By RICHIE HALL
With an Indiana All-Star and a world-class move-in among the senior class, it’s easy to predict that there are big things in store for the Westfield boys basketball team next winter.
The Shamrocks showed off some of that talent during what coach Shane Sumpter called a “pretty busy June.” Westfield played in 15 games that month, including a tournament at Purdue, Tuesday night action in the Pacers Athletic Center (PAC) League at Grand Park, and the big Charlie Hughes Shootout, in which the ‘Rocks played all four of their games on their home court, CSI Gymnasium.
Westfield went 3-0 at Purdue, with wins over a Kentucky team, Hamilton Southeastern and Delta. Moving into the PAC League, which had games every Tuesday night in June, the Shamrocks compiled a 7-1 record. Westfield picked up victories over North Central, Lawrence Central and Arsenal Tech, only falling to Crispus Attucks.
“We had a pretty good run in the PAC League,” said Sumpter.
Westfield also had a nice run in the Charlie Hughes Tournament. The ‘Rocks were 3-1 at the event, starting with a victory over Bloomington North 71-54, and a re-match win against Attucks, 70-53. Westfield then took care of Crown Point 54-34 before dropping its finale against Brownstown Central 65-56. Sumpter said Brownstown is “a very good team;” the Braves are coming off a 24-5 season and reached the final of the Class 2A semi-state.
“I thought we played well and did a lot of good things,” said Sumpter. The coach said his Shamrocks “learned about our basketball team and where we need to get to, but I thought we had a nice Charlie Hughes Shootout.”
Senior stars
Westfield graduated three seniors from last year, but the incoming senior class looks to be solid. The first big name is Trey Buchanan, who was an Indiana Junior All-Star. Buchanan is the leading scorer among returning players, averaging 14.3 points per game. He also pulled 3.6 rebounds per game.
“He’s been playing well and getting some attention,” said Sumpter. “I’m assuming that’s going to ramp up even more. He’s had a good spring and a good summer.”
Another senior getting notice is Charles Farrell. He was a consistent player for Westfield during his junior year, with 4.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per contest. Sumpter said Farrell has stepped up his game, and has had “a really good spring and a really good summer. I’m starting to field some calls on him as well.”
Senior-to-be Caleb Wise had limited games last season due to a stress fracture, but he made the most of what he had, averaging 3.8 points in four games.
“I thought he had an exceptional spring and summer, shooting the ball and getting the ball to the rim,” said Sumpter.
The senior who is sure to turn heads for Westfield is Nic Book, a 6-8 transfer from Oak Hill (Va.). Book is originally from New Zealand, where he was an international star, playing on junior national teams. Last year, he played for New Zealand at the FIBA U16 Asian Championship, where he was name to the All-Star Five, averaging 19.3 points and 10.3 rebounds per game during the tournament.
“He just played in the Charlie Hughes because he was hurt initially,” said Sumpter.
After their busy month, the Shamrocks will be taking a breather, especially as players are now competing in their AAU seasons. Sumpter said the team will return to two workouts per week in September.