champions are made in the summer

A stormy start to a day that would hammer home the theme printed on the back of Muncie coach Lisa Blalock's t-shirt - "champions are made in the summer."  As we saw at New Castle & Carmel, summer leagues and shootouts lay the foundation for next year's teams and that hard work was on full display at both Blue River Valley and Muncie Central. Although separated by only a few miles these two schools tell the tale of Indiana basketball - BRV, a small Henry County school (1A) with one Semistate championship on their resume and Muncie Central, a powerhouse since 1917 with 8 State banners hanging from the rafters.  What we saw at the end of the day - hearts big enough to fill any championship roster.  CGS.  

big numbers

Summer is shootout time.  Camps, workshops and small tourneys take up the month of June so we journeyed north to two towns with big numbers.  New Castle is the home of the "largest and finest fieldhouse in the world."  With seats for 9325 fans, it is truly an impressive work of architecture.  And, as we watched the 2015 Lady Trojan Summer Shootout, there doesn't appear to be one bad seat.  Then, on to the 11th Annual Charlie Hughes Shoot-Out at Carmel High School.  The Greyhound's main gym has an old school sunken feel and is home to teams that have won 3 state titles in basketball.  But the numbers here surround the hardwood court - trophies & photos of Carmel's 137 team state champions (and some of the ones from the 247 individual, doubles or relay state champs).  Big numbers, all around. CGS.  

on the road

A little basketball from Look3 in Charlottesville, VA.  CGS.

back to chuck's town

Back in December we came to Columbus and the home of the North Bulldogs to experience the annual rivalry game between East & North on a night they honored home town hero Chuck Taylor.  An evening washed in blue and orange, school spirit, a packed house and a good game.  Saturday we returned to both gyms to witness, as I said in my earlier post, "a community coming together to celebrate."  As we have already noted, these gyms are about more than a simple game of 5v5 with a ball and a hoop and any of these grads can attest to that.  CGS.