High School Spotlight: New Palestine Dragons

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The High School Spotlight Series is back and we are excited to feature multiple teams throughout the state once again! The season is still a month away, but with practices happening, it is the perfect time to start previewing the season. In this series, we will be taking a look at some quick hitters, the top player(s), a potential breakout player, other roster members, and notable games for the upcoming season. For today's spotlight, we take a look at the New Palestine Dragons.&nbsp;</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Quick Hitters</strong></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Went 22-6 last season.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Lost to Ben Davis in Regionals.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Head Coach Trent Whitaker returns for his 10th season as the head coach. 238-90 overall record.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Are now in Class 3A. </li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Top Player: [player_tooltip player_id='1297068' first='Julius' last='Gizzi']<a href="https://prephoops.com/player/nijah-jewell/"></a></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>When it was going to be time to spotlight the New Palestine Dragons, there was never going to be any doubt that senior wing [player_tooltip player_id='1297068' first='Julius' last='Gizzi'] was going to be the top player of this squad. The 6'3 guard returns as the leading producer of the Dragons averaging an outstanding 28.9 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game a season ago. The Indiana Wesleyan University commit is one of the top volume soccer's across the entire state being able to score in all three phases at an obvious high rate. With his commitment out of the way, the only focus will be to lead New Pal to a 3A State Championship. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Potential Breakout Player: [player_tooltip player_id='1539483' first='Ben' last='Slagley']<a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jeremiah-bellamy/"></a></h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There could have been multiple players on this experienced New Pal team to place as the potential breakout player but I settled on 6'3 power forward [player_tooltip player_id='1539483' first='Ben' last='Slagley']. Slagley saw his stock rise a little bit over the past year becoming one of the more intriguing prospects that we have in the in-state 2025 class. An extremely versatile player, you can almost play him at any spot on the floor and he will produce with his passing ability, strength, handles and more. He brings back 9.3 points and 6.6 rebounds per game from a season ago. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Other Key Roster Members</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='1539484' first='Moses' last='Haynes'] - Senior</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='1539569' first='Keagan' last='Harrison'] - Senior</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>[player_tooltip player_id='2272810' first='Evan' last='Darrah'] - Junior</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Austin McMahan - Senior</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Notable Games</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>at Greenfield-Central (12/13)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>vs Zionsville (Southport Tipoff, 12/14)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Lawrenceburg Tournament (12/27-12/28)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>vs Lawrence North (1/29)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul class="wp-block-list"><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>at Warren Central (2/27)</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list -->