CHARLESTOWN
Since taking the program over in May, Brownstown Central girls basketball coach Brandon Allman has worked on implementing both his philosophical and tactical principals into his program.
This past Friday, Allman and his staff got a chance to see what’s resonating and what needs work.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]Click here to purchase photos from this gallery
The Braves competed in the Charlestown Shootout last week with 12 other teams.
Brownstown beat South Knox and North Harrison before falling to Lawrenceburg and Vincennes Lincoln. The four games were played in a six-hour span starting at 11 a.m.
Other teams in attendance included Austin, Charlestown, Eastern, Logansport, Princeton and Silver Creek.
“It just gets the girls into some game situations,” Allman said of the shootout. “We won one of our games in overtime (North Harrison), and it’s hard to simulate that situation in practice. It gives them a chance to just play and learn how to play with each other on the court.
“I think things are going well. The girls are getting better and are buying-in to a brand new system. It’s different for them and different for me. As a unit, we’re learning and growing together.”
Over the summer, Allman has spent a lot of time working on offense with his team.
“We’re trying to teach them read and react to what the defense gives them instead of being robotic with plays,” Allman said. “That’s a big thing. We’ve been working on our transition offense and defense, too. We’ve spent a lot of time this summer working on offensive skillset.
I kind of take that from John Calipari at the University of Kentucky. He doesn’t do any defense over the summer. It’s all about making kids better offensively. The season is long enough. We will talk about defense, and how it changes on what teams you’re playing, when we start scouting.”
The Braves, under Karla Rieckers, finished 16-9 during the 2018-19 season.
Four seniors graduated from last year’s team: Payton Farmer, Tayler Garland, Claire Poulton, and Shelby Reynolds.
This summer, on top of regular workouts the Braves went to a team camp at Transylvania University June 13-15.
This year, Halle Hehman, Ashley Schroer and Zoe Fountain make up the senior class.
Allman said his seniors are already stepping up.
“My seniors have been great for me,” he said. “They’ve taken care of a lot of things off the court for me. For example, when we went to Transylvania Camp, they made a list of everything for all of the girls of what they needed to pack. they’ve done a lot of the little things to help my job easier. Ashley Schorer, Halle Hehman, and Zoe Fountain have not only been great for me but for our program.”
Hehman said that the seniors are trying to step up as leaders.
“I think one of our problems, as a team, is we’re often quiet,”she said. “I think us (seniors) trying to talk and telling them where they are supposed to be helps a lot. A lot of the girls are nervous. There are some that have never played varsity before, so we’re trying to take them under our wing.”
Schroer, a four-year varsity starter, said the team has adjusted to all of the changes well.
“The summer has gone really well for us,” Schroer said. “I think the team has really adapted well to all of the new changes. We’ve really bonded and worked together. We’ve scrapped all of our old offenses and started new. We have done new drills in practice and worked on the little things we didn’t work on last year.”
Luke Warren will return as a varsity assistant coach this school year and Maria Anderson has been hired as the freshman coach. Allman said the junior varsity coaching position has not been filled yet.