Point guard Andrew Batesole isn’t the Boone Grove boys basketball team’s only senior captain.
He shares that responsibility with senior guard/forward Mark Rowland and senior guard Jack Stevens. But there’s little doubt that the Wolves view Batesole as the leader of the pack.
“He’s the one who comes into practice every day and brings the energy,” Stevens said. “He lifts everyone up. He makes sure everyone stays in line. He’s definitely the true leader of our team. He’s the one everyone should look up to. He’s the person who always comes in all energy. He’s a true leader.
“Out of all of us three, it’s definitely Andrew. He’s the more vocal one.”
The 5-foot-10 Batesole is in his third season as a starter. Building on that experience, he was averaging 9.4 points, 2.8 rebounds and team highs of 5.9 assists and 2.6 steals before Boone Grove (10-10) defeated DeMotte Christian on Tuesday.
“I have confidence in myself,” Batesole said. “Just knowing that I’ve been here, I’ve done all these things before, so nothing’s new to me. Nothing scares me or anything like that. I just have the confidence to go out there and control the game, which I think I’ve been doing a pretty good job of so far this year. Being calm and staying in control is where I took the biggest jump this year.
“As a sophomore, being that young, I was thrown into the fire a little bit. I don’t play AAU, so this is really the only time I’m around basketball all the time. But being able to trust myself and the coaches trusting me to be in that position, it was super big.”
Batesole is second in scoring this season behind Stevens, who paces the Wolves in that category for the third straight time and recently eclipsed 1,000 career points, and Batesole tops the team in assists for the third straight season.
“The coaching staff’s put a lot of trust in me lately,” he said. “They give me all the opportunities I can to be able to go get it done. And just having trust in my teammates too — I like to pass the ball, so being able to trust my teammates to knock down open shots is a big part of my game.”
Boone Grove coach Dean Hill appreciates Batesole’s unselfish approach.
“When you look at numbers, kids a lot of times are focused on points and putting up the big numbers,” Hill said. “Andrew very much wants to be the helper. He wants the assists. Kids are like, ‘How many points did I have last night?’ Andrew’s like, ‘Coach, I had seven assists.’ He’s that kind of guy, which you love.
“He brings the energy for our team. He’s like the motor. If we’re playing well, it’s usually because he’s playing well and controlling the pace, controlling the tempo. He’s saying the right things, having our guys in the right spots at the right time. He’s one of those guys that the box score isn’t telling you all of the stuff he does.”
Batesole wasn’t in the box score at all in the first five games of the season. He was “unavailable” because of a “school-related issue,” Hill said.
“I got in some trouble at school — stupid decisions,” Batesole said. “I don’t want to say I’m grateful for it, but it definitely helped me realize that this doesn’t last forever and anything can be taken away in the blink of an eye. So I’ve come back and appreciated these last games a little bit more than I would’ve.”
Batesole hopes to help the Wolves finish with a winning record for the first time since they went 15-8 in 2021-22 and to win their first postseason game since winning a sectional title in 2021. After two seasons in Class 3A, they have moved back down to 2A and open the Hebron Sectional against Whiting on March 5.
Batesole’s No. 1 sport actually is baseball. An outfielder and left-handed pitcher, he took over a starting spot during the postseason of his freshman year. In August, Batesole announced his commitment to play baseball at Edgewood. He intends to major in education and become an elementary school gym teacher.
“I don’t ever not want to be around sports,” Batesole said. “It’s just such a part of me at this point.”
