NEW CASTLE – School may be out of session, but the Tippecanoe Valley High School boys basketball team isn’t on vacation. Having already taken part in two tournaments this summer, including one this week at Ball State, members of the Tippecanoe Valley squad will be in New Castle this weekend, competing in a 16-team tournament. “It will be some good competition and another weekend for the guys to spend some time together,” said Valley coach Bill Patrick. Valley begins play Saturday morning, at approximately 10 a.m. in the New Castle High School auxiliary gym, then will play in the 9,314-seat New Castle Fieldhouse at 2:15 p.m. against Cardinal Ritter. Play continues Sunday, but before that, Valley and Jay County will get a tour of the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame followed by a session with the Zeller brothers, although Patrick isn’t sure which ones will be present. Luke Zeller played and graduated from Notre Dame, while Tyler Zeller just finished his senior season at North Carolina and Cody Zeller is preparing for his sophomore campaign with the the Indiana Hoosiers. All three played on state championship teams for Washington High School and were named Mr. Basketball. The Hall of fame partnered with DistinXion, an organization run by the Zeller family, to put on the tournament. “We’ll play some basketball, see the hall of fame, visit the gym where Hoosiers was filmed (in Knightstown) and get to spend a couple hours with the Zellers,” Patrick said. “I’m not sure if all three will be there, but there should be at least two.” No matter which of the three Zellers attend, the message will be about integrity and character, entitled “Teaching and demonstrating fundamentals that transcend time.” DistinXion will also host a program for the public Saturday at 6 p.m. Along with receiving some lessons, Patrick is also hoping to see where his team stands among some good competition which will include Pike, Park Tudor, Marion, Wapahani, New Castle, Batesville, Norwell, Goshen, Jennings County, Cardinal Ritter, Fort Wayne Blackhawk, Shelbyville, Austin, Vincennes Rivet and Greenfield-Central. Having already taken part in tournaments this summer, Patrick’s seen his team dominate lower-caliber teams. Now, with the competition ratcheted up a bit, he’ll get a clearer look at what he has on the floor. “The competition will be pretty good,” he said. “This will give us a chance to see if we can play or not.” The Vikings were 16-5 this past season and had just two seniors on the roster.
