To some, Addie Rund’s approach to producing points for Indian Creek’s girls basketball team might seem a bit unconventional.
Not a feared perimeter shooter at this point in her hoops development, the junior guard is unafraid to explore different options.
Rund is most effective turning steals into layups.
She’s also earned a reputation for driving to the hoop, using her 5-foot-5 frame to initiate contact and putting her 71-percent touch from the free throw line to good use.
“I get a lot of points off driving to the basket or at the free throw line. A lot of my points come from down low,” Rund said. “I used to love defense a lot, so I always worked on getting deflections and steals, and that leads to offense.
“Even if you don’t score all the points, but you get steals, you can still affect the outcome.”
This isn’t to suggest Rund won’t take the 3-point shot.
Prior to Saturday night’s game against Brown County, she had made 16 treys this season, second only on the Braves to sophomore swingman Katie Burkman, and she enters Tuesday’s game at New Palestine averaging 14.5 points, 1.8 assists and 1.8 steals.
“Addie is what I like to call a scorer,” said eighth-year Indian Creek coach Dan Burkman, whose tenure includes the careers of three of the program’s 1,000-point career scorers (Kylee Hamilton, Ally Lehman and Candace Danz).
“I kind of put Addie in a different category. She’s really hard-nosed and scores points in a lot of different ways. Addie creates a lot of her offense with her defense.”
In other words, plays to her strengths.
This is Rund’s first season as a 2 guard after being Indian Creek’s starting point guard the past two years. Sophomore Stevye Gonzales and freshman Hanna Grider currently split time at the 1 for the Braves.
Playing two seasons with the 5-10 Danz, a guard/forward who finished her Braves career with 1,650 points and now plays at Marian University, Rund was relied upon to be more of a distributor.
Understandably, the junior needed time to adapt to her new role.
“It was definitely a learning process when the season started,” coach Burkman said. “At first I think it was Addie’s shot selection. It wasn’t the quantity, but the quality. She wasn’t letting the game come to her.
“By the Cloverdale game (a 66-41 road win on December 9), I started to see things improve.”
The Braves won only two of their first 11 games this season. A 48-45 victory over Hauser on December 6 began a stretch in which Indian Creek has gone 6-3.
Rund, one of three Indian Creek team captains along with senior forward Madelyn Gary and junior guard Makenzi Sizemore, believes this Braves squad learned valuable lessons in those initial weeks.
“It’s a lot different than the previous years,” Rund said. “We struggled a little bit at first, but then I think everyone realized that everyone needs to step up. We’ve been doing better with that.”
[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”The Rund file” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]
Name: Addie Rund
Age: 17
Born: Franklin
Family: Parents Jamie and Jessie; brother Wyatt, 14
Favorite TV show: “New Girl”
Favorite food: Chicken
Favorite movie: “Charlie St. Cloud”
Favorite athlete: Stephen Curry
Favorite team: Indiana University men’s basketball
[sc:pullout-text-end]
