Second in a series
By RICHIE HALL
The junior class on the DePauw University men’s basketball team, which includes four Hamilton County players, has become the “heart and soul” of the team, said Tigers coach Bill Fenlon.
While fans enjoyed watching that class this season, another group of people are observing those juniors more closely. That would be the DePauw freshmen, who finished their season getting the opportunity to experience college basketball for the first time.
One of them is from Hamilton County: Carmel’s Cole Brady. The 6-foot-8 forward played in seven games for the Tigers, steadily improving each time he took to the court.
“He’s improved tremendously over the course of his first year,” said Fenlon. He noted that Brady has many good physical tools to be a good basketball player.
“He’s 6-8, he’s really long, he’s very bouncy,” said Fenlon. He has good hands, he can run and he likes to play. With a guy like this, the biggest jump is between that freshman and sophomore year. You’re banging around there with older guys, you’re getting attention from the other coaches. Then all of a sudden you’re a sophomore, you just know a lot more about what to expect. We’re hoping that he’s going to be a guy that can really contribute for us on the court in games next year.”
It was Fenlon that gave Brady a tour of the school his first time there, and Brady immediately took to the coach, as well as the small-school experience.
“I like the environment at the school,” said Brady. He enjoyed the closeness of the campus, and also loves the Tigers’ gym, Neal Fieldhouse.
“I liked how close everything was,” he said. “The campus itself was beautiful.”
Once basketball practices began in the fall, Brady found out on the first day just how serious college practices were. “We had two-a-days the very first week of practices,” he said.
“I could tell just by the vibe of the practice that every practice meant something, due to how many games we play throughout the year,” said Brady.
Brady also got to see first-hand the athleticism of college players. “All the older kids are more physical and faster,” he said.
“It’s a whole other level of fitness between high school and college basketball.”
Brady didn’t play in many games during the first part of the season, but that gave him the opportunity to observe the college game from the best seat in the gym. He got a chance to see the junior class in action, such as the two leading scorers on the team, Nolan Ginther (from Noblesville) and Josh Hall.
“They’re great centers, great power forwards,” said Brady, who noted there was a “lot to learn from their toughness. They go in there and play their hearts out. Just learning how they play through their offense is going to help me as I go forward throughout the years.”
Brady took to the floor for the first time on Dec. 4, taking to the court in the Tigers’ first game of the season against Wittenberg. He got in for one minute, but made the most of it, saying “it definitely was fun, just being able to get out there for the first time.”
Brady then played in six more games during DePauw’s January and February part of the season. He scored his first career points in the Tigers’ second game against Wittenberg on Jan. 29.
DePauw hosted Oberlin in its next game (Feb. 1), and Brady scored six points. The Tigers beat Oberlin 71-62. Brady said it was a good feeling to contribute, “but I knew that it was just part of my role, doing offense and doing what the coach said. We pulled off the win.”
Brady is also settling in on the academic side as well.
“DePauw’s a great school,” said Brady, noting that the academic side is “definitely challenging. I’ve been able to get my work done.”
He’s getting help from the juniors there, saying that the class “definitely leads you on the right path.” The juniors have given advice on classes and have helped out, because they have taken those same classes that the freshmen are taking now.
“It’s definitely nice to have other teammates helping with our schoolwork, because we’ve done the same requirements,” said Brady.
“I’m not declared, but I’m thinking about a major in communications and a minor in psychology, which I’ll be declaring next fall,” said Brady. “We have requirements we have to do outside of our major to graduate.”
Overall, it was a good freshman year for Brady, and the future looks bright as well.
“I love the school,” he said.