Ahmad Artis had plenty of potential opponents for a quick game of one-on-one while he was growing up.
The only issue for Artis was a significant age gap between him and his family members, and he was often overmatched.
“They were never soft on me,” he said.
But all of those games were the building blocks for the player Artis has become at Bishop Noll. The 6-foot-2 senior guard is the leading scorer for the Warriors (11-12), who will play Central Noble (25-2) in a Class 2A North Judson Regional semifinal at 11 a.m. Saturday.
The Artis family is loaded with basketball players. His older sister Alexis played for Bowman’s 2011 Class 1A regional runner-up. Their father, Terrance, played at East Chicago Roosevelt in the 1980s before his college career at Prairie View.
Artis’ uncle Mike won a state title at Roosevelt in 1970 before playing at Cincinnati. And don’t forget Artis’ cousin Chris, a 1992 Andrean graduate who played for Eastern Washington and Valparaiso and is an assistant at Incarnate Word.
Now you see that age difference.
Artis said his earliest memories of basketball involve watching his father play point guard in 40-and-over leagues.
As Artis improved, games against his father became more competitive and also helped build up his endurance for five-on-five games.
“We’d go full-court one-on-one at the end of every workout,” he said.
It has paid off for Artis, who is averaging 17.7 points for Bishop Noll. He also leads the team in steals (2.1) and ranks second in rebounds (4.0) and assists (2.5).
Artis is a team leader, too, according to Bishop Noll coach John Dodson.
“You have leaders who lead by example,” Dodson said. “They do all the right things, and they’re in all the right spots. They can take over a game. That’s his game.
“On the court, he’s the calm one. If we’re playing in a big game against a tough team, he’s the one who gets the first two baskets and makes the rest of the guys calm down.”
Or Artis provides the crucial points at the end of a game, as he did during the Warriors’ 66-63 win against Lake Station in the Whiting Sectional championship game on Saturday. He was 4 for 4 from the free-throw line in the fourth quarter.
Artis is interested in playing college basketball but doesn’t have a school picked out.
Before that, he will try to lead Bishop Noll to their first regional title since 2015. He already has matched his sister’s and father’s postseason titles.
“Everybody’s got their sectional championship now,” he said.
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.