GREENTOWN —
With his rookie campaign in the books, Kyle Bedwell is ready for year two of his tenure as Eastern boys basketball coach.
“I like the direction we’re heading,” Bedwell said. “Energy is high right now. I feel like I’ve really surrounded myself with a good, supportive group. I’ve built what I feel is a confident and strong coaching staff this year.”
Bedwell knows he has big shoes to fill as the Comets prep for 2012-13 with the departure of 1,000-point scorer Josiah Price, who led Eastern with 22.4 points and 10 rebounds per game last year.
“Joe Price walked out the door and took about 80 percent of our offense with him,” Bedwell said. “He left a big hole to fill. We’ve drastically changed our offense. We’ve got to get the most out of the talent we have.”
The Comets return considerable court experience from a 5-17 squad that played for the Class 2A Sectional 39 championship last March.
“Depth-wise, we could go seven deep,” Bedwell said. “We’ve got some really strong-skilled kids starting with K.J. [Myers], who is such a good ball-handler. Braden [Gibson] is a top shooter from the outside. He really benefited last year, starting every game except for senior night as a sophomore.”
Myers, a senior who averaged 6.6 points per game and 2.5 assists last season, will run the point, while junior sharpshooter Gibson, the leading returning scorer (8.8 ppg, 45 3-pointers made), will be at the two spot.
Myers and Gibson will form the Comets’ starting backcourt. Bedwell’s other lock is senior Josiah Marx (6.2 ppg, 3.9 rpg) in the five spot.
“I think a lot of teams will key on Josiah,” Bedwell said. “He’ll be a strong post player.”
Seniors Grant Cole (4.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg) and Josh Keith, along with junior Will Porter, will go back and forth competing for the three and four spots.
Each of those players, Bedwell says, offer different strengths to the team.
“Will’s strength is his quickness and defensive intensity. He can step out and hit the 3 every once in a while and help Braden.
“Josh has a knack for body position and he’s cerebral,” Bedwell added. “He knows where guys should be every play. Grant has some height and can get up and down the court quick. If he can get ahead on a break and throw one down, that can be a big momentum changer.”
Sophomore Papee Byers will offer depth at the guard slot.
Seniors James Reed and Chris McCreary are up from the JV squad.
“Both of those guys are positive, their heads are always in the right place, and they add a lot to the team chemistry,” Bedwell said of the pair of seniors.
Bedwell noted the remaining roster spots will be up for grabs on a given night, though freshman Braden Evans and sophomore Brady Zirkle look to be the early leading contenders.
With Price gone, size will be a concern for the Comets.
“That’s going to be one of the downfalls,” Bedwell said. “We’re thin physically and not real strong. We’re a short team but we’re fairly quick. We’re going to have to get out and run.”
In 2011-12, Eastern surrendered nearly 70 points per game to opposing teams.
“Defense is always a concern,” Bedwell said. “Looking back at last year, we had so many turnovers, so decision making is going to be another big key.”
Bedwell likes the chemistry he’s seeing in practice.
“The kids seem to play well together. That’s what is exciting right now. We just want to improve every night. If we can do that, the wins will come.”
Sports
Comets offer new look
Without Price, Eastern will look to push tempo
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Kats regain tennis throne
At 10:51 a.m. Saturday morning, the bulk of Kokomo’s girls tennis team sprinted from the viewing hill to the east entrance of the tennis courts to mob No. 1 singles player Morgan Mohr as she came off the court following her 1-6, 6-1, 6-1 victory over Eastern’s Courtney Clark.
The No. 3 singles match was still raging, but the team match was already won. The Wildkats had reconquered the throne from two-time defending champion Eastern and were once again champions of the Kokomo Sectional. -
Eastern boys track claims first sectional title since 1998
The boys track and field coach at Eastern High School from 1987 until last season, Paul Nicholson’s parting message to his team was simple: “Don’t deny the gift.”
That motto left such a lasting impression on the Comets’ returning athletes that they had it screen printed on their 2013 season T-shirts.
With Nicholson in attendance to celebrate with them, new coach Austin Roark and the Comets outlasted host Kokomo to win their first sectional title since 1998 Thursday night, topping the Wildkats by 3.5 points, 124.5-121.
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Eastern, Kokomo favored in boys track sectional
Some of the names and faces have changed, but the plot remains much the same.
The Kokomo boys track and field sectional, much like last year, will likely be a two-horse race between the host and three-time defending champion Wildkats and Eastern, a team looking to break through and win its first sectional title since 1998. -
Cole to jump at Miami University
Eastern athlete Grant Cole has only been a long jumper for two seasons, but being turned on to the event late in his career has landed him a scholarship to Miami University.
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Comets roar to sectional title
As the old adage goes, it’s harder stay on top than it is to reach the top.
Eastern’s girls track and field team entered the 2012 postseason hoping to put in a strong enough effort to claim the program’s first sectional title.
Having done so, the Comets entered Tuesday’s postseason opener — the Madison-Grant Sectional — with a much larger bull’s-eye on their backs than in previous years.
Eastern proved up to the challenge, scoring a landslide victory to repeat as sectional champions with 125 points. -
Dexter leaving Eastern
Eastern girls basketball coach Jeremy Dexter has stepped down from the Comet program after accepting the AD job at Churubusco last week. Churubusco is in Whitley County about 15 minutes west of Fort Wayne.
Dexter led the Comets to a Class 2A state runner-up finish this past season. -
Hunter edges Shrout in Thunder Car thriller
Two drivers who are no strangers to Victory Lane returned there Sunday night at the Kokomo Speedway. Meanwhile, a third driver scored just the second feature win of his career at the local oval to highlight the racing action.
Chris Hunter, the winningest Thunder Car driver in the history of the local oval, ground out a gritty win over defending track champion Jason Shrout to highlight the chilly night. -
Girls track sectional is tonight
Eastern’s girls track and field team is ready to chase some more championship hardware.
Two weeks ago, the Comets won their fourth straight Howard County meet. Last week, they won their fourth straight Mid-Indiana Conference meet. Now, the postseason is here, with the Madison-Grant Sectional tonight.
“We’re looking forward to taking the next step,” Eastern coach Michael Goodspeed said. -
Athlete of the week
Oyler led the way as Class 2A No. 5-ranked Eastern beat Cass (4-3) and Hamilton Heights (5-4 in 12 innings) to move to 6-0 in the Mid-Indiana Conference with one league game remaining.
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Page family bonds over martial arts
A mother and father to six children, Jason and Denise Page began to run into your typical challenges associated with such a large family back in 2008, once the oldest children reached an age where they started to have desires to be involved in sports and other extracurricular activities.
As the commitments started to pile up, it didn’t seem like there were enough hours in the day to accomplish all the pitstops and still have time left over to fellowship as a family.
Karate to the rescue. - More Sports Headlines
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