After Crown Point won a regional championship for the third consecutive year, Clint Swan asked the players to turn off the music in the locker room so he could talk to them for a few minutes.
His message: “Thank you.”
“Everybody in that room could have been somewhere else,” Swan said Monday at the state finals media session at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. “Getting more minutes, getting more shots, getting better shots. We were just very lucky that we have a group of guys that are just all about winning.”
It starts with 6-7 senior and Illinois-Chicago recruit Dikembe Shaw. If Shaw chose to play a different way, his team-high 17.1 points per game could be higher. But Crown Point might not be playing in its first state finals. The second-ranked Bulldogs (25-1) will take on No. 4 Mt. Vernon (27-3) at 8:15 p.m. Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the Class 4A state championship.
Shaw, who leads Crown Point at 5.9 rebounds per game and is one of the leaders with 2.3 assists, is one of the most efficient offensive players in the state, shooting 54.2% from the field, 34.3% from the 3-point line and a shade above 80% from the foul line.
“That’s the biggest thing with Dikembe,” Swan said. “When your best player is willing to sacrifice all of that, they are all going to sacrifice all of that. That’s his great attribute. That’s what he’s brought to us and that’s what he’s going to take to UIC. It’s what’s going to make him not only a great player but a successful human being.”
This is a Crown Point team that knocked on the door twice in the last two years in the semistate round only to be turned away by Fishers. After the Bulldogs’ win over Chesterton in the regional – the same night he thanked his players – Swan, in his 20th season at Crown Point, sensed the team was not enjoying the regional title as much as they should be.
“I was kind of mad because I was so thrilled and they didn’t look too thrilled,” Swan said. “I took them off to the side and said, ‘Please don’t take these wins for granted. Winning a regional is a big deal in this state.’ But they wanted that last win on Saturday (in the semistate). And that was their focus – and I knew it was.”
For Crown Point’s six seniors, this journey started together almost a decade ago. Kingston Rhodes remembers Shaw, whose older sister Dash Shaw was an Indiana All-Star out of Crown Point in 2020, walking into the gym as a second grader.
“I think we had practice or tryouts, and I remember seeing all those kids come in,” Rhodes said. “I remember seeing Dikembe and saying, ‘He’s pretty tall.’ We were pretty much connected from there.”
Swan said he appreciated seeing photos in recent days on social media from parents of the kids from years ago and the group after the Bulldogs took out Fort Wayne Snider and Northridge in the semistate at Elkhart by a combined 55 points. Kingston and his twin brother, Kaiden, both 5-9 guards, were coached by their father, Jason, growing up. Several of the other Crown Point players, including Shaw, played on his teams.
“He had to sacrifice a lot of time,” Swan said of Jason Rhodes. “He’s a big reason why the chemistry is as good as it is. Not only have they been playing together, but they have been playing the right way together. There is a sense of loyalty to one another.”
Crown Point, even in a one-loss season, has been forced to deal with adversity. Kingston Rhodes, the team’s second-leading scorer behind Shaw, went down with a torn meniscus in his left knee late in a game against Michigan City on Jan. 9.
Roles changed. Kaiden Rhodes, who is averaging 5.4 points and 1.8 assists, filled his brother’s role. M.J. Wilson, a talented 6-4 sophomore averaging 8.5 points and 2.2 rebounds, saw his role expand. Swan compared the transformation of the Crown Point team without Kingston – and then bringing him back for the final three regular season games and tournament run – to platelet-rich plasma therapy for athletes.
Allow Swan to explain.
“When they train, they remove the blood platelets and train without it and then right before the event they inject it back in,” he said. “That’s kind of what we’re doing. Taking a key component away from us, we’re going to work without him and elevate how we play. Then for the stretch run, we’re going to inject him back in it. You never know how those things turn out, but that’s exactly what happened. We didn’t want him to be hurt obviously but we did get better while he was out. For those other guys to elevate their game, it has everything to do with where we are right now as a result of him being out for a little while.”
For the record, Kingston completely agrees.
“I didn’t like having to sit out,” he said. “But I was definitely there for my team, helping the younger guys and trying to get their confidence up. My brother filled my role. He took my place in the starting lineup and played it very well. He played it as well as I could have.”
Shaw said having Kingston back puts Crown Point “at full power.”
“I think we’re ready,” Shaw said. “We’re well-prepared to win a state championship.”
Crown Point at a glance
Coach: Clint Swan (306-162 in 20 years; 444-234 overall in 29 years)
Record: 25-1
State finals history: First appearance
Tournament
Sectional
Def. Hammond Central 76-24
Def. Lake Central 57-52
Regional
Def. Chesterton 54-35
Semistate
Def. Fort Wayne Snider 76-47
Def. Northridge 66-40
Key players
Dikembe Shaw, 6-7, Sr.: 17.1 ppg, 5.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists
Mason Darrell, 6-2, Sr.: 13.5 ppg, 2.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists
Kingston Rhodes, 5-9, Sr.: 10.4 ppg, 2.7 rebounds, 2.3 assists
Bryce Peters, 6-3, Sr.: 8.5 ppg, 4.0 assists, 3.0 rebounds
M.J. Wilson, 6-4, Soph.: 8.5 ppg, 2.2 rebounds, 1.0 assists
Kaiden Rhodes, 5-9, Sr.: 5.4 ppg, 1.8 assists, 1.5 rebounds
Cooper Malaski, 6-7, Jr.: 5.0 ppg, 4.0 rebounds, 1.4 assists
Reid Kaegi, 6-2, Jr.: 3.8 ppg, 1.1 rebounds
Jack Lux, 6-1, Sr.: 2.7 ppg
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649. Get IndyStar’s high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter. And be sure to subscribe to our new IndyStarTV: Preps YouTube channel.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: ‘Full power’: Crown Point evolves, strengthens through adversity into 4A state finals
Reporting by Kyle Neddenriep, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
