BB: Shelbyville’s Larrabee announces retirement

Larrabee just didn’t expect the end to come so soon.

On
Tuesday afternoon, the former Indiana All-Star and veteran college
coach, informed his team and coaching staff that this would be his last
season on the Golden Bears sidelines.

Larrabee has been
diagnosed with a rare bleeding disorder that needs to be treated. The
problem caused Larrabee to miss the Shelby Shootout in late December.
With treatment and rest, he thought he was better only to have more
difficulties arise at Hamilton Heights Saturday night.

“When I came back here I wanted my coaching career to end here,” Larrabee said Wednesday afternoon, “just not this way.”

Larrabee
is in his eighth season as coach of the Golden Bears. In that time he
is 96-68 with one sectional title and three Hoosier Heritage Conference
championships.

Larrabee coached the Lady Golden Bears to an 18-5 mark in 2007.

He had a long talk with his wife, Betsy, Sunday before making his final decision.

“This
is one of the hardest decisions I’ve ever had to make,” he said. “I
still want to finish this season and give our best effort.”

Larrabee plans to continue his teaching career.

The
Golden Bears host Columbus East (5-5) Friday at William Garrett
Gymnasium before embarking on a three-game swing through the HHC.

Shelbyville (4-6, 1-1 HHC) is at Pendleton Heights (4-5, 1-2 HHC) on Tuesday.

Starting
guard Larry Brown will be back in the lineup Friday after shaking off
the effects of a concussion he received at Rushville.

Patrick
Ellis will not be available due to a lingering knee injury. The
sophomore is likely out until at least February, according to Larrabee.

Around the county

Triton
Central regained some momentum with its second straight Shelby County
Tournament championship. The Tigers are now 7-3 but just 2-3 against
teams not in Class A.

Triton Central is 4-0 in Mid-Hoosier
Conference games and faces a stern test Friday when Hauser (5-5, 2-1
MHC) visits Fairland. The Jets have won five straight in the series.

Last
year Triton Central started the season 9-1 only to finish 12-9. Coach
Kyle Brewer has likened this season to a marathon for the Tigers, who
are about to enter phase three of the season.

“This is a real
important phase for us,” Brewer said. “We’ve done a nice job in getting
into first place to compete for the conference championship.

“Our next hurdle is Hauser. In years past, they’ve always been the team to beat.”

Phase one was getting in position to contend for the MHC title. The second phase was winning the county tournament.

Right
now, the Tigers control their own destiny but Indian Creek (4-5, 2-1
MHC), Edinburgh (6-6, 1-2 MHC) and South Decatur (9-1, 1-0 MHC) also
stand in the way.

Just a few days removed from an astounding
43-point blowout of Southwestern in the county tourney championship
game, Brewer seemed pleased for his seniors.

“That was one of
the best team efforts I’ve been a part of as a coach,” Brewer said.
“The seniors did a great job of showing leadership. It was one of those
nights where things went well.”

Southwestern coach Brady Days
was happy to get his team back on the court Tuesday. The Spartans got
22 points from Craig Reilly in a 65-49 win over visiting Trinity
Lutheran.

“You’re only as good as the last game you played and now we’ve put that one away,” Days said of the tournament loss.

Southwestern
played the county tourney without third leading scorer Roo Standeford,
who was battling bronchitis and an undiagnosed back injury.

It
now appears that Standeford has a muscle injury in his back rather than
a spinal cord problem. The sophomore played Tuesday despite still
battling bronchitis.

The Spartans (6-5) face another tough challenge Saturday when 12th-ranked South Decatur comes to town.

The
Cougars eliminated Waldron in last year’s Martinsville Regional
semifinal. For South Decatur to return to the regional finals, it will
have to get past No. 3-ranked Jac-Cen-Del (7-2), who defeated
Southwestern 76-36 on Dec. 5, in its own sectional.

“It’s important to see if we can compete against an upper echelon team like (South Decatur),” Days said.

Morristown
provided Triton Central with its stiffest test at the county tourney
and welcomed back head coach Scott McClelland to the bench.

McClelland had ankle surgery over the holiday break after a winter mishap.

Now the Yellow Jackets (1-7, 0-3 MHC) host South Decatur Friday and Beech Grove (6-4) on Tuesday.