FOUNTAIN CITY, Ind. – With a pre-season No. 2 ranking in Class 2A, Northeastern Head Coach Brent Ross wants more from his team.
“We want to focus on getting better everyday and we’re going to have to be ready to play every night,” Ross said.
Northeastern is trying to build on a 22-4 mark from a year ago. The Knights also won the Tri-Eastern Conference with a 7-0 record and added a sectional title.
“This is kind of a new group,” Ross said. “We lost four seniors from last year, so some of the players are learning new roles.”
“Our system is in place,” added Ross, who is in his seventh year at Northeastern. “The kids know the style. They know it’s hard work in practice, but fun in games.”
Junior Tyler Smith, who was All-TEC in 2014-2015, led the Knights in scoring last season at 16.4 points a game to go with 4.7 rebounds per contest.
Another all-conference performer returning is senior Robert Smith, who averaged 8.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per outing. Junior Nate Reynolds is also back after scoring 5.6 points per game last season.
The other seniors on the squad are Austin Clay, Bailey Stewart, DaShawn Hampton and Alec Sheets.
Other juniors are Jacob Auger, Kaleb Mikesell, Harrison Rice and Quinton West. Jalen Hillard is a freshman.
The Knights open the season with four straight road games. The first contest is at Monroe Central on Tuesday, Nov. 24. Northeastern is at Centerville for the TEC opener for both teams on Friday. Dec. 4.