If Liam Bazin isn't back yet, he's damn close.
The son of Crown Point coach Mike Bazin hasn't played football in nearly two years, choosing instead to focus on basketball. But freshman forward Liam Bazin helped the Bulldogs win their first section title since 2017 in his return to the sport.
“I came in really not expecting anything,” Liam Bazin said. “I hadn’t played for two years. When I came back, I was just solving my problems.
“I worked very hard and will always try my best, including training. I managed to re-acclimate very well.”
Indeed, 6-foot-2 Liam Bazin had 14 goals and five assists for Crown Point (11-5-3), which will play a Class 3A regional semifinal at Lake Central (13-4-1) on Wednesday. The two teams shared the Duneland Athletic Conference title with Chesterton.
Liam Bazin started playing football when he was 4 years old, playing primarily as a central midfielder or center back, and was coached by Mike Bazin most of the time until he made a jump to move the ball.
But before this season, Liam Bazin last played football in the fall of 2023. The following spring, he decided basketball was what he wanted to pursue.
Mike Bazin, a former Valparaiso standout who is in his 14th season as Crown Point's coach after four seasons as an assistant, supported the decision.
“He always splits his time between football and basketball,” Mike Bazin said. “It was about a year and a half ago. We were getting ready for the spring season. Every weekend he would go off to practice basketball or football, and he would just say, 'I think I just want to focus on basketball now.'
“I totally accepted it. I thought, “Do whatever you want. Whatever makes you happy.” I said, “If you ever want to play for the high school, we'll definitely work something out.”
That moment came this season.
“This year when I was trying out for the team, I started coming to practice and I really realized that I was still good and still loved the game,” Liam Bazin said. “I decided: why not? Why not play?”
Mike Bazin recalled that the cuts were made only to form the team.
“He came to practice one day, grabbed his cleats, jumped in, and it really lit a fire under him, like, 'I can still do this,'” Mike Bazin said. “All the kids were like, ‘Bro, why aren’t you playing? Why aren't you playing right now? He was like, “I don’t know.” I don't know. On the way back he said, “Dad, I think I want to play.”
“Another thing that worked well for us was that we needed a goalscorer this year. He was very confident that he could substitute and become that striker. But he is a very versatile player. Growing up he always played as a central midfielder or a central defender. He is a good combination of passing vision and throughout the season we have only worked on quality or smart shots with the ball. Sometimes you put the child in front of the gate and he tries to do it. something fancy or try to get above 90. But there are easy ways to score.”
After completing the required training, Liam Bazin made his debut in the Bulldogs' season opener against West Lafayette Harrison. He initially found it difficult to score goals when he primarily played as a midfielder.
“He missed two shots on Harrison, especially in the first half, and I feel like if it had happened later in the season, he would have made them,” Mike Bazin said. “So it took him a while to get back into the game, into the touch, into the vision.
“He's still not playing as well as he can, but he's just an athlete. He's had success this year.”
Liam Bazin scored goals, including in big matches. He scored in the Bulldogs' 2-1 conference loss to Lake Central on Aug. 27 and in their 3-0 conference win over Chesterton on Sept. 17. He scored a hat trick in the section opener against Lowell, scored in the semi-final against Portage and scored twice in the final against Hobart.
In basketball, Liam Bazin, a guard/forward, said he believes he will likely play on Crown Point's junior varsity team with the “goal of making the 12-man roster by the end of the year for tryouts.” This could be a special season for the men's basketball team, which has won back-to-back regional titles, reached the semistate final last season and has the potential to do even better.
Crown Point senior linebacker Braden Kurtz Post Tribune Player of the Year in 2024 got along well with Bazin. Kurtz played at an academy in Florida earlier this season, but returned to Crown Point in early September and made his season debut against Chesterton. Bazin's permanent move to striker was prompted by the return of Kurtz, who is expected to miss Wednesday's game after injuring his ankle in the group stage finale against Hobart.
“It’s not really his main sport,” Kurtz said. “It was before, but now it's basketball. It's probably helped because he's really having fun here. He doesn't think about anything else and puts the ball in the net. It's important to have a guy with no ego who's just having fun and really contributing to the team. He can just do his job and contribute.”
“It was very helpful to know that I can do things in midfield and trust him and pass the ball and I know he’s going to finish the game.”
The Bulldogs finished the job of winning the section title after several near misses along the way. Their 2017 section title was their seventh in a row and followed state championships in 2011, when Mike Bazin was an assistant, and 2013.
Liam Bazin is the eldest of four children – he has a brother and two sisters – and the only one who plays football.
“He’s my only opportunity to coach my kid,” Mike Bazin said with a laugh.
He also said: “I love coaching. I always stayed here as long as I hoped he would play. He's certainly made me a very proud father this season.”
Liam Bazin also enjoys the experience.
“I can relate to the relationship between being a father and a coach,” he said. “He's tough on me, but it's all out of love. He treats me the same as any other player. I love having him as a coach.”
“I'm really grateful for my team, all the coaches, all the players. They really made me feel welcome coming to this team my freshman year.”
