When the Edinburgh boys basketball team was struggling the past couple of seasons, winning just 10 of its 48 games, the crowds for home games were pretty sparse.
Junior Coltan Henderson has noticed a difference this season.
“It seems like the crowds are getting bigger as we’re getting more wins,” he said.
Those wins have been coming more and more frequently for the Lancers, who have taken seven of their past nine and are 11-4 since Christmas. Edinburgh comes into sectional play this week at 15-8, its best record since the 2011-12 team went 23-3 and reached the Class A final four.
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It’s been a quick turnaround under first-year coach Keith Witty, who has been able to light a fire under a veteran group of Lancers pretty quickly.
“The kids have done a real nice job of being coachable, wanting to learn, wanting to get back to those winning ways,” Witty said. “I think they were pretty eager for change and eager to do something different.”
Change has been most noticeable on defense — after allowing opponents to score around 65 points per game the past two seasons, the Lancers are giving up fewer than 55 this winter.
Witty has leaned heavily on man-to-man defense, a big change from the zone focus of years past.
“Half the team couldn’t guard a light pole; it was awful,” junior Bryce Burton said of last season. “(Now) I feel like we can all be lockdown defenders if we need to.”
Helping matters has been the return of Christian Cox, who returned for his senior season after a year at Columbus East.
The rangy 6-foot-2 forward, who leads the team in scoring and rebounding, has made a big difference at both ends, especially in the second half of the year. He had 26-point games against Rising Sun and South Decatur, and he has scored in double figures in 16 straight games.
“Adding Christian back has been tremendous,” Henderson said. “Just that athleticism, his rebounding; having someone taller than 6 foot in our starting lineup was a huge addition for us.”
Cox has helped take defensive pressure away from Henderson, one of the deadliest 3-point shooters around. The junior has connected on 69Â shots from beyond the arc, with 14 makes in a three-game stretch earlier this month.
Three other Lancers — Burton and seniors Parker Bryant and Jake Fosskuhl — average more than seven points a game, making Edinburgh’s offense a tough one to stop.
“I feel like we can score on offense anytime we want,” Burton said.
Edinburgh is a perfect 5-0 against sectional opponents this season; factor that in with home-court advantage, and it’s no wonder the Lancers feel good about their chances at the program’s sixth sectional title.
They know not to take it for granted, though. Even if there weren’t some close games in those five wins — Edinburgh won at West Washington in overtime and beat Crothersville by just three — Witty wouldn’t be letting this bunch get complacent.
Confident, but not too confident, is where the Lancers have tried to keep themselves heading into this week.
“That was the goal at the beginning of the year, to cut down the nets,” Burton said. “We’ve had a couple of close games, but I feel like if we play to our potential, I think we could beat anybody in it.”
“I think they’ve realized we can beat everybody in the sectional,” Witty added. “We’ve done it once, but we’ve got to back it up and do it again.”
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Class 4A Greenwood Sectional
Today
Franklin Central vs. Whiteland, 6 p.m.
Center Grove vs. Martinsville, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
Franklin vs. Franklin Central-Whiteland winner, 6 p.m.
Greenwood vs. Center Grove-Martinsville winner, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Championship, 7:30 p.m.
Class 3A Beech Grove Sectional
Today
Beech Grove vs. Indianapolis Herron, 6 p.m.
Tri-West vs. Indian Creek, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
Indianapolis Manual vs. Beech Grove-Herron winner, 6 p.m.
Danville vs. Tri-West-Indian Creek winner, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Championship, 7:30 p.m.
Class A Indianapolis Lutheran Sectional
Today
Indianapolis Lutheran vs. Central Christian, 7 p.m.
Wednesday
Christel House Academy vs. Indianapolis Lighthouse South, 6 p.m.
Greenwood Christian at Providence Cristo Rey, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
Indianapolis Tindley vs. Tuesday’s winner, 6 p.m.
Wednesday’s winners, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Championship, 7:30 p.m.
Class A Edinburgh Sectional
Today
Medora vs. Madison Shawe, 6 p.m.
Trinity Lutheran vs. Crothersville, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
Edinburgh vs. Medora-Shawe winner, 6 p.m.
