Argos boys basketball preview: Juniors form nucleus for Dragons as Kindig begins 2nd year

Val T.
18 minutes ago
5 min read

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Luke Stults averaged 21 points and 8.6 rebounds per game for the Argos boys basketball team last year.

A 6-5 magnet in the middle for double and triple teams, he produced nonetheless.

Stults has since graduated, and the challenge for coach Nick Kindig as he begins his second year will be conceiving a style of play without Stults that will help Argos improve on their 4-19 record last year.

Kindig’s plans received a monkey wrench: Zhayne Hellums and Mack Calhoun are starting the year suspended and will not be eligible until around Christmas break, according to Kindig. In addition, junior Joel Trump is suspended for the season.

Kindig declined to specify reasons for the suspensions or why Trump’s suspension was longer than Hellums’ and Calhoun’s suspensions.

Averaging 9.9 points per game, Hellums is Argos’ leading returning scorer. The 6-4 Calhoun is Argos’ tallest player and their top returning rebounder at 4.7 per game.

This was Kindig’s first full summer as Argos’ coach, and 16 kids came out for basketball.

“I think just having that first offseason being here, the kids knew what to expect in the offseason,” Kindig said. “Our numbers were a lot better. There were times this summer where we had everybody that’s playing this year was there, so I think our guys were finally bought into what the expectations were. And kids were showing up and wanting to play this summer and even in the fall. Even during soccer season, we had great attendance. I was happy with that. The kids are really buying into what we want to do in the offseason.”

Kindig acknowledges that Stults will be tough to replace, but he notes that once Hellums and Calhoun become eligible again, the Dragons will have four returning starters to join junior guards Kenyan Beldon and Mekhi Austin.

“Mack Calhoun’s going to have to do some more scoring,” Kindig said. “He’s probably going to be in a more natural position for himself. We had to play him maybe out of position just to use Luke a little bit better. Zhayne Hellums is going to score a little bit more. Kenyan and Mekhi, they’re going to take more of a leadership role, and they’re going to handle the ball and do a little bit more on defense. So everybody’s just going to have to do a little bit more.”

Kindig noted Calhoun’s improvement during the summer.

“This summer, he played really well,” Kindig said. “There were times this summer he was our best player. He worked at it as much as anybody. He was always early and staying late. Even in the fall, he was kind of the same way. He wants to be a really good player. He puts in the time to do that. I think he has a little more confidence in himself now in what we expect of him.”

The other senior is Kyle Penn.

“We’re going to need some senior leadership there from him,” Kindig said. “I think he really takes pride in playing defense. He’s going to have to handle the ball a little bit. We’re going to need him to defend and do the little things. Loose balls. Be that voice. … We really expect a lot of things out of him on the defensive end.”

Hellums, Beldon and Austin are the three juniors. All are in their third year on the varsity.

Known for his refined jump shot, the 6-2 Hellums made 38 3-pointers last year. The rest of the team made 38 3-pointers combined.

“He was playing really well by the end of the year,” Kindig said. “He was shooting the ball a lot better. Again, a kid that puts in as much time as anybody. He puts in a lot of time outside of what I see even. He’s very confident. I think he expects to be good. He’s been shooting the ball really well this fall. I think he’s probably going to be one of our leading scorers. He’s going to definitely take that leadership on the offensive end, but defensively, he’s long. He’s got some size to him. He’s become more physical. We’re going to need more out of him on the defensive end. I think he can be a really good defender too.”

Kindig also said that Austin has improved his shooting and added that he can be a good defender.

“I think he’s understanding the game a lot better and understanding what he can do on the floor and what’s expected of him,” Kindig said. “We need him to be more of a leader than what he has in the past.”

Kindig said that Beldon, a point guard, will need to look more for his own scoring. Beldon averaged just over 2 ppg last year.

“We’re going to need him to be more aggressive,” Kindig said. “A lot of our offense, he’s just getting it to where it needs to go and then playing off that, but I think he’s starting to understand, hey, once we get in our spots where everybody needs to be, I still need to be aggressive. I need to look to score. Even with losing Luke, there’s going to be more opportunities and I think maybe more sets that are run for him. But yeah, he’s going to have to be aggressive. He’s going to need to average 8 to 10 points a game, I think.”

Sophomores in the program include Angelo McMillen, who was limited last year due to a hand injury suffered during soccer season and whom Kindig said will play a “big role”; twin brothers Ethan and Aiden Samuels; and 5-7 guard Jack Jones.

“They play really hard,” Kindig said of the Samuels twins. “They’re quick. They’re fast. I think they just need to slow down a little bit sometimes and just understand the game. They are different. Although they are twins, they do things a little bit differently. They just need to get out on the floor and play with some of the experienced guys, and I think they can contribute big-time.”

Kindig said five freshmen are in the program. Lucas Lowry, a 6-1 forward, is the only one listed on the varsity roster.

Kindig’s father Chris returns to the coaching staff. Former Oregon-Davis assistant Garrett Weil is a newcomer to the coaching staff. Emilio Avendano, who had been coaching the seventh-graders, is the new JV coach.

Argos boys basketball schedule

Argos moved its game with Caston up from Feb. 10 to Dec. 2 to help Caston fill a hole in its schedule caused by Pioneer football’s success. Argos also added Knox to its schedule, and that game has been moved to Dec. 16 due to Knox football’s success.

Knox coach Jason Breden was Argos’ coach from 2021-24.

Knox replaces Kouts on the schedule.

Nov. 26 – at Bremen, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 2 – vs. Caston, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 5 – at West Central, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 9 – vs. LaVille, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 12 – vs. Winamac, 8 p.m.

Dec. 16 – at Knox, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 19 – vs. Pioneer, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 6 – at Trinity Greenlawn, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 9 – at Bethany Christian, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 10 – vs. Plymouth, 7:30 p.m.