Open Gym Report: New Castle High School
Thursday afternoon I made it over to The Largest and Finest High School Fieldhouse in the World to check out the New Castle Trojans. It was my 12th open gym in the last few weeks as I try to hit…
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Continue ReadingThursday afternoon I made it over to The Largest and Finest High School Fieldhouse in the World to check out the New Castle Trojans. It was my 12th open gym in the last few weeks as I try to hit as many as possible before the season begins. Please reach out to me on Twitter @BRamseyKSR if you would like me to make it to your school in the coming weeks!
Back-to-back seasons below .500 is not something that New Castle natives are accustomed to. Luke Bumbalough and Mason Gillis are not walking through that door. However, this Trojans team will be much improved from last year’s 9-16 mark and should compete among the top half of the Hoosier Heritage Conference. Head Coach Daniel Cox is 111-83 through eight seasons at New Castle and believes he may have his best shooting team yet. That is saying something for a school that historically breads shooters. If that ends up being true, this is a group that could really surprise some people.
The Trojans graduated six seniors, but bring back a solid core and some young players ready to step into larger varsity roles. Senior guard Trey Miller Trey Miller 6'1" | SG New Castle | 2022 IN is the leading returning scorer after averaging 9.9 points per game a season ago. The 6’2″ Miller can really shoot the basketball. 60/153 for 39.2% last season. He should have a big senior season. The other primary returning piece from last season is 6’5″ junior forward Gavin Welch Gavin Welch 6'6" | SF New Castle | 2023 State IN . Welch averaged 6.7 points and a team-high 5.5 rebounds in his sophomore season. He has a strong, athletic build to be effective inside but pairs it with the skill to play on the perimeter. Good outside shooter. Look for Welch to have a breakout junior season and be an All-Conference level player.
Senior Caleb Grow brings back plenty of varsity experience as well. He averaged 3.7 points per game last season as a skilled 6’2″ guard. Expect him to see an increased scoring role this season alongside Miller and Welch. Senior big man Dawson Scott will likely be New Castle’s starter on the block. Scott brings some serious physicality to the interior and will be an added rebounding presence. Plays with a non-stop motor and should be an important piece to their improved success. Also, senior Sam Maddy averaged 4.3 points per game a season ago along with 1.3 assists.
In the backcourt, junior Ethan Hinton and sophomore Colin Taylor will each play big rotation roles for the Trojans. The 6’0″ Hinton is a good ball handler that can initiate offense or create his own shot. Taylor, a 6’0″ Class of 2024 product who go some varsity experience as a freshman, has a chance to develop into one of the better players on the team sooner rather than later. Great athlete and very, very skilled. He could have a breakout sophomore season. Junior Quintin Boatright will round out the rotation.
Final Thought: After a 9-16 season, New Castle is ready to get back to their traditional winning ways. A one-two punch of Trey Miller Trey Miller 6'1" | SG New Castle | 2022 IN and Gavin Welch Gavin Welch 6'6" | SF New Castle | 2023 State IN is a good place to start. However, it will be the development of other new varsity contributors that decide just how improved the Trojans are this season. The shooting ability and all-around skill level are there to get back on the right side of .500.