🏆 TSI Select 9th Grade Boys Bring Home the National Championship from Reebok World Championships! 🏆

The ball don't stick mentality, The chemistry. The culture. TSI Select 9th Grade Boys rolled into Saint Louis for the Reebok World Championships—and rolled out with the National Title and a whole lot of hardware to go with it!

Select finished the event with a perfect 6-0 record and continue to impress during the summer session, as they are still undefeated since the June school ball break at 15-0.

Pool Play Domination

Game 1: TSI 81 – Arkansas Takeover 40.TSI wasted no time making a statement. In the opener, they lit up the scoreboard with Caiden Boswell (Scottsburg) dropping 20 points, Andrew Nussbaum (Southwestern) adding 17, and Ethan Noble (Floyd Central) tossing in 16. JP Siltz (Henryville) cleaned the glass with 7 boards while Eli Gilpin (South Ripley) dished out 6 dimes. Boswell walked away with Reebok's Game MVP.

Game 2: TSI 53 – Missouri Phenom 39. This one was a battle early, but TSI pulled away in the second half and never looked back. Eli Gilpin was electric with 23 points, while Nussbaum and Lucas Hobbs (South Central) each contributed 9. Hobbs was huge off the bench in the first half knocking down 3/3 on 3-pt attempts in a tight battle. Nussbaum come up big the second half scoring all 9 of his points in an offensive flury. Noble dominated everywhere else: 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Gilpin earned the Game MVP nod with his 23 point offensive explosion.

Game 3: TSI 49 – Rise & Reign 18. Let’s just say… this one got a little ugly. TSI looked a bit flat, but their size overwhelmed the opponent. Gilpin still led with 15 points, Noble followed with 9 points, and added 7 rebounds and 4 assists for good measure.

Bracket Play – Turning It Up a Notch

Quarterfinals: TSI 62 – 88 West 36. TSI turned on the jets. Gilpin and Noble both dropped 16. Ethan Larrimore (Salem) was a beast on the boards with 11 rebounds, and the team cruised into the semifinals. A scare came late in the first half, as Gilpin was on a heater with an early 16 points, then he went down hard with a low ankle sprain, which cost him the rest of the game. His teammates had his back and kept the pressure going at both ends of the floor.

Semifinals: TSI 65 – NOCO Wolves (CO) 26. No Gilpin, meant Select had to step up across the board. TSI’s depth showed up in a big way. Hobbs exploded for 20 points, Nussbaum added 15, while Boswell and Noble chipped in 11 apiece. Hobbs also dished out 5 assists and helped lead the charge into the championship game.

Championship Game: TSI 52 – SEMO Aces 26

The final started close—but it didn’t stay that way. Early on it was a back and forth game. TSI flipped the switch and never looked back, storming to a 16-point halftime lead and doubling up their opponent by the final buzzer. Eli Gilpin, ankle and all, gutted out 16 points including a crowd-pleasing breakaway dunk. He added 5 rebounds and 7 assists to cap off his MVP performance. Noble added 13 points in the win.

Reebok awarded Eli Gilpin "South Ripley" the MVP honors from the title game, but as Gilpin said, it's all about his teammates. On the great teams each player has a role that must be met to the highest level they can give. This group is all about team accomplishments first, which creates individual success for everyone.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

• Final Record: 34-3

• Reebok World Championship: 🏆 National Champs

• Culture: Unmatched

Roster

Caiden Boswell (Scottsburg)

Eli Gilpin (South Ripley)

Lucas Hobbs (South Central)

Ethan Larrimore (Salem)

Ethan Noble (Floyd Central)

Andrew Nussbaum (Southwestern)

Braxton Riley (Crothersville)

JP Siltz (Henryville)

Hudson Smith (Floyd Central)

The boys now turn their focus to Battle of the Bridges, looking to avenge last year’s runner-up finish. With the momentum and confidence they’ve shown all summer, we wouldn’t bet against them.

Let’s Go, TSI! 🏀💪