2023-24 Hillsboro Indians Boys Basketball Preview

The Hillsboro Indians return to the court for the 2023-24 season looking to add to the building they began last season under head coach Josh Howland, who is starting his second season with the HHS program.

Last season, the Indians finished 6-18 overall and 2-8 in the Frontier Athletic Conference for fifth place. This season, the Indians bring a roster that consists of two seniors, four juniors, four sophomores and one freshman, including four returning starters.

Seniors for the Indians are Steven Kibler and Dorian Stewart.

Hillsboro’s juniors are Tate Davis, Brayden Hunter, Nic Burns and Dylan Dixon. The sophomore class consists of Mason Dumpert, Lucas Holland, Walker Pence and Brady Juillerat. The lone freshman on the varsity roster is Jackson Howland.

Davis returns to the team as a junior, and last season as a sophomore he averaged 12.2 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game, 3 assists per game and 1 steal per game. Davis also made 33 3-pointers last season and shot 87.1 percent from the free-throw line. In all, he scored 256 points his sophomore season as the Indians’ point guard.

Davis was also an All-FAC and All-District (Coaches honorable mention, OPSWA special mention) selection, as he ended the 2022-23 season with 10 games of 10-plus points and three games of 20-plus points, including a season-high 22 points against McClain.

Last season, Burns averaged 7.4 ppg and 3.5 rpg, while Kibler finished averaging 6.3 ppg and 6.0 rpg. Stewart finished averaging 4.5 ppg and 4.9 rpg, as all three of them are returning this season. Hunter averaged 3.0 ppg during the 2022-23 season.

The Indians lost their leading scorer from last season to graduation, Bryce Parsons, who in his senior season averaged 15.1 ppg and 9.5 rebounds per game as he was an All-FAC and All-District (Coaches second-team, OPSWA third-team) selection.

“We will need key minutes from Steven, Dorian, Nic, Tate, Brayden, Mason and Jackson. We are excited to see our entire roster buy into the team-first concept,” Howland said. “We had solid commitment from our top seven this offseason. We went to Ohio University team camp for the second year and were very happy with the experience we had there. We are very excited to see our overall commitment level, and culture is starting to move forward in the right direction.”

Hillsboro this offseason has seen improvement compared to last year, and that’s something that has Howland excited for the 2023-24 season.

“We are moving the ball much better and starting to understand the importance of defense,” Howland said. “As for what we need to improve on, we need to continue to improve in every aspect of the game. A big area for improvement is our ability to move without the ball and develop chemistry with various lineups.

“We expect to compete to win every time we step on the floor. We want to compete for a league championship and make a solid tournament run. It's going to be a grind. We will have to outwork our opponents every single night.”

Besides playing the McClain Tigers, Washington Blue Lions, Miami Trace Panthers, Jackson Ironmen and Chillicothe Cavaliers twice this upcoming season in FAC games, the Indians’ non-conference schedule is tough as well.

This season, Hillsboro’s non-conference schedule includes games vs. Wilmington, at Waverly, at Batavia, at Eastern, vs. Adena (at Fairfield’s Chad Hodson Classic), vs. Paint Valley, at Circleville, vs. Western Brown, vs. Fairfield, at Lynchburg-Clay, vs. Blanchester and at Piketon.

“The FAC will be challenging again this year,” Howland said. “Washington returns some very solid players, as do Jackson and Miami Trace. They also have some nice players coming up this year. Our FAC opponents also have solid coaching staffs that are always well prepared.

“We open up with Wilmington on Dec. 1 and expect that game to be a challenge. We also have Batavia, Circleville, Fairfield and Western Brown, to name a few of our nonconference opponents. We expect a challenging schedule all season long.”

The Hillsboro assistant coaches are Chris Fauber and Blake Kibler.

“I'm very excited about this season,” Howland said. “Our boys have shown so much growth since the beginning of last season. I'm proud of their commitment and look forward to seeing their continued growth as student-athletes.”

The Indians open their 2023-24 season on Friday, Dec. 1 on the road at Wilmington in a non-conference game.