AKRON – It’s not that Hall of Fame coach Bill Patrick is trying to keep secrets or not show his hand. The truth is, there are just that many questions surrounding his Tippecanoe Valley High School boys basketball team. Who will lead? Who will be a reliable scorer? Who will rebound? The Vikings open the season Wednesday at county rival Warsaw, and they will look much different than the team that was 17-4 overall and 7-0 in the Three Rivers Conference last season. Graduated from that team are Tanner Andrews, Robby Groom, Logan Britton and Ben Shriver. Chainey Zolman, a senior this year, moved and is playing for the Manchester Squires. Of the 1,132 points the Vikings scored last season, 1,013 were scored by the five aformentioned players. “There’s not a lot of points coming back from last year,” said Patrick, who takes a record of 730-282 into his 46th season, including a mark of 252-101 in his 17th season at Valley. “We lost the majority of our length and size,” continued Patrick. “There’s a lot of question marks. Rebounding is a big question mark. Inside defense is a question mark. We don’t have a lot of size. Jarred Littlejohn is the only player we have back that played much last year.” Littlejohn, a 5-foot-11 senior, is Valley’s leading scorer returning from last season. He played in all 21 games and had season totals of 44 points and 35 rebounds. Other seniors on this year’s roster include Alex Thacker, Chandler O’Connor and Austin Perdieu. Thacker scored 163 points while playing on the varsity team as a sophomore, but missed all of last season because of a suspension. Patrick believes Thacker will be one of the best players, if not the best player, in the area. “We’re counting on Alex Thacker, even though he sat out last year,” said Patrick. “He’s capable of having a very good year. He can handle the ball, shoot, penetrate. I think he’s going to have a good year.” Perdieu hasn’t played since he was a freshman at Warsaw. He transferred to Valley last spring. “Austin Perdieu is a big body and he plays hard,” said Patrick. “He plays pretty good defense, and he’s just a really good kid. By the middle of the season, he’ll have improved a lot. He’s going to get some playing time.” Juniors on the varsity roster include Trevor Neeley, Gavin Buzzard, Neil Clampitt and Brandon Webster. Rounding out the team are sophomores Alec Craig and Jarred Duzenberry. At 6-4, O’Connor is the team’s tallest player. After him, the team’s only height is with Perdieu, Clampitt and Duzenberry, who are all 6-2. “We have a lack of size and a lack of experience,” said Patrick. “Those two things are a concern. That’s not a good way to start the season. Warsaw has a lot of experience and a lot of size. We’re going to have our hands full in the first game.” Expected to be in Valley’s starting lineup Wednesday night are Thacker, Littlejohn, O’Connor, Clampitt and Buzzard. Following the season opener at Warsaw, Valley hosts Argos on Dec. 2 and Knox on Dec. 5. The Vikings open TRC play by hosting Whitko on Dec. 19. “Manchester has got to be at the top,” said Patrick when asked who might be favored to win the conference, which Valley did last season with an unblemished record. “Southwood and Northfield should be good. Rochester will be better. Whitko had about 30 kids go out, they only had 13 last year. I think the conference will be better.” New teams on Valley’s schedule this year include Oregon-Davis, Winamac and Clinton Christian.
