Candid Keefer

HSSTM: It's often said that you can't teach size. While that's about the most obvious cliché, you of all people should know it's true. You've had quite a line of big men over the years at LN, especially recently, and this year is no different led by the 6-foot-9 Stephan Van Treese. What is your strategy to grooming the guys in the middle? Keefer: When you think of basketball, you think of big men, but that's usually more because you're watching the pros. In high school, those big men aren't ready to be good yet. All of the big schools around here have big men walking the halls, but there are big men that aren't necessarily playing basketball. We try to encourage them and we probably work twice as hard with our big men in terms of trying to get them to understand the game and learn the fundamentals of their position properly. HSSTM: And what is the biggest challenge with teaching the post players? Keefer: Just to play within themselves. They have to think like a big man. Guards are guards, and they're a dime a dozen. With big men, there's only one or two of them around and they need to treat themselves a little special (laughs). The pros go all over the world trying to find big men, but they've got guards right in their backyard. HSSTM: It's safe to say Greg Oden was the best of the big-man bunch? Keefer: Well, I'm sure he was. But the first bucket Oden ever made in a game, and he tells this story, was in the wrong goal. He didn't start out being a very good player as I understand; he was just tall in the fourth and fifth grade. He's just now turning the corner as far as athletic skill. HSSTM: Speaking of Oden, do you ever get sick of answering questions about him and former teammate Mike Conley? Keefer: Oh, they're such great kids that you don't mind it. They are two kids that worked very hard and were a joy to work with. HSSTM: This season will be the second without that dynamic duo, who find themselves on NBA rosters these days. You had a pretty darn good season last year going 16-8 and winning the sectional title, but what was your toughest challenge without them? Keefer: I suppose they averaged close to 50 points between them and you miss those points, but what you really miss is the leadership and the direction of the program. They had great focus and brought people on board, so we had to sustain that. I think mostly it was their knowledge of how to play the game and how they passed that along to the rest of the team. HSSTM: You still stay in touch with both Oden and Conley, having recently gone down to Memphis to see Conley amongst other things. How has your relationship changed since they graduated? Keefer: It's just a completely different atmosphere, they're men now. Greg called me and he was all depressed when his knee got hurt and I said, 'You've got a reason to be depressed if you're at Ohio State and you're sitting on the bench with a bad knee and two bucks in you pocket. But I don't feel very sorry for you with the money you've got in your pocket now and where you're at. So get over it' (laughs). HSSTM: During any given year at LN, you've got a handful of players being recruited by all different levels of college programs and it's often times during the high school season. As a coach, how do you balance the recruiting process and keep your players focused on the here and now? Keefer: We don't push individuals. Even when Mike and Greg we here, people wanted to make jerseys with their numbers on it and all kinds of stuff, but we were a team and Mike and Greg were phenomenal team members. We stress that teams win and individuals get beat. When you're doing that, all of the sudden college coaches are calling and it doesn't mean as much. It doesn't mean anything until the season is over and they decide they want to give you a scholarship. It's pretty easy, really. The kids want to win. HSSTM: You've seen quite a few changes in high school hoops during your 32 years at LN, both on and off the court. The state is going through another change heading into this season with a new sectional alignment. How do you feel about the sectional this year? Keefer: I think it's ridiculous. I don't know who's in charge of putting things like that together...but they succeeded in putting together to most super-sectional I've ever seen in my entire life and it just happens to be Marion County teams. There's too many coincidences...if they're going to set it up this way, then at some point you just have to say let's just quit doing it, seed it and do it right. HSSTM: So then what's the solution to it? Keefer: You have to get somebody in there that is fair. It just means that we're going to have to fight that much harder to get out of the sectional. We don't even have a gym that's big enough to hold this sectional. If you've got a Friday night with two good games, there's no way we could hold it - people won't be able to see the game. HSSTM: Knowing that you're going to have to go through the likes of North Central, Warren Central, Cathedral, Lawrence Central and Broad Ripple just to get to the regional, what is the one thing you can pinpoint as your team's biggest area to improve by the tournament? Keefer: We have to become a more mentally-focused group of guys. Some of our juniors and sophomores have to become seniors mentally. They've got to really grow up. It doesn't matter which guys, but they can't be kids with the schedule we play. These teams we play are going to treat us like men and we have to act like it.