Tipp hoops squad ends good summer
A busy summer is complete for the Tippecanoe boys basketball program as they wind down with open gyms, and coach Brock Moon is pleased with the progress his team has made over the past couple of months.
Moon and the Red Devils recently competed in some big shootouts and an intrascholastic event in Kentucky, working on team chemistry and skill development for the Red Devils heading into the 2025-26 season.
“June was good for us and we got some challenging games in,” Moon said prior to their open gym last weekend. “The kids are pulled in so many different directions and I appreciate the kids who are involved in other sports and still showing up to do the things they need to do for themselves and their teammates.”
“I thought the young kids did a really good job, and not having CJ (Bailey) all of June helped a lot of the younger guys get to play. We also went a weekend without Colin Turner, so it was good for a lot of the younger guys to get opportunities.”
“It’s always a challenge for the parents and kids, and good or bad, basketball has changed,” he added. “The commitment level to become a great program has changed from what it was 20 years ago. You have a lot of parents and kids who want to complain about playing time and where they are during the season. When they are not there in June and July, that tells me a lot. I challenge kids to put the time in if that’s what they want.”
One of the events that Tipp was unable to attend was the Ohio High School Coaches Association event at Cedar Point, Midwest Live, an event that drew a lot of college coaches during the college evaluation weekend.
“We had not gotten in the last three years, it is a fairly selective process that highlights on scholarship level Division One kids,” Moon said. “When CJ’s injury happened, they asked to let another team in with recruitable kids who were currently out of it. One thing I made sure, if we were not going to go, it has to be an Ohio school that takes our place.”
But the Red Devils did compete in the Kentucky Association of Basketball Coaches event, very similar to the Midwest Live. Tipp fared well, going 3-1 on the weekend.
“We got to see a lot of different style teams, one who made the state semis last year,” Moon said, as Tipp did not have Bailey or a lot of the football guys. “A lot of young guys got to play. Colin also had some big games where he scored 20 or 30 points in a game. Hudson Ganger and David Alverez also played really well down there. Also, Bryton Otto, our 6’7 guy, is coming into his own, and we faced a lot of really good bigs, and he did a good job.”
