When Northview boys basketball head coach Shawn Nevill was putting together his team’s summer schedule, there were a few colleges that called and asked if he was interested in bringing the Knights to their respective single-day tournaments to play against some of the top talent in the state.
With the opportunity to play on stages such as Purdue’s Mackey Arena, University of Indianapolis’ Nicoson Hall and Wabash College’s Chadwick Court, while also having college scouts watching from the stands, it was a no-brainer, said Nevill.
“We wanted to play the best teams that we could find, and a lot of times, those are the places to go to make that happen, especially at Purdue with them bringing teams that have guys on them that they’re recruiting,” said Nevill. “We also have some guys on our team that want to go on and play college basketball, so that made it even better. A few colleges called and wanted us to come. This isn’t an every year type of thing, but it was cool to do this year.”
While Northview might not be taking a college tour in future years, the experiences the Knights left with were something Nevill was excited about, pointing to the stories each of them will get to tell about playing in front of Purdue head coach Matt Painter and star forward Fletcher Loyer on the historic Mackey Arena floor.
“They loved every bit of it,” Nevill said. “Mackey wasn’t full by any stretch of the imagination, but it was still a really cool thing. It’s been fun. It’s been a really good summer. This won’t be what our schedule looks like every summer because it’s been long and grueling, but I’m proud of them for doing it.”