MaxPreps Indiana Team of the Week: Princeton girls basketball

In a perfect basketball world, a team's starting five would all average double-figure scoring and rebounding.

The Princeton (Ind.) girls basketball team isn't nearly that, though their junior class has put up a pretty remarkable 114-8 record since they've played varsity.

Much of their scoring is handled by the state's best, Notre Dame-bound Jackie Young, a 6-foot junior who is averaging 33 points, 11.6 rebounds, 6.9 assists and 3.6 steals per game.

Charles Mair, who has been coaching since 1978, said he's glad he's coaching her and not trying to defend her.

"If I were coaching against Jackie, I would probably find myself just watching her," he said.

Young isn't just a great individual talent, but also a superb teammate and largely because of it, the Tigers are off to a 6-1 start. They opened 4-0, before being humbled by 31 points by Bedford North Lawrence.

Last week, they responded with decisive wins over Mt. Vernon (73-42) and Evansville Harrison (81-58).

For their response, the Tigers have been selected the MaxPreps Indiana Team of the Week, presented by the Indiana Army National Guard.

Mair, in his 35th year as coach, said he's been most pleased with his team's defensive intensity.

"We play a varied defensive package of multiple mixes of man, zone, combination-man-and-zone, plus half-court and full-court pressure," Mair said. "It's a far cry from when I started when we basically played a 2-1-2 zone the entire season."

Of the team's response to the Bedford North Lawrence loss, Mair said: "It seemed to motivate this team to raise their game to the next level."

Transition offense has been a big improvement over last year. That starts with defense, rebounding, boxing out and getting the ball out quickly. Assistants Rachel Thompson and Ron Hudson have helped with daily drills to help with those areas.

Besides Young, the team is led by sophomore Brooke James (12.1 points per game), and the junior class of Hannah Brewer, Samanth Hyneman, Ashleigh Chestnut and Kiana Hardiman.

Princeton won their first Big Eight Conference championship since 1980 and had the school's first and only undefeated regular season at 20-0.

Seniors Kelsey Kolb-Blume, Alyssa Koberstein, Raelynn Thompson have also been mainstays.

But make no mistake, Young makes it all go. This is what Mair imagines he'd watch if he was the opposing coach:

"(She'd) glide up and down the basketball floor, switching hands as she attacks the basket and shooting a right- or left-handed running bank shot that hits nothing but net," he said. "Or making an unbelievable whipping no-look pass to a teammate for an easy shot, faking everyone in the gym out of their seats including me."

To advance deeper into the IHSAA state tournament, the Tigers won't be sitting around watching Young, but contributing in all ways.

"We need to become more balanced offensively," Mair said. "We also need to improve our outside shooting, especially from behind the three-point line. We need to keep stepping up our defensive improvement in order to overcome the occasional off-night shooting."