Pioneer boys basketball preview: While Rans recuperates, Panthers might rely on multiple ballhandlers, size up front

Val T.
1 day ago
5 min read

BY VAL TSOUTSOURIS

Sports Editor, RTC

Pioneer boys basketball coach Darren McKaig is used to getting off to a late start due to the success of the football team.

What makes this season different is exactly how many of his players also play football. Seniors Micah Rans and J.J. Solano, junior Shiloh Rine and sophomore Phillip McFatridge are four key basketball players who were playing against South Putnam under the Lucas Oil Stadium spotlight in helmets and shoulder pads just two weeks ago.

Now they switch seasons and sports, but Rans, a slashing, athletic guard, will not be ready at the start after he recovers from a fractured fibula suffered during a football game against North Judson Oct. 17.

“He’s not practicing right now,” McKaig said. “I think he’s going to get some more information here soon. We’ll know as soon as he knows. I can’t really speculate. I can tell you what I’m hoping for, but I don’t really know when he’ll be back.”

The challenge for McKaig is to weave newcomers into the lineup to replace four graduated seniors – Aidan Quillen, Lukas Collins, Noah Miller and Ryan Looker – while also waiting for the football players to be ready. Quillen led the team in both scoring (10.9 ppg) and assists (3.0 apg) last year.

Junior Lane Weldy has run the offense on the JV for the last two years, and McFatridge is a sophomore who played varsity last year. Ronny Layer, a 5-6 sophomore, is another candidate at point guard. His cousin is former Pioneer point guard Gage Cripe.

“We have to have guys fill that point guard spot, and we were able to give guys some chances to do that,” McKaig said. “We don’t have a lot of points returning, so we had to figure out who could score and everything else. I think we figured out some things over the summer about who would fill those roles.”

McKaig calls Solano a “big effort guy.”

“We’ll be able to put him in the game to give some of our other post players a break,” McKaig said. “And he’ll just get rebounds for us. He’ll defend and get rebounds, and he’s a great role player. He’ll do whatever we ask.”

Other seniors include Xander Bullock, whom McKaig called “just a great team guy” and added watches the most game film of anybody on the team; and Jaxson Merrick, whom McKaig called a “good shooter” and whom McKaig said he will give “a few minutes at a time.”

McKaig praised Rine’s versatility, saying he can play the shooting guard, small forward or power forward spots.

“He’s going to have to play a little bit of guard, especially with Micah out,” McKaig said. “If we need somebody a little bigger and stronger, it’s not always the smoothest ballhandling with Shiloh, but he hardly ever coughs it up. So we might need him to help us break a press or just get the offense started. … And he can run the wing, and he can hit an outside shot, and he does do a great job of powering it up inside. So he’ll fill a lot of roles for us.”

This could be one of Pioneer’s biggest frontlines in McKaig’s tenure with 6-3 junior Mason Shaver and 6-4 sophomore Gabe Scott. Shaver is the third leading returning scorer after Rans and Rine. Scott is a move-in from West Central.

“He’s been improving every year, so I think he’ll take another jump forward and score some substantial points for us,” McKaig said of Shaver. “And you know, if they’ve got their best, strongest defender on Shiloh, then Mason might have somebody a little smaller, and he’ll be able to score.”

Jason Gluth is another junior in the program whom McKaig said will start on the JV.

As for Scott, McKaig said “he still needs to get in the weight room and get stronger,” but he noted his versatility as well.

“He’s a pretty solid player,” McKaig said. “He can hit an outside shot. He’s got good moves inside. He can handle the ball a little bit. So we’re going to be able to use him to help us handle the ball as well.”

McFatridge has been practicing but “rotating in and out” as he recovers from football season. McKaig said he suffered some “turf burns” on his legs at Lucas Oil Stadium and is also recovering from an illness.

“From what I saw over the summer, he’s a little bit bigger, a little bit stronger, a little bit better ballhandler, a little bit better shooter,” McKaig said of McFatridge. “So he’s just going to be better this year.”

McKaig also said that seven freshmen came out for basketball.

McKaig told RTC on a number of occasions that “it’s hard to know” about his team because they just have not played as a unit that much. Scott did not transfer until after summer basketball ended, and Rine dealt with an ankle injury over the summer, and that’s in addition to all the football players getting a late start.

They will start with a game against defending Hoosier North and Class 1A regional champion Triton at the Trojan Trench tonight. Conference games against North Miami and Argos will follow within the first eight days of the season.

“I’ve had this,” McKaig said. “I’ve been coaching at Pioneer a long time, and I’m used to this, but this year, it was half of our guys. It doesn’t feel like it’s ever been half, and it was four of my projected starters who were playing football, and I don’t think it’s ever been that many. So it’s just been a little bit harder because basically we’re just practicing with half the team there for three weeks. So that made a big difference.

“And we might have had one or two guys banged up, but it seems like everybody coming from football was kind of banged up this year who played a lot of minutes in football.”

Pioneer boys basketball schedule

Dec. 12 – at Triton, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 13 – vs. North Miami, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 19 – at Argos, 7:30 p.m.

Dec. 23 – Cass County Invitational at Logansport (field includes Caston, Lewis Cass, Logansport)

Dec. 29-30 – at Indiana Kitchen Classic at Delphi (field includes Delphi, Frankfort, North Montgomery, North Newton, Rossville, Taylor, Winamac)

Jan. 9 – vs. Frontier, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 10 – at Faith Christian, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 16 – vs. DeMotte Christian, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 17 – vs. Carroll (Flora), 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 23 – vs. West Central, 7:30 p.m.

Jan. 30 – at Caston, 7:30 p.m.