Completely surprised. 
That is how Aiden Beadles sums up his feelings after learning he was named the Indianapolis Colts High School Man of the Year winner. 
The award recognizes an outstanding Indiana high school football player who excels in character, leadership and teamwork, both on and off the field. 

"I'm beyond blessed to have received this award, and I had no idea I was going to receive it. My coaches and staff at school all kept it a secret leading up to the announcement," Beadles said. 

This past season, Beadles recorded over 200 tackles, 39 tackles for a loss, 10 sacks and two fumble recoveries for the Eagles, who finished 9-2 and lost to eventual Class A champion Lutheran, 21-14, in the sectional tournament. 

Beadles said what stands out to him the most from his South Putnam career is the staff and, specifically, his coaches. 

"They were always teaching me and pushing me to reach the next level. This allowed me to keep gaining confidence, skill and knowledge of the sport each year," Beadles said. 

Beadles holds an offer from Wabash and is waiting to see what the future holds. 

"I am going to go to college to study psychology and criminology. I am still waiting to see if I get any more offers from colleges," Beadles said. 

Indiana Pacers great George McGinnis, the 1969 Indiana Mr. Basketball who went on to a professional career that culminated in his enshrinement in the Naismith Hall of Fame, passed away early Thursday morning. He was 73. 

McGinnis succumbed to complications from a cardiac arrest suffered last week at his home. He was taken to Community North Hospital where family, friends, and former teammates maintained a vigil of support until his passing. 

McGinnis starred on an unbeaten Indianapolis Washington High School team that won the 1969 state championship, led the Big Ten in scoring and rebounding as a sophomore at Indiana University, then helped guide the Pacers to two of their three American Basketball Association (ABA) championships. He earned the ABA’s co-most valuable player (with Julius Erving) in the 1974-75 season. McGinnis then moved on to the Philadelphia 76ers in the National Basketball Association (NBA), where he was twice named an All-Star. He later played for the Denver Nuggets before returning to the Indiana Pacers, closing his 11-year professional basketball career in 1982. 

He is one of four Pacers (Roger Brown, Mel Daniels and Reggie Miller being the others) to have his Pacers jersey – No. 30 – retired. He was inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2017. 

At 6’8, 235 pounds, McGinnis defined the position of “power” forward but was also a tremendous rebounder, floor leader, and teammate. In the 1975 ABA playoffs, for example, he averaged 32.3 points, 15.9 rebounds, and 8.2 assists. 

As 1969 Mr. Basketball, he was best known for his 53-point, 30-point rebound performance in the Indiana’s All-Star victory over Kentucky in Louisville’s Freedom Hall. 

Although plagued by severe back issues in later life, McGinnis was affable, approachable, and immensely loyal to his friends, former teammates and former Pacers coach Bobby “Slick” Leonard.  He was also a successful businessman, forming and running GM Supply, a wholesale industrial supply firm. 

The son of Willie and Burnie McGinnis, George married his high school sweetheart, Lynda, who passed in 2019. He is survived by his sister, Bonnie. 

Statement from the Simon Family and Pacers Sports & Entertainment: 

“From his all-state high school days to his time as an IU All-American and, of course, to his legendary ABA championship runs with the Pacers, George McGinnis shaped so many of the fondest basketball memories for generations of Hoosiers. He was the very definition of an Indiana basketball legend, a champion, and Hall of Fame athlete. But he was more than that. George was family. A passionate advocate for his fellow ABA players and a present, smiling face around the franchise, George has been as synonymous with our Pacers franchise as anyone. He will be greatly missed, and all of us at Pacers Sports & Entertainment will keep George and his family in our prayers.” 

The burial will be private, but a celebration of life will take place in Gainbridge Fieldhouse after the first of the year. Details to be announced

After opening the season 0-5, the Greencastle girls' basketball team has found its way in recent outings, as first year head coach Jessica Lenihan has her squad sitting at 4-7 after picking up a 39-37 win over South Putnam last Friday. 

While some may see struggles, Lenihan admits the team is exactly where she thought they would be. 

"I am not surprised at all with how things are going. I knew it would take a minute to get this season started and get some wins under our belt. It is tough transitioning from last year when we relied on two of our seniors to score for us," Lenihan told The Putnam County Post.

