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For The Tribune

Crothersville senior Micah Mains says he believes that how hard you work Monday through Thursday will go a long way on how you perform Friday nights.

“I love basketball,” Mains said. “Practice is pretty important. You’ve got to run your plays, do your shooting drills, work on your ball-handling, everything.

Mains said he felt like he worked hard in the offseason to work his way into the starting lineup this winter.

“I’ve liked being part of a team,” he said. “The coach prefers me to be on the blocks (when the Tigers are on offense) most of the time because I’m one of the tallest guys on the team.

“I like to be out on the wing. I like to shoot from the outside, but I haven’t done it that much this year. Eli (Mollet) and I are the two biggest guys, and we’ve been the post players. It doesn’t really matter which side I’m on. We switch sides.”

Mains’ high-point games this season were scoring 13 against Austin and Hauser. His junior year he scored 28 against Columbus Christian and 21 versus West Washington.

“I would rather play against a man defense,” Mains said. “It’s probably easier to get shots against a man. I do like fast break.”

He said he is comfortable shooting free throws, and he received the free-throw trophy at the awards program last season.

Mains prefers playing man when the Tigers are on defense.

“I like the match up one-on-one,” Mains said. “If they’re getting the ball on the baseline I try to front them,” he said about guarding an opponent. “If they go out to the 3-point line, I stay back. Maybe a few of the conference teams’ (forwards) have some inches on me.”

When the Tigers press, Mains tries to put pressure on the opponents’ ball handlers and force turnovers.

“Mostly I’m at mid-court or I’m up front,” Mains said. “When I’m at mid-court, I just try to trap to the sideline.”

Mains takes pride in being one of the leading rebounders on the team.

“The key is to box out,” Mains said. “You’ve got to put a butt into the guy.”

Mains said the mental part of sports is important whether you’re running a cross-country race (like he did for three years) or shooting a free throw.

“You’ve just got to have confidence,” he said. “You can’t get down on yourself. If you have a turnover, you’ve just got to deal with it.”

Mains said teamwork is the key for the Tigers to have success going into the sectional.

[sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”At a glance” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Parents: Valerie Mains, Chris Mains

Siblings: Abby, Tyson, Emma

Sports: basketball 4 years, cross country 3 years

Athletic honors: free throw award

Plans after high school: attend lineman school

Favorite food: steak

Favorite TV shows: “The Walking Dead”

Favorite band: Slipknot

Favorite movie: “The Patriot”

Favorite team: Kentucky Wildcats

[sc:pullout-text-end][sc:pullout-title pullout-title=”Q&A” ][sc:pullout-text-begin]

Q: Do you enjoy attending CHS?

A: “I like how everybody knows everybody. There are good people here. I get along with everybody. I’ll remember all my friends, the sports and all that, and having a good time with everybody”

Q:Do you have a favorite away gym?

A: “Probably Austin. I like their gym. It’s kind of big. It’s like an arena.”

Q: What are your future athletics goals?

A: “We want to win sectionals since Crothersville has never won a sectional.”

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