Indiana Commit Gabe Cupps Wins Tournament in Italy, Excited to Join Hoosiers
As Gabe Cupps stood in line to see Michaelangelo’s statue of David in Florence, Italy, a moment in time encapsulated the contrasting period of his life.
“What are you doing in Italy?” Cupps heard someone ask.
It was an Indiana Hoosiers fan, who recognized Cupps among the crowd of tourists. Cupps explained he was sightseeing with family and teammates before competing in the Junior International Tournament in Lissone, Italy, his first trip overseas.
This tournament would mark the last time he played for his father, Brook Cupps, who has coached Gabe his entire life. The two recently wrapped up their final season together at Centerville High School, where they were 2021 Division I state champions, state runners-up in 2022 and reached the state semifinals in 2023. Cupps will graduate as the program’s all-time leader in wins (95), points (1,593), assists (576), steals (199) and career free throw percentage (83.3).
And in a few short months, Cupps will head three hours west from his hometown of Centerville, Ohio to Bloomington, Ind. to play for coach Mike Woodson and the Indiana Hoosiers. The moment in Florence showed that while a defining era of his life was about to end, new and exciting ventures loomed for the budding point guard.
“IU fans are everywhere,” Cupps said. “It's cool when they recognize me and stop and say what's up to me. It just speaks to how much basketball means to them and how involved the community is with IU basketball. That's always been a draw to me, and it was a reason I committed there, so I'm looking forward to playing for them and allowing them to cheer for us."
After flying into Rome, Cupps visited the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Florence and Milan during the trip. He and his good friend and teammate Reed Sheppard, a McDonald’s All-American committed to Kentucky, stayed with a host family, which Cupps said enhanced the trip by experiencing Italian culture.
Gabe Cupps (left) and Reed Sheppard (right) stand in front of the Leaning Tower of Pisa during their trip to Italy with Team Ohio for the Junior International Tournament in Lissone, Italy.
photo via @gcupps23 on Instagram
Once they were settled, it was time to ball. Cupps was selected to play for Team Ohio, which featured some of the top players in the state and his father, Brook, as the coach.
Team Ohio started the tournament on April 6 with a dominant 120-54 win over AP Galvi Lissone, and Italian team. Cupps scored 16 points on 7-for-14 shooting, 2-for-4 from 3-point range, with seven assists, six rebounds and zero turnovers. He said the style of play was definitely different from the United States. Every player could pass and shoot, and there was constant screening, moving and cutting, with little focus on isolation basketball.
Cupps thought the biggest adjustment was how the game was officiated, saying the referees called more hand-checks and didn’t allow contact at the rim. Different from high school, there was also a 24-second shot clock, the lanes were wider with more lenient rules on lane violations and there was no goaltending violation. Although the style of play was different, Cupps said it didn’t take long for him to adjust.
Team Ohio advanced to play on April 7 against Bayern Monaco, a German team with players from various youth national teams. Team Ohio took care of business with a 102-74 win, as Cupps scored 16 points on 7-for-14 shooting, 2-for-5 from three, with three assists, three rebounds, two steals, one block and zero turnovers.
Following a day off on the 8th, Cupps and Team Ohio resumed play on April 9 against KK Rijeka, a Croatian team. And again, Team Ohio put up impressive numbers in the 117-84 win. Along with five other players at 15 points or more, Cupps scored 17 points on 7-for-12 shooting, 2-for-6 from three, with three assists, three rebounds and zero turnovers.
Cupps felt these games helped him develop as a player, especially because of the level of unknown in a new environment.
“The competition was really good. I thought I got better,” Cupps said. “Then to kind of just go into a place where I didn't really know what was going to happen, like, we didn't have any practices before, so it was kind of just going and playing. Some of the guys on the other teams were contracted pros, so just playing against that high level of competition was good. Having to kind of figure it out on the fly was good for me, too."
Gabe Cupps brings the ball up the court during Team Ohio's game against AP Galvi Lissone during the Junior International Tournament in Lissone, Italy.
Later that day, Team Ohio had its closest game of the tournament at that point, but still managed a 113-99 win over College Borgomanero, an Italian team. Cupps had his highest-scoring game of the tournament, dropping 23 points on 9-for-18 shooting, 3-for-8 from three, seven assists, four rebounds, one steal and zero turnovers.
With this win, Team Ohio advanced to the championship of the Junior International Tournament in Lissone, where they’d face UEB Cividale, another Italian team. As Cupps stood on the court before the championship game, he took a second to embrace the moment.
