Published: February 28, 2009 11:48 pm      

Elston shines in spotlight

Indiana recruit spearheads top-ranked Tipton.

TIPTON — Tipton basketball player Derek Elston routinely receives extra attention from the opponents on the floor and in the bleachers. Elston’s squad is ranked No. 1 in the Class 2A state poll and he is an Indiana University recruit and a Mr. Basketball candidate.

“I hear ‘Boiler up’ and all the chants,” Elston said with a smile.

Elston handles the spotlight well. The 6-foot-9, 220-pound senior powers the Blue Devils with 19.9 points, 10.6 rebounds and 3 assists per game.

“He personally kind of embodies what our team has faced a lot this season in that he knows every night, he is going to get the very best effort of the guys he’s playing against and he’s probably going to get a little more attention from the opposing student section. A lot of people who aren’t cheering for us are probably excited if he fails in some way,” Tipton coach Travis Daugherty said. “I think he’s done a good job of maintaining his composure and really trying to focus on the task at hand. He’s not become distracted by unimportant things.”

Elston has led the Blue Devils to a 20-2 record. Along the way, he joined the 1,000-point club and he picked up MVP honors at the City Securities Hall of Fame Classic in New Castle.

The spotlight is nothing new for Elston, who comes from a basketball family. Darrell Elston, his father, played at Tipton and the University of North Carolina before embarking on a pro career.

“I have a picture of my dad, my brother, my sister and me. We’re at our old house and it’s a picture of us in our dad’s old uniforms and I’m wearing dad’s North Carolina shorts. Ever since he told me the history of that, I actually wear his North Carolina shorts every game just because my dream growing up was to be like him,” Elston said.

Elston burst onto the scene as a sophomore when he scored 14.9 ppg and grabbed 12 rpg to lead the Blue Devils to a 12-10 record, their first winning season since 2000-01. He earned first-team Kokomo Tribune All-Area honors.

The Blue Devil star took his game to a higher level as a junior, averaging 19.2 ppg and 10.8 rpg and leading the Devils to a 21-3 record that included Hoosier Conference and Sectional 40 championships. He took first-team KT All Area and third-team AP All-State accolades.

Elston suffered a knee injury over the summer that kept him from playing with the Indiana Junior All-Stars, but he turned the setback into a positive.

“I got in the weight room and added 15 pounds,” he said. “It’s so weird how much easier the game comes now when I get the ball in the post. Last year, I’d kind of budge and have to kind of fade away. This year, I’m just going right through guys. That extra 15 pounds really did a lot for me.”

Elston attacks opponents with a well-rounded offensive game. He shoots 54 percent from the field overall, 34 percent from 3-point range and 71 percent from the free throw line.

Daugherty loves Elston’s versatility.

“Obviously his ability to step outside, handle the ball and make jump shots makes it difficult for an opponent to put a big, slow guy on him. And yet, you better have someone with some strength or else he is probably going to be able to get what he wants in the post,” Daugherty said.

“I think our success a lot of nights starts with him sometimes even before the game starts because of the challenge that we’ve been able to put our opponents in from a matchup standpoint.”

Elston owns four 30-point games in his Blue Devil career and he surged into the 1,000-point career club in the fourth game of the season, but he is more than just a scorer. He attacks the offensive glass to keep possessions alive and he is a willing passer who has a strong confidence in his teammates.

“That is one thing I think that people who watch him for the first time are always surprised by — how unselfish he is and how easy it is for him to get other people involved,” Daugherty said. “He is a guy who could score more points if that was the thing that was most important to him, but he’s a kid who has always gotten as much enjoyment out of making a good pass as he has of making a good shot.”

Elston likes how the Blue Devils are playing, noting the contributions of his fellow starters and the positive strides of the younger players on the team. The Hoosier Conference champions head into the state tournament on a nine-game winning streak.

No. 1 Tipton plays No. 7 Oak Hill in a Sectional 40 game Wednesday night.

“A lot of me wants to daydream about state and how it’d be nice to have the ring on your finger. But in reality, you step back and [realize] it’s all about this first game with Oak Hill. Right now, that’s what we’re coming out here day after day for — Oak Hill. We’ll see what happens,” he said.