She admits the Tiger Cubs had to find players to step up and score, which has happened the last few times they have stepped foot on the court. 

"The scoring has been pretty even and that is exactly what us coaches like to see. We want everyone contributing in the scoring column. This season has been going really well. The girls have been practicing and playing really well together these last few weeks. Recently, we have had some tough games, but our girls do not give up and they continue to work hard all four quarters," Lenihan said.

Greencastle has been surrendering just over 43 points a game this season, and the first year head coach notes that is something her team has been working on.  

"We also have been working hard on defense and trying to figure out what defense works best for us and we seem to finally be settling in. I am so proud of these girls and how far we have come just since the beginning of the season. We are excited to see how the rest of the season goes," she said.   

Leading the way for Greencastle has been Evelyn Briones, who leads the team in scoring and has provided leadership, along with Madi Plew, according to Lenihan. 

"They are both seniors and they have done a great job at leading the other girls out on the court," Lenihan said.

In addition, senior Aleeyah Johnson has been playing well, as was evident by her game winning basket against South Putnam in the closing seconds. 
Lenihan singled out a few other players who are playing well for the Tiger Cubs. 

"We are really impressed with how she has been playing. Ali Dobbs and Bailey Brown have been a scoring threat the last couple of games. Ali Dobbs has been a stealing machine on defense and Bailey Brown has been dominant getting offense and defensive rebounds," she said. 

In the Putnam County Girls' Basketball Tournament earlier this season, South Putnam knocked off Greencastle, 50-31. Lenihan admits it "feels really good to get that win against a really aggressive and talented team like South Putnam."

"The girls were so excited and played so well. They fought up until the very last second of that game. There was a time in the fourth quarter with four minutes and 11 seconds left and we were down 7, I told the girls in the timeout "one possession at a time" "don't force shots, move the ball to get a really great shot and know you are hitting it" and that is exactly what my team did. Never once stopped fighting or gave up in that game. A couple shots got us back into the game and we just continued to play our game and when Aleeyah Johnson hit that game winner, we all went crazy. It just felt so good, the girls have been working so hard to win close games like that and it finally paid off. I can't even express how happy I am with the girls," Lenihan said. 

Greencastle plays next on Dec. 15 when it travels to Sullivan. 

Despite a sluggish start to the 2023-24 boy's basketball season, the Greencastle Tiger Cubs find themselves in a good position midway through December. 
Bryce Rector's team is sitting at 3-3, having won two straight and Rector picked up career win number 100, all of them at Greencastle, last week when the Tiger Cubs turned back Southmont, 64-48. That was on the heels of a 49-35 win over South Putnam. 

"I was really pleased with the way that we played this past weekend. I thought our group made some real strides this past week and came away with two wins against sectional opponents. Obviously, winning our 100th game since I have been here at Greencastle was an added bonus to the weekend. It's an achievement that is really a testament to the players and coaches we have had throughout the past eight seasons. We have been very blessed with some great players that have helped us win a lot of games, and I think we have one of the best coaching staffs in the state. You don't reach these types of milestones without great players and a supportive staff," Rector told The Putnam County Post. 

After opening the season 1-3, Greencastle has found its footing as of late, something that Rector is pleased by. 

"The season is off to a pretty good start so far. I thought we started a bit slow with losses early on in three of our four games, but I have seen a lot of growth one month into the season and like where we are headed. I look for our team to continue growing as the season progresses as we are still quite a young team with only one senior and several sophomores logging significant minutes," Rector said. 

Indiana Pacers guard Tyrese Haliburton was named to the NBA’s All-Tournament team Monday by a panel of 20 media voters.

Haliburton led the Pacers to the championship game of the NBA’s inaugural In-Season Tournament after leading the team to a 6-0 record in while averaging 27.8 points, 5.5 rebounds and 13.7 assists per game. 
Haliburton was a unanimous selection to the All-Tournament Team as he earned votes from all 20 of the voting media members. The All-Tournament Team was selected by the panel based on player performance in both Group Play and the Knockout Rounds. Players were chosen without regard to position. Haliburton shares honors with Milwaukee forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, Los Angeles Lakers forwards Anthony Davis and LeBron James and Phoenix forward Kevin Durant.  
The Pacers return to action tonight as Indiana tips off a four-game road trip in Detroit at 7 p.m. (ET).