“The crowds were super cool,” Cupps said. “I mean, everyone was there to watch. The games were all sold out, and I think the national anthem was when I was like, 'Dang, I'm in Italy right now playing with other guys from the United States playing against some pros from Italy.’ It was pretty cool."
As the title game carried on, it became clear that Team Ohio was in for a challenge. UEB Cividale took a five-point lead into the fourth quarter, and Team Ohio was in the midst of its worst shooting game of the tournament.
With Team Ohio going 3-for-35 from 3-point range, and Cupps shooting 3-for-14 overall, his long-time friend and AAU teammate Sheppard started to take over in the fourth quarter. He finished the game with 26 points, sinking four three pointers and going perfect at the free throw line.
Cupps found other ways to contribute, grabbing five rebounds, dishing out three assists, and perhaps most importantly, continuing his run of taking care of the ball as the team’s point guard. Across five games and nearly 150 minutes of action, Cupps finished the tournament with zero turnovers.
And by the time the final buzzer sounded in Lissone, Team Ohio was crowned champions with an 83-75 win. Like so many times before, Cupps, who had a 95-18 record at Centerville High School, went out as a winner in his final game playing for his father, alongside Sheppard who was named tournament MVP.
"I definitely thought about how it was the last time my dad would be coaching me and that I would be playing with Reed,” Cupps said. “So that made it more special being with them for these last – my dad my whole life and Reed these last couple years – just to kind of go out on that high note in a place we'd never been to before and somewhere that basketball has taken all of us. It was pretty special."
Reed Sheppard hoists the championship trophy for Team Ohio after winning the Junior International Tournament in Lissone, Italy. Coached by Brook Cupps, Team Ohio included Gabe Cupps, Dominique Aekins, Reed Sheppard, Colin White, Landon Vanderwarker, Matt Butler, Miles Heide and Sam Whitaker.
Cupps is back home in Centerville now, and aside from playing in the OHSBCA North-South All-Star game on April 28th, his focus is on individual improvement. Cupps feels he’s grown in many ways throughout his senior year, but he knows there’s always more to work on.
"I would just say my awareness for the game [has improved],” Cupps said. “If we haven't scored something in the last couple possessions, just kind of slowing down and getting us a really good shot. I would say a lot of my leadership has grown a lot. Then I would say the game has slowed down, and I've been able to make decisions and get to my spots and knock in shots.”
Cupps wants to improve his ability to finish both ways at the rim over taller defenders, make pull-up jumpers consistently, read ball screens and extend his 3-point shooting range. He said Indiana assistant coach Brian Walsh wants him to add about five pounds over the next few months, with a goal of weighing 175 pounds when he moves to Bloomington on June 1.
"I'm most excited about just having different coaches tell me what I need to improve on,” Cupps said. “And just kind of hearing a different point of view and just being able to get better myself. I would say also just coming in [to Indiana] and competing and getting to know new guys. I've been with the same guys for some time at Centerville, so I would just say coming in and getting better with them and just trying to compete and lead."
Indiana is in the midst of major roster changes this offseason, losing Trayce Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson, Miller Kopp, Jalen Hood-Schifino, Tamar Bates, Jordan Geronimo and Logan Duncomb, and adding Kel’el Ware from Oregon and Payton Sparks from Ball State through the transfer portal so far. Cupps, ranked No. 77 in the latest ESPN Top 100, is one of two incoming recruits in the class of 2023, along with four-star guard Jakai Newton.
Gabe Cupps (left) and Jakai Newton (right) wear the cream and crimson during a visit to Indiana.
via @gcupps23 on Instagram
Cupps has been in contact with the new transfers, and he's excited for what Ware and Sparks can bring to the team.
“Kel'el being able to protect the rim and be a force inside,” Cupps said. “And he can also stretch it and knock down threes. He provides a good lob threat off of ball screens and actions and stuff like that."
"Sparks, I think he's going to be really good on the boards and finishing around the rim," Cupps said. "I think he's just a big body that can really battle in the post. I think that's two areas that will really help us, so I'm looking forward to getting to meet them in person and getting to work with them."
Cupps said he's tried not to pay too much attention to all the movement throughout college basketball this offseason. He's got to this point because of hard work and dedication, and that will never stop.
“I'm not scared of anybody taking my spot or anything like that,” Cupps said. “I'm just going to go in and do what I do and play and compete as hard as I can."
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