Carmel High School boys basketball coach Ryan Osborn challenged Sam Orme to step up his leadership and production.
Orme did not disappoint. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 18 points on 55.4 percent shooting, including 38.6 percent from 3-point range, and 7.6 rebounds this past season. That earned the recent CHS graduate a spot on the Indiana All-Stars, which will play the Kentucky All-Stars in the annual boys-girls basketball doubleheader June 9 at Owensboro, Ky., and June 10 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The senior All-Stars will face the Junior All-Stars June 7 at Cathedral High School.
“Being an Indiana All-Star has always been a goal of mine,” Orme said. “I’m looking forward to playing at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in front of a big crowd for our state.”
Osborn said Orme earned the All-Star spot.
“He moved into a leadership role because he played with a lot of seniors the year before,” Osborn said. “He had to be a production guy and a vocal guy. I challenged him a lot and I felt he really grew as a player. He became a better leader. He was a hard worker for us every day. He was the focal point of everything we did on the offensive end of the floor.”
Osborn said Orme is extremely coachable and expects he will continue to get better at NCAA Div. I Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. Orme played power forward and occasionally center for the Greyhounds,
“He did post up for us a little bit,” Osborn said. “His size gave us the ability to mix and match our lineups.”
Orme averaged 11.9 points on 46.7 percent shooting as a junior and 5.8 points as a sophomore. He played in eight varsity games as a freshman.
“He was a guard growing up,” Osborn said. “He was always a little longer and taller than everybody with guard skills. As he matured and his body filled out a little more, I think he just became more coordinated and comfortable.”
Orme is already taking one summer class at Belmont and working out and lifting weights.
“Mainly, just gaining weight and experience in order to get better for the team,” Orme said of his plan before his freshman season.
Orme will return from Belmont to play against the Junior All-Stars and then stay with the team through the games with Kentucky.
