Productive summer for Chesterton boys basketball program bodes well for the chances of an exciting season for team that has all five starters back

Tonm Keegan
onwardtrojans.com

Back coaching his Chesterton team after directing the Indiana All-Stars to a two-game sweep of the Kentucky All-Stars, Chesterton’s Marc Urban likes what he sees in terms of hustle, cohesiveness and improvement.
“I’ve been very pleased with the maturity that they’ve had,” Urban said after the Trojans defeated Munster, 74-32, and Century 21, 49-33, in the Chesterton Summer League on Tuesday night. “We haven’t had to coach effort, which you always hope, but not every team is like that, so we haven’t had to do that. And we have some guys who continue to get better. Logan (Pokorney) has played really, really well throughout the summer. He played really well at Purdue. I thought he played well tonight. Bradly keeps getting better and it's slowing down for him a little bit more, which is good. I could go down the line of each guy. I feel they all have made big strides and have gotten better.”
Rising sophomore Cooper Huwig had a hot 3-point shooting night and no longer is encumbered by sore knees. Point guards Tobias Ray and Malachi Ransom drove aggressively to the hoop, and the team played at a fast pace without getting sloppy. Basila had a few super quick dribble spin moves to free himself for buckets and looked more explosive blocking shots than he did last season. Pokorney was hot from the outside to complement the buckets he scored on hard drives, finishing with both hands, and catching the ball and putting it in after hard cuts to the hoop.
“Charlie Hughes is a big weekend,” Urban said. “Everyone in the state is there. There are college coaches and there are a lot of eyes on everything. We’ve got four really good games, so it’s a big weekend.”
The Trojans next play four games over two days, Friday and Saturday, at the Charlie Hughes Tournament, which has games at Carmel and Westfield.
When Urban was gone with the All-Stars, varsity assistants Tim Ray and Adam White and JV coach Drew Boetel handled the team and Urban was able to watch the Trojans’ summer games and some of their practices on HUDL.
The same five starters who finished the season still have their spots: Ray, Jaylon Watts, Pokorney, Bradley Basila and Caden Schneider and Ransom remains in the sixth-man role.
Urban always looks forward to this weekend.
“Charlie Hughes is a big weekend. Everyone in the state is there. There are college coaches and there are a lot of eyes on everything,” Urban said. “We’ve got four really good games, so it’s a big weekend.”
The Trojans take an 11-4 summer record to the Charlie Hughes tourney. Then they play their final summer league games this coming Tuesday, facing South Bend Adams at 7 p.m. on Court 2 in the main gym, and then Kouts at 8 p.m. on Court 1 in the main gym.
“Then we’ll take that break and then we'll do a lot of skill work," Urban said.
Basila and Ransom weren’t in the program at this time last season, and everyone will be a year older, which adds up to a promising 2025-26 season for the Trojans.