MEDORA — The bleachers in Medora High School’s gymnasium have been fuller this year.
In their third season in the small community and second as a member of The Basketball League, the Medora Timberjacks are bringing out the fans.
They are there to watch the fast-paced, slam-dunk action of the semiprofessional basketball team, but they also are being treated to high school bands or disc jockeys playing music throughout the night, halftime entertainment, a larger selection of merchandise, fun contests and interaction with a new team mascot.
Now that the high school basketball season is over, the hoops action doesn’t stop in Medora with the Timberjacks in town.
“It’s nice to win, but it’s nice to see a big crowd,” head coach Mark Morin said after the Timberjacks’ 129-122 win over the Kentucky Enforcers on March 10, the 2023 home opener.
“There’s a lot more to this than just winning,” he said. “Winning is kind of the icing on the cake, and these are a bunch of great guys that get out in the community.”
Morin said it was great to see the bleachers packed for the home opener, and the Orleans High School band added a lot to the environment.
“I had a feeling we would have a big crowd,” he said, noting a lot of work put in by Director of Basketball Operations Leah Young made a difference. “Last year was our first year in this league, and Leah does a great job and she was able to take off from where we ended last year so we’re that much farther ahead.”
So far in the young season, the Timberjacks won their first four games before dropping one this past weekend.
Of the 12 players on the roster, three are back from last year: Kevin King, Malik Cook-Stroupe and Dylan Causwell.
“They give us some continuity from last year,” Morin said. “You know what you’re getting with them. They are great team players. K.J. gives you a lot of energy coming off the bench. Malik is a really good 3 shooter. Dylan, he’s a hard matchup at 6-9. He can play inside and out. That’s kind of what we’re looking for with those three.”
King said it’s an advantage to have the three returnees.
“I think a lot of us right now, since we played a whole bunch last year, we just know how the coach works and know what the coach wants, so we’re just doing what the coach says and having everybody get into one system,” he said. “Last year, we had a whole bunch of one-on-ones, so we want to bring the team together this year.”
The Timberjacks also welcome back Trenity Burdine, who played for Medora during its inaugural season but stayed near his hometown last year due to a newborn.
“Oh, it feels great,” he said of being back. “The same energy, the town, love the team still.”
Burdine said the team is starting to mesh, play together and play as a team, which is what it takes to be successful.
The newcomers are bringing great energy, he said.
“They are just helping us out every day,” he said. “Every day in practice, we’ve got to learn something new, and that’s what we’re doing. We’ve still got to play the game better. We’d be up 20, 30 throughout that whole game (against the Enforcers) and only win by single digits, so we’ve still got a lot that we’ve still got to fix.”
When asked what the newcomers bring, King said, “Buckets.”
“We’ve got a whole bunch of buckets on our team,” he said. “We’ve got a point guard named Greg (Foster), who is really a great point guard, great facilitator, great scorer, and we’ve got a person named Omega (Harris), who is electric, great defender, can score at will. We’ve got a shooter that came in. His name is Rob (Hobson), really good shot maker, so we’ve got a lot of talent on this team.”
Foster played for a TBL team in California last year and said he’s happy to be in Medora because he’s originally from Indiana. He attended Arsenal Technical High School and graduated from Howe High School, both in Indianapolis.
He said it’s fun for him now because he’s an hour and a half from his family, and they can come watch his games.
“Overall, I like it,” he said. “There’s a community here. Playing here, seeing all of the fans and everybody coming out, we’re trying to give them a good show, so it’s fun. I like it.”
Being among the newcomers to the Timberjacks, Foster said it was challenging at first because there’s a lot of talent on the team, so the focus was on figuring out who would play each of the roles.
Having all of that talent, however, is a good problem to have.
“I don’t think that we have a starting five. We have whoever (Morin) wants to start for that game because we have so many good players,” Foster said.
“Chemistrywise, I think we’re starting to gel pretty well,” he said. “One of the good things that we may be a little different than most teams is we get to practice and be around each other every day. This is our actual job. We don’t have to do anything but this, so over time, we have developed, and I think we’re doing pretty well lately.”
Foster scored a game-high 43 points in the win over the Enforcers, and Morin said he has been a good addition to the Timberjacks.
“I think he averaged like 27 a game last year,” Morin said. “He’s a really good leader, and he’ll take the shot, but he’ll also make the pass, which is nice to have in a point guard.”
Morin said with both Foster and Nick Evans having played in multiple countries during their careers, the team has a lot more experience on the court this season.
“We’re older this year. … I think we’ve got a lot more maturity this year,” he said.
Off to a 4-1 start, the Timberjacks players are excited to see what’s to come the rest of the way. The regular season runs through May 28.
“One game at a time,” Burdine said of the team’s focus following a 2-0 start. “We’ve got 22 more before playoffs start. One at a time.”
King said if the team stays together, the Timberjacks could achieve big things.
“Honestly, man, I see us going to the Lillie,” he said, referring to TBL’s championship. “If we can just stay together, we can win the Lillie. We’ve got a lot of talent on this team. It’s going to take a lot of defense and everybody to keep their heads. Everybody’s just got to stay as a team. Once we stay as a team, we’re going to win it.”
Foster said he looks forward to seeing the Timberjacks go deep in the playoffs.
“They assembled a team that is worthy of winning as long as we buy in, stay together,” he said. “I personally want to win a championship here in the TBL. That’s one of my goals, and I think our team is good enough to do it. I think we have the pieces for it, and what I want to do while we’re here, bring a championship to Medora. It would be a place for me, even when I’m older, I’d be like, ‘Man, I won a championship back there in Medora years ago.’ I’d like that.”
At a glance
The Medora Timberjacks play their home games at Medora High School, 82 S. George St., Medora.
Friday and Saturday games start at 7 p.m., and Sunday games start at 5:30 p.m.
Tickets are $10 for adults, $5 for ages 7 to 17 and free for ages 6 and under. Doors open an hour before tipoff.
For information, visit facebook.com/MedoraTimberjacks.