Kouts senior center Eli Harper cuts an imposing figure.
Make no mistake, the 6-foot-3, 250-pound Harper has an edge to him too.
“He’s kind of our enforcer,” Kouts coach Kevin Duzan said. “If things get out of line, he’s not afraid to be the guy that steps up to the other team and says, ‘That’s not going to happen here tonight.’ Sometimes more than the coach likes, but you take a shot at Lucas (Kleckner) driving in there, Eli’s going to make sure you’re aware you don’t take shots at our guys. Not in a bad way. He doesn’t cross the line.
“Don’t mess with them because they’ll stick up for each other. They have each other’s back.”
But Harper said he also likes to “joke around,” and senior forward Landon Garrett described him as “a great kid and one of the goofiest guys I know.”
In short, Harper cares about his teammates and appreciates the time they have together. For the Mustangs (22-0), who are ranked No. 1 in Class 1A in the poll by USA Today, that could be a while.
“I’m ready for sectionals, and I’m glad I’m here with this group of guys,” Harper said. “It means a lot to me, more than they would ever know. It does. It’s a special bond.”
The Mustangs, who won the Porter County Conference round-robin and tournament titles, can complete an undefeated run through the regular season at Tri-Township on Friday before playing Bowman in a Kouts Sectional opener on Tuesday. They reached a semistate final last season and seem poised to take the next step.
“We’re right on track where we want to be,” Harper said. “We do have goals left in the season that we want to get to, and we all know what that is. We just want to work every day toward that goal and become closer together every day as well.
“We want to value the time as most of us are seniors. We have to value our time together for maybe the last month of basketball ever for most of us.”
Indeed, Kouts’ tightly knit roster includes seven seniors, four of whom have largely grown up together and have been starting for three seasons. That group includes Harper, who was averaging 9.5 points, a team-high 6.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists before the Mustangs’ win against River Forest on Tuesday.
Many of the players also started for the Kouts baseball team that advanced to the 1A state championship game last year. Harper batted cleanup in a lineup devoid of seniors. A first baseman and pitcher, he has started for that team since his freshman season and has committed to play baseball at Marian Ancilla.
With his winters and springs occupied, Harper typically gets inquiries about a certain fall sport.
“People ask me all the time if I play football,” he said. “No, we don’t have it here. Everybody says I’d be good at it because I have good size. But I never played football.”
Harper’s father, Mike, did play football at Trinity International, where his mother, Becky, was an All-American in basketball after setting Kouts records for points in a season, points in a game and assists in a career.
“She was the baller in the family,” Harper said.
Duzan praised her efforts with Harper, noting his footwork in the post. Harper’s a skilled player.
“He’s such a good passer,” Duzan said. “He’s too unselfish for our liking in the post. He needs to shoot more often. But he’s such a good passer. Against Boone Grove, he had 12 assists. He didn’t score a point because he shot like twice. But they were zoning, and he just kept throwing it to guys who were making shots.”
Harper is a throwback player.
“Eli, in our estimation, is a dinosaur,” Duzan said. “He’s one of the last true ‘I’m-going-to-play-with-my-back-to-the-basket’ kind of players. A lot of teams have gone to this motion, five-out offense, more guard-oriented stuff. Eli does the dirty stuff for us.”
Harper has evolved after posting 11.9 points, 7.1 rebounds and 2.5 assists last season.
“Defensively, I’ve had to guard more guards this year,” he said. “Last year, I faced a lot of bigger guys. This year, I’m facing like 6-foot guards instead of 6-2 bigs that are my size. Most of them are smaller than me.
“It’s really just moving your feet. I practice hard when we do those drills to be prepared for that. I’m no small guy. I’m a big guy. But most teams don’t have a big my size, so I end up guarding a smaller guy.”
Duzan also noted Harper’s baseball ability translates to basketball.
“He’s a first baseman, so he has pretty good hands in there,” Duzan said. “And then he’s a pitcher, so you better be ready because he’s going to whip it at you and you’re going to have to catch it two-handed.”
Garrett understands what Harper means to the Mustangs.
“Eli’s been a huge part in our success as a team, starting from sophomore year up to now,” Garrett said. “He’s a passionate player who will make plays for his teammates when we need him. He’s a great scorer around the basket and is able to make a move to the basket and finish off the glass too.
“When Eli’s not scoring, he’s able to get his teammates open for shots. Without his skills in the post, it’s harder for our shooters to get the shots they need.”
Harper attempts to fill any role that’s needed.
“I do whatever coach tells me to do,” he said. “That week of the game, whatever he needs me to do the best, that’s what I try to do. Scoring comes. Rebounds come. I know I have to box out hard. It’s just preparing well.
“A lot of us have played together since literally kindergarten. It does help when you have good chemistry with each other. It makes it way easier when you know how each other plays. We’ve just been playing every game (with) no drama to make us disconnect in any way. We can’t take anything for granted. We have to take everything in.”
