By Chris
May
Boys Basketball Coordinator
Approaching
the first day of December and with action to cover all across the state, weâ??re
more than a week into the 2006-07 Indiana
high school boys basketball season. This weekâ??s edition of â??Tickling the Twineâ?
looks at games played last week, what teams are already looking good, the top
games this coming weekend, and the debut of Chris Mayâ??s
Top 10.
Last weekâ??s action
Among last
weekâ??s top matchups, a couple of No. 1 teams got victories to start the season.
Foremost among them was Class 4A top dog North
Central (Indianapolis),
a 77-73 winner at No. 2 Pike on
Wednesday. The game was the second time in as many nights that yours truly and
HoosierAuthority.com Managing Editor E. Shawn
Aylsworth were on the road to catch a top-ranked team.
We started
our season with the top-ranked 3A team, New
Castle, at The Worldâ??s Largest and Finest High School Fieldhouse against
county rival (and then-1A No. 2) Blue
River Valley. The Trojan faithful â??? and an estimated crowd of 7,000 â??? were
treated to New Castleâ??s
65-42 win on Tuesday. BRV couldnâ??t buy a bucket to start the game and fell into
a hole that was too deep to emerge from. New Castle fans were relieved to get
an easy win after last yearâ??s meeting where the Vikings led by 10 at the half
before losing a four-point nailbiter.
Wednesday
meant a trip to Indianapolisâ??
westside, where a second consecutive No. 1 vs. No. 2 battle between North
Central and Pike was held. The game was a terrific opener for both squads as
well as the sellout crowd of 2,700, all of whom had to show up during the
eveningâ??s varsity girls game beforehand to get in the building. Living up to
the rankings, the game remained close throughout and featured top performances
by top players. Indiana University-bound Eric Gordon scored a game-high 36,
including 21 of 22 from the free throw line, for the winners, while Pike guard
Jeff Teague came through with 33 points in front of his future coach at Wake Forest,
Skip Prosser.
Other
marquee games last week included defending 1A champ Hauser losing its season opener at Indianapolis Howe Academy 70-68 in overtime; this weekâ??s 1A No. 1, Barr-Reeve, earning that spot with a
58-51 win over 3A power Washington;
and three-time defending 4A state champ Lawrence
North breaking a state record with its 47th straight win with a
2-0 start.
Around the state
In the
north, Valparaiso not surprisingly is off to a
2-0 start, and East Chicago Central
is unbeaten in two games as well. Another team to watch is Munster.
The Mustangs are also 2-0, although their road has not been as easy with a
three-point overtime win at Chesterton and a two-point win at Merrillville. Making waves in the 1A ranks is
Oregon-Davis, 3-0 after 57-43 and
66-40 wins over sectional rivals Triton and Westville, respectively.
Other Northern
Indiana teams with strong starts include Plymouth and Wawasee in 3A; Cass and nearby Northwestern
in 2A; and Lafayette Central Catholic
in 1A following a season-opening win over 3A Frankfort.
Central Indiana has some teams looking good early as well. In 4A, North Central is ranked No. 1 for a
reason, Muncie Central has gone 2-0,
and Franklin Central and Carmelâ??s
2-0 starts shouldnâ??t be overlooked. Carmel,
in particular, has played well without a significant portion of its roster due
to a football state finals appearance. And despite the loss to NC, Pike is an impressive team as well.
Southern
Indianaâ??s best has to include the Barr-Reeve
Vikings, now 1-0 after the win over Washington and with a showdown with Orleans looming this weekend â??? the
Bulldogs are 2-0 after winning their tournament last weekend. Elsewhere, Bloomington South seems strong among the
regionâ??s 4A teams; nearby Edgewood will make more noise in 3A after starting
2-0; Vincennes Lincoln took care of
Evansville Reitz in its opener; and Lanesville
and North Daviess are 1A teams standing
1-0 thus far.
Forest Park and Evansville
Bosse are teams ranked highly who have yet to open their seasons.
Whatâ??s cominâ?? up
This
weekendâ??s competition includes the conclusion of the week-long Lafayette Journal and Courier Hoops
Classic. Semifinal action is Friday, with the championship and three
consolation games taking place Saturday.
Games to track
on Friday include: 3A No. 6 Plymouth at 2A No. 9 Rochester; Jimtown at 4A No. 8
Penn in the Kingsmenâ??s season opener; Warren Central at Marion; Western at 2A
No. 5 Northwestern; Avon at Danville; and the first stop on our statewide hoops
tour, 4A #4 Pike at Ben Davis. That
contest pits brothers Billy and Curtis Wright against each other in eachâ??s
first season as a varsity head coach â??? and itâ??s Curtisâ??s career opener to boot.
Saturday brings
a battle between the top two 1A teams: No.
1 Barr-Reeve at No. 2 Orleans. Elsewhere, 3A No. 2 Evansville Bosse opens its
season at Terre Haute North; Marionâ??s tough weekend concludes at 4A No. 3
Lawrence North; the Washington Hatchets play at North Daviess; East Chicago Central
hosts Fort Wayne Snider; Ben Davis plays at Indianapolis Arlington; and
possibly one of the stateâ??s next great players, freshman DeShawn Thomas of Fort
Wayne Luers, makes his varsity debut with Luers at Mishawaka Marian.
Also on
Saturday is a game that means a lot to me, personally: Waldron at Edinburgh, a game that is
being titled â??Programs vs. Cancerâ? that will raise money for the American
Cancer Society and is being promoted by yours truly.
Chris Mayâ??s Top 10
Here is
the debut edition of what I am jokingly calling â??Chris
Mayâ??s AP poll ballot â??? if he had an AP poll ballot.â? Itâ??s a Top
10 listing of each class, much like that done by The Associated Press, but has
just one voter â??? me.
The poll
as we head into Week 2:
Class 4A
1. North
Central (Indianapolis)
(1-0)
2. Muncie Central (2-0)
3. Valparaiso (2-0)
4. Pike
(0-1)
5. Lawrence North (2-0)
6. East Chicago Central
(2-0)
7. Bloomington South (2-0)
8. Anderson (1-0)
9.
Franklin Central (2-0)
10. Carmel (2-0)
Class 3A
1. New Castle (2-0)
2. Vincennes Lincoln
(1-0)
3. Evansville Bosse (0-0)
4. Connersville (2-0)
5. Plymouth (2-0)
6. Wawasee
(2-0)
7. Washington (0-1)
8.
Batesville (1-0)
9. Edgewood (2-0)
10.
Western (1-0)
Class 2A
1. Forest Park (0-0)
2.
Tri-West Hendricks (1-0)
3. North Montgomery (1-0)
4. Harding
(0-0)
5.
Northwestern (1-0)
6. Cass
(1-0)
7. Providence (0-0)
8. Shenandoah
(0-1)
9.
Frankton (2-0)
10. Glenn
(1-1)
Class A
1.
Barr-Reeve (1-0)
2.
Oregon-Davis (3-0)
3. Lafayette Central
Catholic (1-0)
4. Hauser
(0-1)
5. Orleans (2-0)
6.
Lanesville (1-0)
7. Blue River
Valley (1-1)
8. North
Daviess (1-0)
9.
Westville (1-1)
10. Lapel
(1-0)
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