It wasn't that long ago the Cloverdale wrestling program was one that was among the best, not only in Putnam County, but across the state. 
According to first year head coach Eddie Byrns, the Clovers had a storied program that spent over a decade as county and sectional champions, picking up 14 sectional titles over the years. 
And, then the program hit a rapid decline in participation. 

"For Cloverdale wrestling, the season is going well. To describe it in one word, that would be simple -- rebirth. Last year, the team consisted of only one wrestler, senior Daphnee Gieger. That all ended in February," Byrns told The Putnam County Post. 

What happened in February?
The Cloverdale Elementary wrestling program was restarted and Byrns, as well as Brian Siddons, both alumni, were hired and immediately got to work. 

"The recruitment and search for new, young talent started immediately and offseason practice started immediately. All the energy and hard work has paid off," Byrns said. 

This year, Cloverdale has a nice mix of veteran leadership and newcomers, according to Byrns. 
He pointed to senior Olivia Hemmerling and juniors Corey Branigan, Ben Campbell, Jakob Compton and Patrick Harris who have all stepped up to the challenge and said many of them are first year wrestlers. 

"As our upperclassmen learn, they are providing critical mentorship to our large talented group of underclassmen," he said. 

Leading the unit is freshman Jason Glosser, who is 11-1 at 106 pounds. His lone loss came against fourth ranked Brady Bird. At 132, Logan Reynalds, a sophomore, is 8-2, and sophomore Max Bryant is 7-2 at 126 pounds. At 175, sophomore TJ Hamilton is 9-3. 

"Max and Logan are both sophomores who come to Cloverdale wrestling with an energetic and dynamic wrestling style. TJ brings raw power and athleticism to the mat. His energy and drive to get better has many of his teammates looking to him as a leader and a standard to hold themselves to," Byrns said. 

The excitement can be seen up and down the roster as Cloverdale has filled every weight class for the first time in over a decade, according to Byrns. 

"The Cloverdale student body has stepped up in a huge way. This is the first time in over 10 years that Cloverdale has filled every weight class and brings an almost complete JV squad on the road. The team energy has been contagious, the student population has stood up, forming a traveling cheer block that rides with the team to meets to cheer this young squad on," he said. 

With a young team, Byrns said there are three goals the Clovers have this season and the first starts with building a solid foundation. 
He said that includes representing Cloverdale, spreading the wrestling message, bringing friends out, talking to the underclassmen and students in middle school and on the elementary teams and paying it forward. 

After that, the second goal is to take every opportunity to learn, gain experience and learn every day. Finally, Cloverdale's third goal is to have fun, stay positive, be humble and leave everything on the mat every time out. 

How will the Clovers stack up against county foes this season?
Byrns said he has only seen South Putnam so far, but Cloverdale will quickly find out at the upcoming Greencastle Holiday Classic. 

"I firmly believe when all the Putnam County teams are better, it's better for everyone. The Clovers are young, but they are hungry and working hard to get better every single day. We aren't afraid to wrestle anyone. The team and the Clover community is fired up, excited and eager to build something special that will last for years to come," Byrns said. 

It was a football season to remember for the South Putnam and Greencastle football teams this past season. 

Greencastle captured the Western Indiana Conference Green Division title, the county championship and advanced to the second round of the sectional under first year head coach Dave Stephens. 

South Putnam, on the other hand, finished the season 9-2 under head coach Chuck Sorrell and saw its season end to eventual Class A state champ Lutheran in a barn burner in the sectional tournament, 21-14.

For their efforts, players from both teams landed spots on the IFCA Class A and Class 2A All-State Teams. 

South Putnam led the way with three total players making the teams. Juniors Parker Harris, an offensive lineman, and Wyatt Mullin, an athlete, earned the nods on the IFCA Class A Junior All-State Team. 

On the season, Mullin threw for 2,247 yards and 27 touchdowns and added another 681 yards and seven touchdowns on the ground at quarterback. 

Senior linebacker Aiden Beadles earned a spot on the IFCA Class A Senior All-State Team. 

Beadles finished the year with 203 tackles, 39 tackles-for-a-loss, 10 sacks, 20 quarterback hurries, a pass deflection, and two fumble recoveries for the Eagles. 

Greencastle offensive lineman Jackson Buis earned a spot on the Class 2A Senior All-State Team.