Athlete of the Week: Drew Conger, Carlisle

Conger is a senior basketball player at Carlisle. In two games against Madison and Dayton Christian last week, he averaged 26.5 points, 4.5 rebounds, and shot 12-for-20 from the three-point line in the pair of wins.

For his efforts, Conger was named the Dayton Daily News Athlete of the Week for Feb. 9 through Feb. 15, earning the honor through reader voting at DaytonDailyNews.com.

“I was excited and kind of looking forward to winning, but I looked at some of the people on the list and I knew it would be tough,” Conger said, noting the support he received from his community. “When I heard I won I was really excited.”

Conger has been making the most of his final performances on the hardwood as his senior year nears its end. He has five 20-plus point games in the second half of the season and closed the regular season schedule with five consecutive games making at least three shots from the three-point line, including a career-high seven in the first half against Dayton Christian.

“I’ve hit four or five other times this season but never seven,” he said. “I thought I was going to hit 10 or more once I got through the first half before the defense started stepping up.”

His 41.4 percentage from three ranks near the top of the Southwestern Buckeye League.

On Feb. 6, Conger set the school’s career record for made 3-pointers. currently sits at 114 entering next week’s district tournament.

Conger said he likes being a shooter and he knew he had a chance at breaking the record this season with an increased role in his team’s offense. He thanked his teammates for trusting him to shoot.

“I’ve been looking forward to it while trying to play my best basketball,” he said. “But I’ve been more focused on winning games as that’s something that comes with it.”

By entering the record books, he gets to be included with his mother, Heather, who is one of the school’s all-time leading scorers.

Conger said he has been inspired by his mom’s accomplishments on the basketball court, which includes holding similar honors at Miami University Middletown, and he’s happy his name lives up to hers.

“I’ve wanted to be able to put my name on that list with her,” he said referring to the school’s 1,000-point club. “I’m going to come short there, but she’s always wanted me to be the best I can, so I’ve wanted to be my best for her.”

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