LINDEN — The North Montgomery senior class has waited their turn.
They waited their turn in football, and produced a winning season as seniors for the first time since 2015. And now under their third head coach in four seasons — the group of six seniors is ready to turn the tides for Charger basketball.
North Montgomery finished 5-18 last season, and hasn’t had a winning record since 2015-16 when they went 15-8 in Joel Grindle’s last season. Chad Arnold was hired in May to replace Andrew Evertts, who lasted just one season, and is the third coach since Grindle.
“We’ve had good attitudes in practice, and kids are working really really hard,” Arnold said. “I like how we have some quick guys that are getting into the basketball, and are starting to catch on to what we’re trying to do.”
Leading the way will be the seniors —Jaron Bradford, Kade Kobel, Preston Shaw, Alex Wallace, Jack Thompson, and Keifer Carmean.
“They had a really good football season,” Arnold added. “They’re a tough group of kids. We expect a lot out of this team. We have six seniors, and we think we have six good seniors.”
Shaw led the Chargers with 8.8 points per game last season, while Kobel chipped in 7.6, and Bradford 7.5. North Montgomery only averaged 43.1 points per game, and Arnold says they must work to get guys in the right spot to be successful offensively.
“We just have to get guys in the right position to where they can score it,” he said. “We’ve got guys that can score the basketball. It’s just getting them where they can score it, and then being confident and then when it is there time to shoot the ball, be ready to shoot.”
The depth continues past the senior class with juniors Zak Searle, Logan Kelly, and Kolton Scrimager, and sophomores Jaymson Roche and Jakob Kirsch.
“I really like our team,” Arnold said. “It makes practice competitive. It makes everybody know that you have to bring it everyday or your spot can get taken.”
North Montgomery opens tonight at home against Speedway at 7:30 p.m.
Roster
NO NAME CLASS
3 Logan Kelly 11
4 Jakob Kirsch 10
11 Jaron Bradford 12
13 Zak Searle 11
21 Kade Kobel 12
22 Preston Shaw 12
23 Kolton Scrimager 11
24 Alex Wallace 12
40 Jack Thompson 12
44 Keifer Carmean 12
43 Jaymson Roche 10
Schedule
Date Opponent Time
Nov. 27 Speedway 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 6 Southmont ‡ 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 7 at Fountain Central 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 13 at Seeger 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 14 at Harrison 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 20 at Crawfordsville ‡ 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 21 Covington 7:30 p.m.
Dec. 27 Delphi Tournament TBD
Dec. 28 Delphi Tournament TBD
Jan. 7 at Sheridan 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 10 Sugar Creek Clasicc TBD
Jan. 11 Sugar Creek Classic TBD
Jan. 17 Danville ‡ 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 24 at Lebanon ‡ 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 28 West Lafayette 7:30 p.m.
Jan. 31 Western Boone ‡ 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 1 at Attica 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 6 Benton Central 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 14 Frankfort ‡ 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 18 at North Putnam 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 21 at Tri-West ‡ 7:30 p.m.
Feb. 28 Greencastle 7:30 p.m.
March 3 IHSAA Sectional at Greencastle TBD
‡Sagamore Conference game
