Indiana Tech basketball was as close to winning an NAIA national championship last season as you can get without actually hoisting the trophy.
The Warriors came back from a 23-point second-half deficit against College of Idaho in the national championship game, ultimately missing a free throw with 12 seconds left that would have tied the game and losing 73-71 to cap off the program’s best season. historic with a second national place.
And then the Warriors lost the best and most experienced senior class they’ve ever had.
Five of Tech’s top seven scorers left the program at the end of last season: Rog Stein, Josh Kline, Cory McKinney, Grant Smith and former Bishop Dwenger Lucas Lehrman. This quintet had 27 seasons of college basketball experience, 14 All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference selections, three WHAC Defensive Player of the Year awards (all from McKinney), and one WHAC Player of the Year trophy ( Stein last season).
But despite losing all this talent, Tech is not moderating its expectations for this season.
“We just have to tell the new guys, let them know we have a standard now, to get this far,” said junior Blake Davison, a Leo graduate who is the team’s leading returning scorer after an average by 11.2 points last season. “The guys that were here and did this race last year, we all know what it took and what it’s going to take this year. It’s just about calling these (new) guys back and pushing them every day.
Davison, who had a breakout performance with 23 points in a second-round NAIA tournament game against Evangel last season and followed that up with 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting in a quarterfinal game against Arizona Christian was one of the youngest players in the group. this 2022-23 team.
A year later, he’s part of a group of veterans, which also includes fifth-year senior Steve Helm, junior Max Perez and redshirt sophomore Conner West, who have been thrust into new roles as direction.
Fortunately for the Warriors, these players have had several years to learn from great leaders like Stein, McKinney and the others.
“Consistency is probably one of the biggest ones,” Davison said of what he’s learned from the 2023 senior class. “I don’t take a day off to just hang out at practice. I just push my teammates every day. And when someone has a bad day – because not everyone always has a good day – you just pick them up and lean on your teammates throughout the year.
On Monday, the Warriors returned to practice with a roster that included six freshmen, one redshirt freshman and two transfers — 6-foot-8 forward Javel Lewis from Mid-Michigan Community College, where he was the all-time leader in blocks and rebounds. , and 6-6 wing Nigel Martin from Santa Fe Community College.
The transfers, along with freshmen Crew Gibson, a 6-8 forward, and Dallas Roberts, a 6-2 guard, should be immediate contributors, coach Ted Albert said.
Albert, coming off national coach of the year honors last season, returns for a seventh year at the helm of the program and hopes to help the Warriors win a fourth WHAC regular season title in five seasons and a third in a row.
To win another trophy, Alberts expects Tech to have to adopt a more perimeter-oriented style of play due to the losses of Stein, Kline and Lehrman in the middle. After ranking low in the NAIA in 3-point attempts last season, with 15.5 per game, the Warriors will likely see that number increase significantly this year.
“Our young people are excited to help build on the foundations and certainly the success of previous groups,” Albert said. “They know that that goal has probably become a little bit bigger and in the same sense, we hold ourselves to the highest standards and expectations. None of this changes.
Indiana Tech basketball was as close to winning an NAIA national championship last season as you can get without actually hoisting the trophy.
The Warriors came back from a 23-point second-half deficit against College of Idaho in the national championship game, ultimately missing a free throw with 12 seconds left that would have tied the game and losing 73-71 to cap off the program’s best season. historic with a second national place.
And then the Warriors lost the best and most experienced senior class they’ve ever had.
Five of Tech’s top seven scorers left the program at the end of last season: Rog Stein, Josh Kline, Cory McKinney, Grant Smith and former Bishop Dwenger Lucas Lehrman. This quintet had 27 seasons of college basketball experience, 14 All-Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference selections, three WHAC Defensive Player of the Year awards (all from McKinney), and one WHAC Player of the Year trophy ( Stein last season).
But despite losing all this talent, Tech is not moderating its expectations for this season.
“We just have to tell the new guys, let them know we have a standard now, to get this far,” said junior Blake Davison, a Leo graduate who is the team’s leading returning scorer after an average by 11.2 points last season. “The guys that were here and did this race last year, we all know what it took and what it’s going to take this year. It’s just about calling these (new) guys back and pushing them every day.
Davison, who had a breakout performance with 23 points in a second-round NAIA tournament game against Evangel last season and followed that up with 18 points on 6-for-8 shooting in a quarterfinal game against Arizona Christian was one of the youngest players in the group. this 2022-23 team.
A year later, he’s part of a group of veterans, which also includes fifth-year senior Steve Helm, junior Max Perez and redshirt sophomore Conner West, who have been thrust into new roles as direction.
Fortunately for the Warriors, these players have had several years to learn from great leaders like Stein, McKinney and the others.
“Consistency is probably one of the biggest ones,” Davison said of what he’s learned from the 2023 senior class. “I don’t take a day off to just hang out at practice. I just push my teammates every day. And when someone has a bad day – because not everyone always has a good day – you just pick them up and lean on your teammates throughout the year.
On Monday, the Warriors returned to practice with a roster that included six freshmen, one redshirt freshman and two transfers — 6-foot-8 forward Javel Lewis from Mid-Michigan Community College, where he was the all-time leader in blocks and rebounds. , and 6-6 wing Nigel Martin from Santa Fe Community College.
The transfers, along with freshmen Crew Gibson, a 6-8 forward, and Dallas Roberts, a 6-2 guard, should be immediate contributors, coach Ted Albert said.
Albert, coming off national coach of the year honors last season, returns for a seventh year at the helm of the program and hopes to help the Warriors win a fourth WHAC regular season title in five seasons and a third in a row.
To win another trophy, Alberts expects Tech to have to adopt a more perimeter-oriented style of play due to the losses of Stein, Kline and Lehrman in the middle. After ranking low in the NAIA in 3-point attempts last season, with 15.5 per game, the Warriors will likely see that number increase significantly this year.
“Our young people are excited to help build on the foundations and certainly the success of previous groups,” Albert said. “They know that that goal has probably become a little bit bigger and in the same sense, we hold ourselves to the highest standards and expectations. None of this changes.