West Washington vs. Trinity-Crothersville winner, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Championship, 7:30 p.m.
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A look at each of the boys basketball sectionals involving county teams:
Class 4A Greenwood Sectional
Favorite: Center Grove
Dark horses: Franklin, Greenwood
Players to watch: Center Grove — Trayce Jackson-Davis, Joey Klaasen, Nate McLain, Spencer Piercefield; Franklin — Drew Byerly, Cory Richards, Reece Thomson, Blaine Wentzell; Franklin Central — Mason Gonzales, Nick Hall, Isaiah Morgan; Greenwood — Braydon Kincaid, Eric Moenkhaus, Max Raker, Jeffrey Reynolds; Martinsville — Jonathan Collier, Reid Staggs, Tyler Stead; Whiteland — Carter Crowe, Riley Higdon, Brennan Neal
Outlook: The Trojans were a slightly surprising sectional champion a year ago; it would be a shock if they aren’t cutting down the nets again. Center Grove has won each of its games against sectional opponents by at least 15 points, using the combination of Jackson-Davis, strong perimeter shooting and airtight defense to dominate locally. It likely will take a masterpiece performance from someone else to prevent the Trojans from advancing.
Class 3A Beech Grove Sectional
Favorites: Beech Grove, Indianapolis Manual
Dark horses: Danville, Indian Creek, Tri-West
Players to watch: Beech Grove — Jalyn Curry, Gavin Hess, Jomar Seals, Kenny Washington; Danville — Alec Burton, Connor Jones, Dillon Ware; Indian Creek — Trevor Ankney, Jared DeHart, Isaiah Lacey, Zach Pugh; Indianapolis Herron — Ty Oldham, Luke Taylor; Indianapolis Manual — Wilante Hankston, Jalen Johnson, Joshua Pack; Tri-West — Logan Blake, Jared Kiefer, Tyler Watson
Outlook: This might be the most wide-open sectional in the state; any team in the field besides Herron could win the title and it wouldn’t be a massive shock. Several of the state’s top scorers will be on display, with Watson, DeHart, Johnson, Oldham and Burton all above or close to 20 points a game. A champion could well be determined by which of those stars has the hottest hand this week.
Class A Indianapolis Lutheran Sectional
Favorite: Indianapolis Tindley
Dark horses: Central Christian, Greenwood Christian
Players to watch: Central Christian — Zeke Brown, Michael Roberson, Aaron Waire; Christel House Academy — Jeff Davis, LaMont Jackson; Greenwood Christian — Champ McCorkle, Payton Modlin, Keegan Owen, Quentin Steele; Indianapolis Lutheran — Matt Alter; Indianapolis Tindley — K.J. Coleman, Eric Hunter, Sincere McMahon; Providence Cristo Rey — Kris Hart, Elkin Ramirez, Anthony Williams
Outlook: Any conversation about this sectional should probably begin with Tindley and its superstar, Purdue-bound guard Hunter. He’s among the state’s top scorers at around 27 points a game, and his presence alone makes the Tigers a clear favorite. Greenwood Christian, though, has a pretty clear path to the final and enough scoring options to make a potential title game with Tindley interesting. The Cougars might need a near-flawless performance to win that game, but if they’re hitting shots — and they can — anything is possible.
Class A Edinburgh Sectional
Favorite: Edinburgh
Dark horses: Crothersville, West Washington
Players to watch: Crothersville — Logan Brewer, Josh Thomas, Dylan Wilson; Edinburgh — Parker Bryant, Bryce Burton, Christian Cox, Coltan Henderson; Madison Shawe — Schuyler Edwards, Ethan Stuart; Trinity Lutheran — A.J. Goecker, Jacob Rowe; West Washington — Holden Bowsman, Parker Green, Nick Marrs
Outlook: It’s pretty crazy to think of Edinburgh as a sectional favorite after the struggles of the past two seasons, but here we are — the Lancers have 15 wins, have beaten every team in the field once this season and got a pretty favorable draw to boot. The home club should be able to make it to Saturday’s final without much trouble, and while Crothersville and West Washington are both capable of taking the crown, Edinburgh has to feel good about its chances at the program’s first title in six years.
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