Oaks Plus offers our students a variety of extracurricular activities such as before and after care, clubs, and sports. Sports, in particular, provide students with a different atmosphere to learn and grow where they face new and different challenges. Offering a total of seven competitive sports throughout the school year, our winter season offers Boys and Girls Basketball.
The Oaks is one of 13 schools in the Indianapolis Independent School League (IISL), in which our Junior Varsity and Varsity Teams play. In addition to these teams, we follow a ‘no-cut’ philosophy that allows for every student that registers for a sport to be placed on a team in an in-house league. Tryouts are held at the beginning of the season so that coaches can assess the skills and abilities of players and assign them to an appropriately challenging team.
The boys basketball program featured a robust structure with a total of 95 players distributed across nine teams. Teams are broken down by grade level and skill, with 5th and 6th grade playing together and 7th and 8th grade playing together on Conference and In House teams. This comprehensive setup ensured that players were grouped according to age and skill level, fostering competitive yet supportive environments.
The 5th and 6th grade in house teams competed in the 14U Tab Rec league on Saturday mornings while 7th and 8th grade teams played in an Oaks managed league against other intramural teams on Friday nights. There were seven In House teams in total, with four teams in the Tab Rec league and 3 teams in the Oaks managed league.
In the 5th and 6th grade Tab Rec league, teams had varying degrees of success over the course of the season. Team Vance emerged as the dominant force with an impressive undefeated record of 5-0, while Team Gillespie (4-2) and Artis (2-3) were middle of the pack, and Team Zinerman ended the season winless at 0-5. Among the 7th and 8th grade teams, Team Gorny displayed exceptional skill and cohesion, finishing with an impressive 6-1 record, while Team Packett and Team Harris encountered tougher competition, concluding at 3-3 and 1-6 respectively.
In their respective tournaments, every team showcased their competitive spirit and determination but ultimately no Oaks team won a championship. In the 5th and 6th grade division, Team Zinerman had a slow start against their opponent that they were unable to overcome and did not make it out of the first round. An Oaks matchup of Team Gillespie and Team Artis was next, with a game-ending free throw by Team Artis securing the win and advancement to the next round. Team Vance played the Broncos last and were able to advance in an exciting overtime win. Unfortunately, both Team Artis and Team Vance were unable to win against their semi-final round opponents and did not make it to the championship game. In the end, the Mustangs overcame Pacer Blue to win the 14U league title this year.
The 7th and 8th grade division had fewer teams overall, with just 4 games in total. The first game was another Oaks matchup that pitted 4-seed Team Packett against 5-seed Team Harris. In a back and forth game that went into overtime, the underdog won the game and Team Harris went on to play in the next round against 1-seed Team Gorny. This was not a Cinderella story, however, and Team Gorny comfortably advanced to the championship game where they ultimately lost to 2-seed Pacer Gold.
Conference Teams
In the IISL conference, our JV and Varsity teams demonstrated resilience and determination with pre-tournament records of 6-5 and 6-6, respectfully. Seeded 6th out of 10 teams, the JV team faced a tough challenge against 3-seed Park Tudor in their first game in the tournament. Despite a valiant effort, they were unable to overcome Park Tudor’s strength on both sides of the ball, ultimately falling short. Park Tudor advanced to the championship game but was defeated by 4-seed Orchard in a hard-fought battle for the championship title. Meanwhile, the Varsity team was seeded 8th out of 12 teams. Their first game was against 9-seed St. Richards on their home court, where they delivered a commanding performance and secured a victory. Advancing to the next round against top-seeded ICS, the team showcased determination and skill but ultimately couldn’t secure the upset. ICS went on to play in the championship game, where they were defeated by 2-seed Park Tudor for the championship title.
The girls basketball program is much smaller in comparison, with 33 players divided into four teams. Without enough players to sustain an In House league, players were divided in A and B teams that practiced together but played in different games. This allowed for the players to experience competition appropriate to their skill level while also providing every player with as much game time as possible.
Despite limited chances to compete against other schools, the B teams showcased commendable performances against conference and non-conference opponents alike. The JV B team concluded with a promising record of 2-1, while the Varsity B team finished at 2-5, demonstrating growth and resilience.
The A teams navigated a challenging season with determination and skill. The JV team maintained a balanced record of 5-5 before entering the tournament. Seeded 5th out of 11 teams, they faced 4-seed St. Richards in their first game. After fighting to take the lead into halftime, St. Richards came back stronger in the second half to win the game. They also went on to defeat their next two opponents and win the IISL championship title.
Meanwhile, the Varsity team was seeded 8th out of 11 teams after a 5-6 regular season record. In their first round game, they secured a decisive victory against 9-seed Orchard but went on to face Park Tudor, the 1-seed. They ultimately succumbed to the future tournament champions despite their relentless effort. Though the journey ended without a championship, both teams showcased resilience, teamwork, and a promising future for Oaks basketball.
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