Open Gym Report: Hamilton Southeastern

A new era is underway at Hamilton Southeastern High School. After two full decades at the helm of the boys basketball program, Brian Satterfield has moved over to the girls side in order to coach his daughter. Coach Satterfield posted a 322-151 record in his 20 seasons as the Royals head coach with three sectional championships and nine Hoosier Crossroads Conference titles in that span. Now, John Ashworth takes over the reigns after six seasons at Decatur Central. The former Franklin Central and IUPUI player has a 65-70 record as a head coach. Coach Ashworth and his staff allowed me to attend Wednesday afternoon’s team workout to get a look behind the curtain of their program.

The Royals graduated seven seniors a year ago including their four leading scorers. Vinny Buccilla Vinny Buccilla 6'1" | PG Hamilton Southeastern | 2021 State IN , who is now suiting up for Wabash College, led the bunch with 12.7 points and 4.7 assists per game. Replacing 83.7% of your scoring is never an easy task, but that is what Coach Ashworth will be tasked with in his first season at HSE. The cupboard isn’t bare of talent though and the Royals have a very strong sophomore class that will be asked to step up in a major way this year. However, there will be some growing pains along the way as the younger guys try to fill the shoes of those who graduated.

Leading the returners this season will be 6’3″ senior wing Sam Jacobs Sam Jacobs 6'4" | SF Hamilton Southeastern | 2022 State IN . Jacobs is also a star of the Royals football team so he was not at Wednesday’s workout, but he brings back 8.3 points per game. He has garnered a good amount of small college interest and is ranked #78 in the Class of 2022 by Prep Hoops Indiana. His senior leadership and development into a go-to offensive piece will be critical to HSE’s success this winter.

Beyond Jacobs, there are several talented pieces but they simply don’t have much of any varsity experience at this point. That obviously leads to a lot of unknowns. A pair of seniors in guard Tyler Lacey and point guard Caleb Smock are both expected to play major roles after primarily competing on junior varsity a year ago. Additionally, a pair of juniors in 6’6″ big man Reph Stevenson Reph Stevenson 6'7" | PF Hamilton Southeastern | 2023 State IN and 6’4″ wing Alex Troutman Alex Troutman 6'3" | SG Anderson | 2023 State IN will step into much larger varsity roles this season. Sophomore Deion Miles Deion Miles 6'0" | PG Hamilton Southeastern | 2024 State IN will actually bring as much varsity experience back as anyone after playing in 17 games as a freshman, albeit in pretty limited minutes. The 6’0″ point guard headlines the Royals highly-touted sophomore class.

Alongside Deion Miles Deion Miles 6'0" | PG Hamilton Southeastern | 2024 State IN in that 2024 class for Hamilton Southeastern is Donovan Hamilton Donovan Hamilton 6'3" | SG Hamilton Southeastern | 2024 State IN , a 6’3″ wing, Eli Robinson Eli Robinson 6'5" | PF Hamilton Southeastern | 2024 State IN , a 6’4″ forward, and Mike Griffith, a super athletic 6’3″ forward. Miles, Hamilton, and Robinson will be relied upon as major contributors and potential starters while Griffith should provide depth in the rotation.

Here are a few takeaways from Wednesday’s open gym:

• Reph Stevenson Reph Stevenson 6'7" | PF Hamilton Southeastern | 2023 State IN is a very intriguing prospect. The 6’6″ big man is really improving around the basket as a finisher now that he is starting to try and dunk everything. Super long arms. Runs the floor well and showed good hands as the roll man in pick-and-roll situations. The overall skill level is still a bit raw and he needs to get stronger, but there are some very projectable tools there. Starting to get some Division II interest and I can see why. I would expect him to have a very nice junior season for the Royals. #41 prospect in the Class of 2023 by Prep Hoops Indiana. 
• Alex Troutman Alex Troutman 6'3" | SG Anderson | 2023 State IN may well be the x-factor for how good this team will be. He has great size and athleticism on the wing at 6’4″. Really showed the ability to drive the basketball and made some people bounce off of him around the basket. He joins an already long and athletic core that should really be able to pressure people on the perimeter and find success in transition. Ranked #95 in the Class of 2023 by Prep Hoops Indiana.
• Caleb Smock is a hard-nosed, crafty point guard that will be the Royals floor general. Really impressed me with the way he handled the ball and finished at the rim. Brings the intangibles that you would want out of your senior point guard. Will compete with sophomore Deion Miles Deion Miles 6'0" | PG Hamilton Southeastern | 2024 State IN for the starting point guard role.

Final Thought: Having to replace 83.7% of your scoring and a vast majority of your varsity minutes is never an easy task. There will be growing pains in Coach John Ashworth’s first season at Hamilton Southeastern. However, senior Sam Jacobs Sam Jacobs 6'4" | SF Hamilton Southeastern | 2022 State IN gives the Royals a talented, physical presence on the wing to build around. Juniors Reph Stevenson Reph Stevenson 6'7" | PF Hamilton Southeastern | 2023 State IN and Alex Troutman Alex Troutman 6'3" | SG Anderson | 2023 State IN both are more than ready to take on a larger role this season. Then, it comes down to that sophomore class. There is no denying their talent. However, they are still just sophomores. How ready that young core is to compete at the high level required of high school basketball in Indianapolis will determine what type of season the Royals have. This group could surprise some people by February.