By Tatum Outlaw
<[email protected]>

Last year the men’s basketball team went undefeated at home and went on to grasp a Sectional and Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference (MIC) championship with a 17-2 regular season record. This winter, the men’s team hopes to repeat the success of last season and also grab the Regional title. With experienced seniors Morgan Newton and Brandon Wojcik along with juniors John “Scott” Laskowski and Robert Kitzinger, the team has a fighting chance to build on the success of last year.

“Each year we strive for success, which can come in different ways,” Head Coach Mark Galloway said. Galloway said the key component for a successful season is leadership. This year’s team will not only have leadership shown from the current seniors but secondary leadership coming from the juniors as well.

“Also your graduating starters (Newton and Wojcik) are going to need to step up as well,” Galloway said.

Now returning as a senior, Wojcik said that another key component to having a great season is to have a united team.

“To have a good and successful season, you have to have a good team where everyone is united, and here at Carmel we have that,” Wojcik said.

In a conference where almost every match up can be a challenge, Galloway and Wojcik think some of the major competitors this year will be North Central on Dec. 12, Pike on Jan. 21 and Lawrence North on Feb. 6. There were teams the Greyhounds defeated last year without a visible struggle in the regular season.

Another competitive game will be against Brownsburg, which also happens to be the season-opener for the Greyhounds on Nov. 26. The team was defeated in a second-round Regional game to the bulldogs last winter losing 63-56. Another high light on the schedule is the Warren Central game on Feb. 17, a team that gave the Greyhounds their first loss last season on the road.

“As a senior, I want to help make this season memorable for the team and for the school,” Wojcik said.

Overall, with the success of last year, a solid goal for this season and four returning players returning to the team, the Greyhounds are a force to be reckoned with when the season starts this winter.

“We are looking to win what we can, MIC, Sectional or Regional any time that you get to cut down a net is a good thing,” Galloway said.

Fans can see the men’s team in action with a scrimmage against Lawrence Central on Nov. 19 at 6 p.m. in the varsity gymnasium.

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Tough To Replace: Last year’s starting lineup (state statistical leaders, if applicable, in parentheses)

Guards: Charlie Hansen, Daniel Moore (7.6 assists/game, 52.2% FG percentage, 2.7 steals/game)
Forwards: Adam Rapp, Stuart Douglass (36.7% 3 pt. FG percentage)
Center: Jordan Brewer

IHSAA.ORG, MARK GALLOWAY / SOURCE