Chesterton boys basketball squad, ranked No. 13 in the Indiana coaches poll, travels to No. 2 Crown Point to challenge undefeated Bulldogs

Tom Keegan
Onwardtrojans.com

Crown Point’s undefeated boys basketball team has occupied the No. 2 spot in the Indiana coaches poll all season, tucked behind Fishers, and it’s easy to see why.
The Bulldogs feature two Division I signees, have a bench longer than a CVS receipt and a roster stocked with players that leave opposing fan bases bemoaning, “He’s still there? It seems like we’ve been playing against him for about 10 years already.”
Chesterton, ranked No. 13 in the state, travels to Crown Point today in the second game of a girl-boy varsity doubleheader that tips off at 5:30 p.m. Estimated tip time for the boys is 7 p.m. The winner will be tied for first in the DAC with unbeaten Portage, ranked No. 18 in the state.
The challenge in facing Crown Point always starts with trying to contain senior Dikembe Shaw, but it doesn’t end there. Far from it.
A muscular 6-foot-7 senior forward, Shaw has the quickness to blow by defenders on the drive, the strength and savvy to dominate down low, and a soft 3-point shooting touch.
Shaw signed a national letter of intent to play for University of Illinois-Chicago of the Missouri Valley Conference.
“Dikembe’s a very tough matchup high school-wise because he’s 6-7 and he’s extremely strong,” Urban said. “He has good weight on him, but he also can shoot. He’s able to run the floor and if he gets an angle on you, he’s able to use his body. He’s able to get through you. They post him up well. He’s good down there. He really can score at all three levels.”
Urban knows Shaw well from coaching against him for four years now, and even in the summer, when Urban was coaching the Indiana All-Stars and Shaw was playing for the Junior All-Stars.
“I feel like he hit 15 3s in that game,” Urban joked. “He can shoot it. He’s a no-brainer Indiana All-Star. Dikembe’s one of those kids you follow after high school and hope he does well throughout his career.
He’s a kid I could see going to UIC for two, three years and then end up in the Big 10. I wouldn’t be shocked if he leveled up at some point.”
Mason Darrell, a 6-2 senior guard, is more than a skilled 3-point shooter. He signed with Bellarmine University of the Division I Atlantic Sun Conference.
In the release announcing the recruiting class, Bellarmine coach Doug Davenport said: “Mason is one of the most fiercely competitive high school players I've ever seen. He always plays with a relentless motor and is a natural born leader who will do whatever it takes to win.”
Bulldogs senior point guard Kingston Rhodes has been sidelined by injury, and his twin brother, Kaiden, has performed well filling in for him. Bryce Peters, a 6-3 guard in his second year at Crown Point after starting his career at Merrillville, “is really good,” according to Urban.
Senior Jack Lux is a 3-point threat coming off the bench.
“A lot of their guys are really good drivers, so you load up and then here he comes,” Urban said of Lux.
“Individually they’re really skilled and talented and the guys they bring off the bench are also very skilled and talented and they all have a different weapon.”
As loaded as the Bulldogs are offensively, to hear Urban tell it, their defense is just as responsible for them holding the No. 2 spot in the state.
“They’re super aggressive. They mix up their defenses a ton and get you to play uncomfortably a lot of times,” Urban said. “They can make an 8-0 run and make you feel like you never even had the ball. They can just blitz you really quick, and they have a lot of experience.”
Their experience extends to the coaching staff, where Clint Swan ranks 15th in the state among active Indiana boys coaches with 431 career victories. Urban’s .763 winning percentage ranks him fourth in the state, behind only Fishers’ Garrett Winegar (.826), Blackhawk Christian’s Matt Roth (.814) and Lawrence North’s Chris Giffin (.792).
Senior Logan Pokorney (15.5 ppg) and sophomore Bradly Basila (13.2 ppg, 5.9 rebounds per game) give the Trojans a potent outside-inside combination. They are joined in the starting lineup by seniors Caden Schneider and Jaylon Watts and junior Tobias Ray. Quick junior guard Malachi Ransom and 3-point threat Cooper Huwig supply depth in the backcourt. Junior strong man Gunner Ello and sophomore leaper Tommy Kostbade bring different styles in the frontcourt.
Crown Point takes a 12-0 record into the DAC clash and Chesterton is 12-2 overall and 6-0 in road games.