there are two rivalry games. Scottsburg and Austin haven’t been quite the same the past few years (winning just 11 games combined last season), but a rivalry game is a rivalry game and this is two proud programs from a county crazy about basketball.
Same goes for West Washington and Salem. The Lions are going through an unusual down slope, but Duane Malloy has been elevated to the head coaching job to change that. His tenure begins tonight … and it begins with a bang. It’s always an event in Washington County when the Lions and Senators are involved.
TODAY’S GAMES | WEDNESDAY, NOV. 24
GAME OF THE NIGHT
COLUMBUS EAST (0-0) AT SILVER CREEK (0-0)
• Time: 7:30 p.m.
• Location: Silver Creek High School, Sellersburg.
• Coaches:
East — Brent Chitty (120-130 in 12th season at East, 306-288 in 28th season overall).
Silver Creek — Brandon Hoffman (201-73 in 12th season at Silver Creek and overall).
• Last year’s records:
East — 1-18 (0-7 HHC).
Silver Creek — 25-4 (7-1 MSC, sectional champions, regional champions, semistate champions, state champions).
• Last year’s Sagarin ratings (computer-based rankings):
East — No. 225 overall, No. 94 Class 4A.
Silver Creek — No. 11 overall, No. 2 Class 2A.
• Most recent game:
East — Lost to Bloomington North 59-41 (Bloomington South Sectional, semifinal, March 5, 2021).
Silver Creek — Defeated Leo 50-49 (Class 3A State championship, Indianapolis, April 3, 2021).
• Last 20 years: Silver Creek 7-0. This one is a little surprising, no?
• Most recent meeting: Nov. 25, 2020 — Silver Creek 106, at Columbus East 81.
• News and notes: Hoffman has led the Dragons to 110 win over the past five seasons, including 25 wins each of the last three years. … The Dragons scored a season-high 106 points in last year’s season opener against the Olympians. … The two head coaches have 507 combined career wins. … East has won five combined games the past two years.
• Outlook: Silver Creek will look a lot different this year. Are the Dragons still state championship material? We’ll see about that. But will they be very, very difficult to beat? Of course they will.
• Greg’s pick: Silver Creek 89, Columbus East 55.
CLARKSVILLE (0-0) AT NEW ALBANY (0-0)
• Time: 7:30 p.m.
• Location: Doghouse, New Albany.
• Coaches:
Clarksville — Kyle Hankins (0-0 in first season at Clarksville and overall).
New Albany — Jim Shannon (429-127 in 24th season at New Albany, 594-266 in 38th season overall).
• Last year’s records:
Clarksville — 11-12.
New Albany — 16-7 (5-1 HHC).
• Last year’s Sagarin ratings (computer-based rankings):
Clarksville — No. 246 overall, No. 53 Class 2A.
New Albany — No. 42 overall, No. 33 Class 4A.
• Most recent game:
Clarksville — Lost to Providence 56-46 (Paoli Sectional, semifinal, March 5, 2021).
New Albany — Lost to Bedford North Lawrence 49-48 (Seymour Sectional, semifinal, March 5, 2021).
• Last 20 years: New Albany 9-0. The series paused between 2008 and 2020.
• Most recent meeting: Nov. 25, 2020 — At New Albany 95, Clarksville 41.
• News and notes: Shannon has 594 more career wins than his opponent, Hankins, who was an Indiana All-Star following his prep career at Bloomington South. Hankins most recently was an assistant coach at East Central University in Oklahoma. He replaces Brian McEwen, who went 75-91 in seven seasons as the Generals’ head coach.
• Outlook: Welcome back, Coach Hankins! We hope you win a ton of games. (But one of them is not going to be tonight.)
• Greg’s pick: New Albany 90, Clarksville 53.
AUSTIN (0-0) AT SCOTTSBURG (0-0)
• Time: 7:30 p.m.
• Location: Charles E. Meyer Gymnasium, Scottsburg.
• Coaches:
Austin — Randy Edwards (35-62 in fifth season at Austin and overall).
Scottsburg — Eric Richardson (6-18 in second season at Scottsburg and overall).
• Last year’s records:
Austin — 5-17 (1-7 MSC).
Scottsburg — 6-18 (3-5 MSC).
• Last year’s Sagarin ratings (computer-based rankings):
Austin — No. 313 overall, No. 77 Class 2A.
Scottsburg — No. 250 overall, No. 77 Class 3A.
• Most recent game:
Austin — Lost to Providence 57-55 (Paoli Sectional, first round, March 2, 2021).
Scottsburg — Lost to Madison 68-51 (Charlestown Sectional, semifinal, March 5, 2021).
• Last 20 years: Scottsburg 15-5. The Warriors have won three straight in the series.
• Most recent meeting: Dec. 23, 2020 — Scottsburg 83, at Austin 63.
• News and notes: Edwards formerly coached Scottsburg’s girls’ program. … Scottsburg starts its season with four conference matchups in its first six games.
• Outlook: Southern Indiana basketball is better when Scottsburg and Austin are good. Let’s hope they both begin their ascent this season.
• Greg’s pick: Scottsburg 71, Austin 62.
SALEM (0-0) AT WEST WASHINGTON (0-0)
• Time: 7:30 p.m.
• Location: Tower Gymnasium, Campbellsburg.
• Coaches:
Salem — Duane Malloy (0-0 in first season at Salem and overall).
West Washington — Clayton Sullivan (39-36 in fourth season at West Washington and overall).
• Last year’s records:
Salem — 4-18 (2-6 MSC).
West Washington — 12-12 (2-4 PLAC).
• Last year’s Sagarin ratings (computer-based rankings):
Salem — No. 331, No. 90 Class 3A.
West Washington — No. 280, No. 36 Class A.
• Most recent game:
Salem — Lost to Madison 83-51 (Madison Sectional, first round, March 3, 2021).
West Washington — Lost to Trinity Lutheran 57-41 (West Washington Sectional, championship, March 6, 2021).
• Last 20 years: Salem 21-10. West Washington has beaten its rivals three consecutive times.
• Most recent meeting: Jan. 12, 2021 — West Washington 56, Salem 41.
• News and notes: Malloy spent the last four years as a Salem assistant coach. …
• Outlook: We’ve never covered Washington County before, so we won’t pretend to have something poignant to say. (But we’ll learn, we promise.) The rule is always take the home team when pretending to be an expert.
• Greg’s pick: West Washington 60, Salem 57.
