Published: November 26, 2009 10:44 pm         

WRC teams hope to unseat Rox atop conference

TERRE HAUTE — The landscape at the top of the Wabash River Conference boys basketball standings could change dramatically this year. Or will it?

Rockville (21-4 last year) has dominated the WRC the past two years, winning back-to-back sectional titles. After a brief stumble during the Pizza Hut Wabash Valley Classic, the Rox closed out last season by winning 16 of 17 games before falling to Lafayette Central Catholic in the regional.

But this year, the Rox have plenty of holes to plug due to graduation.

A major force no longer on the Rox scene is Indiana State University freshman R.J. Mahurin — a huge loss, not just in physical size. Mahurin was a stat sheet stuffer a year ago, averaging 23.4 points, 7.4 rebounds, 4.6 blocks and shot field goals at a 58.2 percent clip.

Other Rox players departing were such stalwarts as Josh Reed, Aaron Bridge and Matt King.

So what are some coaches saying about the WRC this year?

“I don’t see anyone super this year,” Rox coach Dave Mahurin said. “I have a feeling people will get after us this year. But we will continue to show up every night ready to win.”

Turkey Run coach Joey Hart describes the sectional field as “wide open, very competitive. Rockville will be better than people might think, Attica returns everyone, Covington. But we can be in the mix too.”

The WRC has also “evened out” according to Riverton Parke coach Monty Kirk. “Rockville is a big rival, Turkey Run has a couple of horses back. Rockville, North Vermillion, Turkey Run … it should a a fun time this season.”

The following are previews of the WRC teams in the Tribune-Star area:

• Rockville — Coach Mahurin admitted he was fortunate the past few seasons as his teams were able to avoid the injury bug. But that is not the case this year. The Rox are saddled with injuries, transfer and non-basketball issues.

One of the best returning players, 5-foot-10 senior Caleb McMullen, suffered an ACL injury in the second football game of the season. He feels he can return by Christmas, but Mahurin thinks it might not be until mid-January.

Junior Zach Kempf (6-3) is a transfer from South Vermillion, but the Rox were still awaiting word from the IHSAA on his eligibility late last week. Senior David Parsons (6-0) won’t return until at least Christmas.

With the absence of McMullen and Parsons, that leaves one senior to start the season for the Rox in 6-4 Drew Kelley.

Others on the varsity include 6-2 junior Eric Lear, 5-10 sophomore Cody Jeffries, 6-2 sophomore Clint White, 5-8 sophomore Kyle Wheeler, 6-4 freshman Lane Mahurin, 6-3 freshman Jordan McFall and 6-1 freshman Joel Wittenmeyer.

“When I have all my guys, we’ll be pretty good,” Mahurin noted. “But it’s been one mishap after another. We will be bigger, we’ll be stronger. I’m not sure we can score points as in the past. Our goal is simply to get everyone well.

“We’re not the favorite, probably, to win the sectional,” Mahurin admitted. “But I feel we have as good a chance as anyone.”

• Turkey Run — The Warriors had one of their most successful seasons last year, going 16-9 and falling to Rockville 66-43 in the sectional championship game. But five of those players were seniors.

Key returnees are an All-WRC performer, 5-10 junior Jake Weaver, plus 6-4 senior center Seth Marshall and 6-1 senior Austin Cook.

“We know what we get with Weaver, Marshall and Cook,” Hart stated. “They have been really consistent players. But all the rest of the team is new … we have a long way to go.”

Who will join those three players in the starting lineup and regular rotation? Hart jokingly said, “the rest of the lineup … we’ll have to it pull it out of a hat.”

Battling for the remaining starting spots are 6-0 junior Calib McCombs, 6-1 sophomore Tyler Goddard, 6-1 junior Eric Newton, 6-0 freshman Jeff Woods, 5-10 senior Brett Tappan, 5-10 junior Jacob Hayn and 5-9 senior Jon Sowers.

“We’re small,” Hart stated. “But if we take care of rebounding, the rest should take care of itself. If we continue to grow as a team, we’ll get there. We have the right attitude, that’s not a problem.”

• North Vermillion — Seven is the key number for the Falcons this season.

“We are pretty much going to go with seven guys … most of them with quite a bit of varsity experience from last year,” coach Mike Ahrens said.

North Vermillion is coming off its 11th straight losing season — the last winning season was 11-10 in 1997-98 — and is just 9-54 the past three seasons. The Falcons (4-17 last year) lost 12 straight games to end the season, the final one a 95-52 beating by eventual sectional champion Rockville.

The “seven guys” include three seniors, 6-4 guard-forward Jacob Rankin, 6-0 guard Zach Jumps and 6-1 forward Ethan Clark; two juniors, 6-3 forward Scott Leigh and 6-0 guard Jacob Harrison (6-0); and two sophomores, 6-4 center Lane Clark and 6-4 forward Dalton McCool.

Others seeking to work their way into the rotation include 6-4 junior Jesse Grubbs and three sophomores — 6-0 Josh Belser, 6-2 Rylan Smith and 6-0 Dalton Weaver. Ahrens said a “couple of freshmen” could join the varsity later in the season.

“The guys played a lot over the spring in Danville, Ill.,” he said. “They played a number of summer tournaments and they lifted [weights]. We are way ahead of a year ago.”

Ahrens described his team’s schedule — just seven home games — as “difficult, a challenge … We’ll try to get up and down the floor and I feel we’ll be more successful at that this year. We have a lot more cohesiveness than a year ago.”

• Riverton Parke — With just one senior, the Panthers are a youthful team — but they do have several players with varsity experience in an attempt to halt a three-year string of losing seasons.

The Panthers were just 4-18 last year, narrowly losing to Turkey Run 39-37 in their first sectional game.

Jeremy Helton, a 5-9 junior, will be a starter at guard for the third year in a row. “We look for big things from Jeremy. We’re hoping for a breakout season from him,” Kirk stated.

Cody Vauters, a 5-9 sophomore, was a full-time starter a year ago as a freshman. Derek Engle, a 5-8 junior, started at the end of the season.

Giving the Panthers some much-needed size is 6-3 junior Garrett Lientz, a transfer from Owen Valley; his older brother Randy was a senior at OV last year.

The fifth starter should be 5-11 sophomore point guard Wade Stites.

Other contributors include 5-9 junior guard Kyle Yeargin, 5-9 junior guard Kyle Daugherty, 5-11 junior forward Tyler Yando and 6-1 sophomore forward Gary Secuskie. The lone senior is 6-0 forward Daniel Hardesty.

“Hardesty has had a bad couple of years,” Kirk said. “He was hurt last year and is just now returning from an injury in the football season. He will play valuable minutes and we need his leadership skills.

“We don’t play the center game,” Kirk described, noting his team only has three players at or above the 6-foot level. “We have worked a lot at the defensive end. Our goal is to hold teams under 52 points per game. Offensively, we want to push the ball up and down the floor even more than we did last year.”