Kouts senior Lucas Kleckner is a skilled player who can dribble, pass and shoot at an exceptionally high level.
But the 5-foot-8 point guard focused on something else to make strides in his third season as a starter for the Mustangs.
“I’ve taken pride in playing defense this year,” Kleckner said. “Last year, we had Caden Spagna, who played a lot of defense for us, and we don’t have that this year. So we need somebody to step up and play defense. That’s what I’ve been trying to do this year.”
Not to say Kleckner didn’t continue to hone his offensive tools. He’s averaging team highs of 22.8 points, 4.6 assists and 2.2 steals to go along with 1.8 rebounds for the Mustangs (10-0, 4-0), who are ranked No. 1 in Class 1A in the USA Today poll as they open Porter County Conference Tournament play against Morgan Township on Wednesday.
Kleckner is shooting an efficient 59.2% from the field, including 55.9% (38 of 68) from 3-point range, and is 15 points away from reaching 1,000 in his career. He averaged 17.8 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.9 assists last season.
“He’s our leader,” Kouts coach Kevin Duzan said. “He’s the guy that keeps everybody stabilized out there on the offensive end. He’s put a lot of time in. His success is not because he just shows up. It shows the amount of time he’s put in has really paid off.
“He’s always in the gym. He has a gym at home that he goes out to. When he’s not playing here, he’s playing there, and if he’s not playing there, he’s playing someplace else. He plays a lot. He’s been a good one for us. He learned as a sophomore, and he just kept getting better, getting better. He’s really had a great start to this year.”
Kleckner and the Mustangs have picked up where they left off last season after winning the PCC Tournament for the first time since 2021 and reaching a semistate final. Kouts has won three regional titles in the past five seasons and was the 1A state runner-up in 2021.
“I can remember these kids would line the sidelines for that ’21 group, and they’d all want five, and all the varsity kids were good about giving them five,” Duzan said. “Our young kids eat this stuff up, and it’s a credit to these guys for being who they are. More than basketball players, they’re just good kids.
“That’s the neat thing about a small school. Our first, second, third, fourth, fifth graders see these kids in the hallway, and they’re just in awe, and these guys are really good about giving those kids attention. I’m seeing pictures on Facebook of when these were those kids around the ’21 group. Thank goodness they’ve all grown up. These kids make time for those kids. That helps keep this thing going because everyone wants to be a part of it.”
This group includes seven seniors, four of whom have been starting since they were sophomores.
“There’s so much here,” Kleckner said. “Every single guy here can score. Every guy can play defense. Every guy can rebound. But the thing that’s special with this group. It’s not just on the basketball court. We’re always hanging out. We’re a really close group. We’re always doing stuff together.”
Senior forward Landon Garrett is part of that group. Kleckner recalled meeting Garrett in first grade.
“Me and him sat next to each other,” Kleckner said. “I went and I sat down and took my jacket off, put it on the back of my chair. I was wearing this red dirt bike shirt — I remember it like it was yesterday — and he took his jacket off, and he was wearing the same red dirt bike shirt. We just knew from there we were going to be best friends.”
Garrett knows what the Mustangs have in Kleckner.
“Lucas is a major competitor,” Garrett said. “He’s been that way since we were kids. I’ve never seen a guard his size before finish like he does around the basket.
“He’s the bread and butter to our team and has been a major key to our success on both sides of the ball. As a team, we feel very comfortable with Lucas as our point guard.”
Duzan said Kleckner plays with confidence on the court but exhibits humility off it.
“He’d be the first to tell you it’s a collective team effort,” Duzan said. “It’s not just about him. All these guys are close, and it’s a collective team effort.”
With that effort, Kouts has taken a significant step toward winning its first PCC round-robin title since 2021 by defeating Washington Township on Friday.
“It set the tone,” Kleckner said. “We want everybody to know our goal is to win the round robin, to win the tournament and make it to state. That’s the end goal. We want to make that known.
“We all have that goal in mind. We’re all together. We all have the same goal. This group’s been playing together for a while.”
Indeed, these are heady times for Kouts. Four of the five starters also started for the baseball team during a run to the 1A state championship game in June.
Kleckner has focused on basketball, which he said he has played since he “started walking.” But his career is likely winding down. He’s planning to become an electrician after graduation.
“It was a really hard decision,” Kleckner said. “A hundred percent, I was going to go to college and play basketball up until this year. But I decided to go into my future career. It was a tough decision.”
Duzan doesn’t believe Kleckner will veer too far away from the game he loves.
“Lucas certainly can play in college, and it would be nice to see him play someplace,” Duzan said. “But he’ll be one of those guys that shows up here on Monday nights during basketball season and plays in the old man’s league. He’ll find a Y league to play in. He’ll keep playing, and he’ll make a good coach down the road.
“We have a policy you have to be out two years before you can come back and help. It works. I could see him coming back at some point, wanting to give back. He already gives lessons to elementary kids out in his own gym. They come out and do ballhandling and shooting with him. That’s just what he does.”
