East Chicago Central’s Mekhi Gillis has been looking forward to this.
So the 5-foot-11 freshman guard isn’t too surprised he has made an impact for the Cardinals in his debut season.
“I put in all the work through the summer and the years before,” he said. “So coming into the season, I knew what I could do.”
Gillis also knows the history of the program and is proud to add to it. He and the Cardinals (14-12) will play Mishawaka Marian (17-7) in the Class 3A Michigan City Regional on Saturday. They will be seeking a second straight regional title after winning their third straight sectional title.
“I’ve been waiting for this whole moment for my whole life,” Gillis said. “Watching people come through here when I was a little kid, so just watching them made me want to do what they did.
“Jermaine Couisnard, Dominique Murphy, Damien Jefferson, Hyron Edwards, Yamauree Wallace, Keontaye Bell — they all told me to stay in the gym so I could do what they did.”
What Gillis is doing is averaging 7.6 points, 2.8 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.9 steals, and he’s coming off his best performance yet.
In the Class 3A West Side Sectional championship game last week, Gillis scored a career-high 22 points as East Chicago Central beat the host Cougars in overtime to avenge a regular-season loss. He also had three rebounds, two assists and five steals.
“Before the game started, I was like, ‘This is what I’ve been waiting for my whole life, a sectional championship game,’” he said. “I just went out there and blocked everything out and just played my game.
“I got to celebrate with my teammates. I’m very happy for the seniors. Before they leave, their last year, they get to win a sectional championship, and I want them to win a regional championship too.”
Gillis impressed East Chicago Central coach Alaa Mroueh.
“Huge game,” Mroueh said. “He was really fearless. He was just fearless, man. He read the defense very well. He shot the ball very well. He handled the ball very well. He got to the free-throw line and made free throws down the stretch. He made a big three in overtime to put us up three.
“He was just so confident out there. I was really proud of him.”
Gillis is part of a highly talented freshman class that also includes guard/forward Naji Meux
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and guard Zayden Johnson. Gillis and Johnson are cousins, along with senior guard Jamarie Pollard, and Johnson has seen the same Gillis over the years.“He has no fear in him,” Johnson said. “He’s a great point guard. He reads the game. He wins us big games. West Side, he was the reason we won. He was just out there playing his game and zoning out everything.”
Murphy, a 2025 Indiana All-Star and the city’s career scoring leader, graduated last year along with Wallace and Bell. But the Cardinals’ expectations didn’t diminish.
“It feels great because a lot of people doubted us,” Gillis said. “We proved them wrong. We want to go another week and try to win a bigger trophy.”
Mroueh expressed confidence in Gillis and his teammates.
“Mekhi and Zay, that’s been our backcourt, and it’s going to be our backcourt for four years,” Mroueh said. “It’s been a growing year for them. Along with senior Jamarie Pollard, they’re transition starters for us. They play with a lot of heart out there.
“We really rely on them to do a lot. Obviously as freshmen, sometimes they’re going to make mistakes. But the one thing I told my guys, we have seniors playing like seniors and freshmen playing like sophomores. It’s happening at the right time.”