By RICHIE HALL
Two Hamilton County boys basketball teams started the week with new beginnings.
Sheridan and Noblesville both announced new head coaches at their respective school board meetings. The Blackhawks went first, approving the hiring of Chip Flemmer, a successful coach in the Atlanta, Ga. area Monday night. The Millers then hired their new coach on Tuesday: Scott McClelland, a familiar name in Central Indiana basketball.
LARGE SCHOOL, SMALL TOWN
McClelland has been a head coach for 18 years, with the majority of those years spent at Morristown. In 13 seasons, McClelland guided the Yellow Jackets to nine winning campaigns, including a Class 1A state championship in 2018. Morristown finished 28-2 that year.
The experience of coaching at a small town actually provided some attraction for coming to Noblesville, which McClelland said has “a tradition of great players and great coaches,” plus a passionate fan base.
“I’ve often said that Noblesville is one of the largest schools in the state, but it’s a small town,” said McClelland. “So, I think with the tradition of coaches, great players, the success the program’s had through the last 25, 30 years, I think it’s something that there’s a small-town feel to it with the big-time school atmosphere and I think they’re just on the cusp of winning. I feel like I can help us get over the top.”
McClelland’s first stint with the Yellow Jackets was from 2003-2010; the team won a sectional in 2007. He then coached at Brebeuf Jesuit for two years (2010-2012) and at Western Boone for three seasons, (2012-2015) before returning to Morristown. The Yellow Jackets followed up the 2018 state title with another sectional championship in 2019.
In all, McClelland has 246 wins to his credit. He noted that in the past four years at Morristown, the Yellow Jackets have produced one 2,000-point scorer (Hayden Langkabel) and four 1,000-point scorers.
McClelland is a homegrown Hoosier, having graduated from Yorktown High School in 1993 and Ball State University in 1998, from which he earned a Bachelor’s degree. He will teach wellness at Noblesville High School.
“What sets Scott apart from others is his ability to not only teach the game of basketball, but to use basketball to teach lessons about life,” said NHS athletic director Leah Wooldridge. “His coaching makes teams stronger because he builds unique relationships with each player, learning what they most need from him to bring out the best in themselves. I’m excited to see what’s next for this team.”
McClelland will meet with his new Millers players today and already has plans for what he wants to bring to The Mill and Noblesville boys basketball.
“We want to try to develop a collaboration of skill development, principles for success, competing, being a great teammate, being coachable, accepting your role and just trying to build a program that the community can be proud of,” said McClelland.
A LONG PATH
Flemmer’s path to Sheridan was definitely a long one for someone who grew up on the West Coast. He taught and coached at schools in Washington State, California and Texas before landing in Georgia.
After two years as a coach and teacher at West Forsyth High School, Flemmer was hired at Cambridge High School, a brand-new public school that opened in 2012 in the Atlanta suburb of Milton. He was the head boys varsity basketball coach and graduation coach, a position he will also have at Sheridan.
Flemmer said his role as a graduation coach is to help students in whatever capacity to get them to Graduation Day. That may mean credit recovery in order to pass a class required for graduation, helping any students that are struggling and monitoring their grades to “make sure they don’t fall through the cracks.” He also works with students taking early college classes, helping them get a head start.
“You really are a coach from the academic standpoint,” said Flemmer. “Working with them, coming up with different strategies to help them be successful.”
In basketball, Flemmer’s Cambridge teams were the Region 7-6A champions in 2018 and 2019 and qualified for the Georgia state tournament four years in a row from 2017 to 2020, making the “Sweet 16” in 2019. He was named the Region 7-6A Coach of the Year in 2018 and 2019 and has had nine players earn college scholarships.
ELEVATE THE PROGRAM
Flemmer and his assistant came up to Indiana in 2019 to watch all four of the boys basketball state championships, “and that kind of planted the bug,” he said. When the opportunity came to coach in the Hoosier State, he took it. Flemmer said he liked Sheridan’s location, being so close to Indianapolis and in Hamilton County.
“It’s the perfect location, smaller school,” said Flemmer. “It was everything I was looking for.”
Flemmer has already met with the players, doing so at a meet-and-greet after the hiring. He was already impressed with them.
“They look like a very close-knit group,” said Flemmer. “They’re a hard-working group. You can tell there’s definitely some talent there.”
The coach was practicing with his new players on Tuesday. He’s aware of the school’s history and its towering football success.
“We’re also hoping that we can elevate the basketball program,” he said, hoping to put it in the same sentence as football. “That was something we talked about today in practice. Respect the history, but we also want to create our own history.”
“We are very excited to welcome Coach Chip Flemmer and his family to our Blackhawk family,” said Sheridan athletic director Beth DeVinney. “When looking for a Coach it was important to our team that we found someone passionate, committed, and with high character. Coach had great success at 6A Cambridge High School (41-7) and his passion for Indiana Basketball makes him the perfect fit for our school, our team and our community. We are looking forward to Coach Flemmer building a program for years to come.”