Open Gym Report: Avon High School

<p>Friday morning I was able to get over to the west side of the greater Indianapolis area to check out the Avon Orioles. After spending two seasons as the head coach at Logansport, Drew Scahuss will attempt to rebuild the Orioles coming off of a 6-15 season. Returning a First Team All-HCC guard is a good building block to start with. Avon certainly has the talent to get out of the conference cellar, but every game is a tough one in the Hoosier Crossroads Conference.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="870246" first="Chrishon" last="McCray"] earned First Team All-HCC honors last season after averaging a team-leading 15.9 points per game to go along with 4.6 rebounds and 2.4 assists. The future Kent State football player is electric with the ball in his hands and will make life easier for everyone on the floor. His dynamic playmaking ability will be heavily leaned upon in the Orioles offensive system. McCray, who is ranked as the #67 prospect in the Class of 2022 by Prep Hoops Indiana, isn’t alone in the Avon backcourt.</p> <p>5’11" senior [player_tooltip player_id="1063963" first="Tim" last="Pepper"] is back to share ball handling duties with classmate McCray. Pepper is an excellent driver and will be one of the best defenders for the Orioles as well. His veteran leadership and varsity experience will be valuable. 6’1" sharp-shooting guard Keilyn Moore is a junior that averaged 4.6 points per game last season. He will help space the floor as a 44% three-point shooter. Moore’s shooting ability will take a little pressure off of McCray and Pepper as they attack the basket.</p> <p>A new face in the backcourt that should have a breakout season is 6’2" sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="1172872" first="Jordan" last="Lomax"]. Ranked as the #9 prospect in the Class of 2024 by Prep Hoops Indiana, Lomax brings a lot of offensive firepower after a huge summer on the AAU circuit. He can really shoot the basketball, but also has the length and athleticism to get up and finish above the rim as he attacks off of the dribble. Lomax could be a real difference maker for Avon this season as he adjusts to a major role at the varsity level.</p> <p>The potential x-factor for Avon this season is 6’4" junior wing Daniel Eck. The lefty averaged 6.8 points and 3.4 rebounds per game last season while shooting 41% from deep. He has the size and skill to really increase his role this season and develop into a potential All-HCC level player. Eck is an outstanding athlete that will bring some additional length and size to an otherwise smaller Orioles team.</p> <p>Rounding out the rotation will be a pair of seniors in Andrew Grey and Nick Walker. Grey is 6’5" and averaged 3.3 points per game last season for Avon. He will be their tallest player and must be able to rebound and defend inside to give the Orioles a chance to compete with the bigger teams on their schedule. The 6’3" Walker has a little size as well and averaged 3.1 points per game as a junior. Both will be instrumental to Avon’s success this season.</p> <p><strong>Final Thought: </strong>Don’t just pencil in Avon at the bottom of the Hoosier Crossroads Conference. Coach Schauss will get the most out of this group defensively and they have the athletes to potentially be one of the best on that side of the ball in the conference. [player_tooltip player_id="870246" first="Chrishon" last="McCray"] gives them a proven talent in the backcourt, but it’ll be the continued development of guys like Daniel Eck and [player_tooltip player_id="1172872" first="Jordan" last="Lomax"] that determine the ceiling of the Orioles this year.</p>