'Making it count' the goal for Wapahani boys basketball in final season with core starters

SELMA, Ind. — The Wapahani boys basketball program is an annual contender for Delaware County, Mid-Eastern Conference and sectional championships, and beyond.

Yet last season was the first time in three years that the Raiders, despite going 19-5, finished trophyless. Monroe Central was the thorn in their side, topping Wapahani twice by a combined margin of just seven points.

The 39-33 sectional semifinal defeat, in particular, weighed heavily on the minds of the coaches and players. But the Golden Bears' nucleus is gone and Wapahani returns all but one of its starters, so the Raiders are supremely motivated to make the most of this core's final season together.

"I think 'making it count' is probably a great term and great thing ... This is a group that we've grown up with. It's a group that I've spent many hours and our staff have spent many hours together ... It's a group that we just really like. There's no drama," head coach Matt Luce said. "The way we finished (last season), we still have a little bit of sour taste in our mouths about how we ended to a really tough Monroe Central team in the semifinals. We want to get started again on a win streak and create great memories."

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Senior Aidan Franks and junior Isaac Andrews, two of East Central Indiana's top players, will again lead the charge. The pair was not at its best in that last loss, with Andrews limited by an ankle injury and Franks shooting just 3-of-16 from the field, so they entered last offseason on a mission to improve.

Luce said he's noticed physical, skill and leadership developments in both of his stars. They each played a rigorous AAU summer schedule, traveling to tournaments around the country, and made a concerted effort maximize their partnership.

Andrews, the smaller of the two at 6-feet-1-inches, commended his teammate's commitment to strength training and thinks it will help Franks attack the basket more consistently.

"He's really gotten his body changed so much, more athletic now. Props to him for getting in the weight room so much," Andrews said of the 6-foot-3-inch Franks. "Especially from his freshman year to now, it's a crazy difference, but even in this last one year."

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Franks joked that maybe lifting more will lead to a few dunks, but the bigger benefit should come when he faces a team, like Monroe Central last year, that sports significant interior size.

But his chemistry with Andrews will the key to Wapahani's success. They showcased a knack for hitting each other on backdoor cuts and kick-outs on pivotal possessions, and Luce feels their chemistry continues to improve every day.

"We always played good together. We complement each other really well," Franks said. "We're really good teammates to each other, share the ball with each other, trust each other."

Luce also feels that Franks, Andrews and the other returning Raiders involved in those losses in intense environments, like at Muncie Central and at Monroe Central and in the Alexandria sectional, will handle similar situations better this season.

"We left that that night at Alexandria with our heads down, but at the same time, we knew what a great environment it was and what a fantastic game (it was). We felt like we had many opportunities to win and just let it get away," Luce said. "We return six of those seven kids that played that night, so we think they've learned from their lesson, and the next time they're in an environment like that ... maybe that maturity and that experience they've gained will help them out as a team."

Wapahani can't just rely on the heroics of Franks and Andrews, though, if it wants to win hardware. 6-foot-6-inch senior center Nathan Nelson, who ranked third on the Raiders last year in scoring (8.0 PPG), might be the team's X-factor, as he often was in big matchups a year ago.

He's a capable inside scorer who notched a season high of 23 points and 17 points in the team's narrow 49-43 sectional first-round win over Frankton, but he went scoreless against the Golden Bears after shooting just twice.

Luce and Nelson's teammates are encouraging him to be more consistently aggressive this year.

"When we played at our best last year, he was at his best, and some of the games that we struggled in, maybe he wasn't at full tilt," Luce said. "We're really talking to Nathan about being that third guy and really coming into his own his senior year."

Junior forward Nick Cook will be asked to step up as well, and sophomore guard Nate Luce, who made a stellar 47% of his 89 3-point attempts as a freshman, has grown and should get some of the minutes left open by Drayden Gates' absence.

6-foot freshman Camden Bell is also someone whom Luce expects to make an impact off the bench, and there's generally more depth than the Raiders had last year.

It starts with Franks and Andrews, and a solid supporting cast will follow their lead. Luce believes this group has arguably the best chemistry of any he's had during his 16 years with Wapahani.

The Raiders have the pieces to make a postseason run. Now they have to prove it.

"When your best players are your hardest workers and your best players buy into the system and the coaching staff, it makes for a lot of fun. And with Andrews and Franks, it's coach-player with us, but at same time they're guys we trust and great friends to our program," Luce said. "We're excited to see not only their hard work, but their leadership, pay off for another great season for us."

Gus Martin is a sports reporter at The Star Press. Follow him on Twitter @GusMartin_SP, and contact him at gmartin@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: IHSAA boys basketball: Wapahani to make it count in final season with core