North Vermillion basketball finds asset in Lafayette-based trainer

LAFAYETTE - North Vermillion senior Andre Buchhaas struggled to stay on the floor during his first three seasons. He was tall and strong, yes. Plenty of strength and size to possibly make the Falcons formidable if he could combine his attributes with the kind he lacked at times as a basketball player.

With that being footwork, a functioning pivot foot that would stay balanced and steady under pressure, along with head fakes and moves with his back to the basket that could create scoring opportunities. "It was hard work always in the mornings in the spring and summer," Buchhaas said. "I came a long way from not getting many minutes to starting this year.

" Buchhaas finished his career with 19 points and 11 rebounds in the first IHSAA class 1A semistate finals appearance that ended in a 53-47 loss to Triton. More: 11 fascinating Lafayette area high school sports rivalry trophies More: Mindset change key for Harrison rebounding machine Jake Schremp Some of the credit by Buchhaas and his teammates went to longtime Lafayette area trainer Elisha Chimbanda. Chimbanda was a 2013 graduate of Lafayette Jeff in 2013 and graduated from Vincennes University.

Now he's a head coach for September's Very Own, an AAU program based in Lafayette. Chimbanda started training senior North Vermillion starter Lane Thomann. "(Thomann's) mom started asking if I did group training and told us she had a group for us," Chimanda said.