In early January, the Anderson Indians celebrated their first Madison County boys basketball title since 2014 after defeating Lapel 69-34. It was an extra emotional night for the 2022 THB Sports Boys Basketball Athlete of the Year, Indians senior Ty Wills.
Wills and his cousin Kedric Anderson dedicated that tournament to family members Courtney Cox and Devin Swain, who had both recently passed away.
That dedication to his family is one of the reasons Wills — who wore No. 0 this season — donned Anderson’s No. 1 jersey for his most recent photo shoot. The cousins were cornerstones in the rebirth of Indians basketball and a 20-5 season just two years after winning just two games.
“I just wanted to show some love to my cousin who’s always been there for me,” Wills said. “We came from the bottom, but we stayed with it, kept working hard. We could have left, but we stayed in our own city and just built from nothing.”
Wills averaged 15 points and 3 assists this year while shooting 39% from 3-point range and 81% at the free-throw line. Possessing the shooting eye to score from the perimeter as well as the quickness and the strength to drive by defenders and score on the interior, he was the driving force behind not only the county title but an undefeated North Central Conference championship.
“Words can’t even explain how great that moment felt,” Wills said. “It’s a very tough conference, a whole bunch of tough competition and going undefeated in it just shows that — and that was a goal of ours — if we put our minds to it, we can accomplish anything.”
There were high expectations this season for Anderson, but after a 3-0 start it was the fourth game that really got the attention of fans.
That night, Anderson never trailed in a 79-69 win over seventh-ranked Arsenal Tech. That win set the tone for the NCC schedule and changed the perception of the team in the eyes of area fans.
“That was a statement game,” said Wills —who scored 11 points. “We took that game personally. Throughout the city, there was talk, and a lot of people were doubting us. We showed them what we can do.”
As a sophomore, Wills and the Indians were 2-22, and the program which had been sagging for over a decade seemed to hit rock bottom.
But, with the arrival of coach Donnie Bowling, Anderson improved to 11-11 last season which led to this year’s successes. Despite coming up short against top-five Mount Vernon in the sectional semifinals, Wills takes immense pride in knowing he helped spearhead the basketball revival at AHS.
“It felt really good to go out like this,” he said. “Even though we didn’t get the one last goal, it felt good to bring Anderson basketball back because my mother, father, grandparents told me how Anderson basketball used to be. One of my goals was to bring that back, and I’m glad we did that before I left.”
For his efforts, Wills was named to the Hoosier Basketball Magazine Top 60 workout as well as Honorable Mention All-State by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association. He plans to play basketball next year — probably at the Division II or III level — while studying business management or business law but is undecided on his destination. He plans to make that decision in the coming weeks.
This article appeared in The Herald Bulletin on April 10, 2022.