AKRON – Bill Patrick describes the majority of the players on his Tippecanoe Valley High School boys basketball team as "quiet kids." The Hall of Fame coach with 677 career wins hopes they can make some noise on the court, as the Vikings try to avoid their fourth-straight losing season. "I think we can be a team that scores," said Patrick, who is entering his 43rd season overall and 14th with the Vikings. "I think we're gonna be fun to watch. We're kind of a quiet team. Most of the kids are quiet, but, for the most part they've been working hard and their attitudes are good." Valley opens the season Wednesday when it hosts Kosciusko County rival Warsaw. A win would improve Patrick's record with the Vikings to 200-89. "They lost a great player, but they have a lot of experience coming back," Patrick said of Warsaw, which enters the post-Nic Moore era. "I think they have a really solid team. (Lucas) Grose is gonna be a problem for us. We just don't have anybody that matches up with him." Patrick said Grose is a matchup nightmare because of his 6-foot-6 frame, as well as his strength and athleticism. Valley's varsity roster has just two players listed as taller than 6-3 – sophomore Logan Britton and junior Nate Morrison, both of whom are 6-4. Patrick said rebounding and old-fashioned hustle will be vital for his team to be successful this season. "I think we can be competitive in every game," said Patrick, whose team was 7-14 overall and 4-3 in the Three Rivers Conference last season. "Rebounding will be big. At times, we'll have three guards on the court. We'll be able to shoot from outside. We'll probably be a better shooting team than we have the last two or three years, but we've got to be competitive on the boards." Valley's varsity roster includes seniors James Gregory and Jeff Tillman; juniors Jacob Ritchey, Nick Kindig, Dylan Stimeling and Morrison; sophomores Robby Groom, Tyler Swain, Tanner Andrews, Dereck Cunningham and Britton; and freshman Alex Thacker. "We have a lot of sophomores and a couple freshmen that I think are gonna be able to help us," said Patrick. "In all likelihood, we're gonna start two sophomores, two juniors and a senior." Those five players would include Tillman, Kindig, Ritchey, Andrews and Groom. Kindig led the Vikings last season with 13 points per game, while Bret Cooper, Tanner Shepherd and Andrews all scored right at nine points per game. Cooper isn't on the team because of disciplinary reasons, and Shepherd transferred to Triton. Following Wednesday's game with Warsaw, Valley travels to Argos on Nov. 29 and to Knox on Dec 2. The Vikings open TRC play Dec. 16 at Whitko and will play in the holiday tournament at Rochester Dec. 29-30.
