By Chris May
Boys Basketball Coordinator
NORTH
Welcome to
the Class 3A northern semistate, where a prohibitive favorite just canâ??t be
found. Truth be told, the four best 3A teams â??? maybe even the top six â??? appear
to be in the South bracket. With that gauntlet of disrespect thrown down, let
me attempt to make amends by saying the North should have some really good
teams!
And best
of all for those involved, one team is guaranteed a spot at Conseco Fieldhouse
come March.
1. Fort Wayne Dwenger
The Saints
went 8-13 in a rebuilding season a year ago. Fortunately for them, it appears
to be a quick turnaround. Last yearâ??s team, which was light on experience, got
some early on going 2-8 start. But things turned around after that with a
winning record, including a one-point victory over 4A Fort Wayne Snider.
This year,
a huge class of seniors and a complement of juniors have experience under their
belt, and Matt Kostoffâ??s team looks loaded for a potentially monster season. Only
three seniors were on the team last season, and the top six scorers are all
expected back.
Kevin Fogler
is a 6â??5â? post that should make a difference for the Saints after averaging
almost 13 points and six rebounds last year. John Goodman and Jemarkis Willis
also averaged around eight points per game.
2. Plymouth
Coach Jack
Edison never puts out a bad team. Averaging almost 16 wins per season over the
course of his 33 years, the Rockies/Pilgrims (I have a strong dislike for schools
that have different names for their boys and girls programs) were on the verge
of another state finals appearance last season after losing every starter from
their 2005-06 state runner-up team.
The leader
of last yearâ??s team is current junior Randy Davis, a 5â??10â? guard of state finals
fame, who led the team in scoring. Plymouth
lost three seniors from last year, but after a 21-5 record and one-point
overtime loss in the semistate, why canâ??t this yearâ??s team do the same? Supposing
they can avoid overtime games in the tournament (Exhibit A: last yearâ??s 53-52 semistate
loss to Jay County; Exhibit B: Luke Zellerâ??s
overtime heave to win the 2004-05 state championship), the Pilgrims/Rockies
could be 3A Northâ??s best team again.
3. Wawasee
In what
was expected to be a down season for coach Phil Mishlerâ??s program, Wawasee went
20-5 and was a regional finalist squad in 2005-06. The team replaced its top
four scorers and actually improved its
overall record. The Warriors replace a couple of seniors, and while they donâ??t
have any standout performers, they now have experience at nearly every
position.
4. Fort Wayne Concordia Lutheran
Six-foot-eight
Kyle Pressley is a noteworthy player for the Cadets. And the big man is not the
only big body for Concordia, which makes them one of the Fort Wayne schools to watch. Concordia has
another pair of 6â??6â? bodies to throw into the mix and lost just a couple of
seniors from last yearâ??s 16-7 team. If the Cadets can keep it consistent this
year â??? they started 7-0 and finished 8-2, but went 1-5 in the middle of their
season â??? they should be among the Northâ??s better teams.
5. South Bend St. Josephâ??s
The
Indians did a heck of a job replacing eight seniors last year, going from 10-12
two seasons ago to 10-13 last year. Even more impressive? They did it last year
with no key seniors.
A crew of now-seniors
and juniors have some experience and will try to build upon consecutive 10-win
seasons. A past problem for the Indians? Plymouth.
The Rockies/Pilgrims have beaten the Indians five straight meetings, including
each of the last two sectionals.
Other
contenders:
West Lafayette
The Red
Devils started the season 1-3, yet finished 17-6. With senior guard Andy Day
expected to lead the team, along with more than a handful of classmates, coach
David Wood should field another strong squad.
Western
Probably
not quite as strong as other recent Panthers teams, this edition will still be
a handful. Coach Andy Weaverâ??s 17-7 squad graduated a pair of starters but have
some underclassmen with a chance to make something happen. West Lafayette should prove to be tough
sectional competition.
Fort Wayne Luers
Are we
confusing the Luers boys program with the girls? Nope. The arrival of freshman
DeShawn Thomas should mean big things for the Knights, possibly even this
season. Luers has not won more than 14 games in a season in well over a decade,
but former Marion playing legend James Blackmon has posted 12 and 11 wins in
the past two seasons since his coaching arrival.
Gary Roosevelt
Iâ??ll keep
my eye on this team this season. A number of juniors were relied upon last
season, including guard Anthony Sain. A couple of his classmates also bring
along a couple years of varsity time. With an 11-12 record last year, this was
a team that had a close, late-season losses to East Chicago Central and a
two-point sectional loss to Luke Harangody and Andrean.
Mayâ??s Mark: Give me any of the top six
(including West Lafayette),
and Iâ??ll be happy. What, thatâ??s not precise enough? I think Dwenger, Plymouth, Wawasee, and Concord are in my first tier. I might
actually like West Lafayette
more than St. Joeâ??s, but would put them as a 5A and 5B type of option. But Dwengerâ??s
plethora of returnees puts the Saints over the top.
SOUTH
The 3A
North and South semistates are polar opposites. While the North seems lacking
in standout teams, the South is swamped with contenders.
New Castle probably has the best chance of
the four defending state champs to repeat this year. However, an inside
presence might need to emerge for further success. Washington and Vincennes
Lincoln typically battle for supremacy in Sectional 31, and both have terrific
teams this season. Two more sectional rivals are Connersville and Batesville, each with a
standout player. Evansville Bosse has a tough backcourt, and Roncalli has made
noise at the regional level the past two seasons.
1. New Castle
Only four
seniors graduated from last yearâ??s 21-6 state championship squad and, most
importantly, most starters â??? including guard Zach Hahn and forward Chase
Stigall â??? are back.
The
Trojans lost eight points and nine rebounds per game to graduation, most
notably with 6â??4â? Ryan Freeburg and 6â??5â? Matt Galyen. Six-foot-six senior Bobby
Carroll appears to be next in line in the post. With the nine boards that graduated
accounting for roughly a third of the teamâ??s total, rebounding is possibly the
weakness on this team. Shooting and scoring, however, shouldnâ??t be.
The Butler-bound
Hahn is a senior who led the Trojans with nearly 20 points and over six assists
per game a year ago. The 6â??3â? Stigall is just a junior, but the high flyer
averaged just under 15 points and almost six rebounds a game. Senior guard Luke
Bennett (5â??11â?) was another starter last year and was third in scoring at 7.6
ppg.
New Castle may have only gone 2-5 in North
Central Conference play, but they stacked up against 3A competition just fine.
2. Vincennes
Lincoln
Four
senior starters are back for the Alices,
an 18-5 sectional runner-up last year. Just one player, D.J. Smith, is missing
from that team, and that solid senior class is headed by 6â??3â? Craig Heinz. Heinz,
who is embarking on his fourth varsity season and third as a starter, was
responsible for nearly 19 points per game last year. Additional returning
starters are 5â??10â? Coleton Oexmann, 5â??10â? Garrett Oexmann, and 6â??1â? Jeremy
Cunningham, who bring back a combined 25 points.
Coach
Steve Combs notes the Alices
have six players who will have practiced with the varsity for four years and
six players who started at least one game last year. Getting past the sectional
most likely means a meeting with Washington,
who has ended the Alicesâ??
season each of the last two winters.
3. Evansville Bosse
The
Bulldogs lost a four-year veteran in Kyle Brasher, but the backcourt of Cardell
McFarland and Matt Lander are good enough to make Bosse one of the top teams in
3A South. Coach Jeff Heinâ??s team was an astounding 22-2 last season, with their
only in-state loss coming by two points in the sectional final to Evansville
Mater Dei.
McFarland
and Lander are each seniors with vast experience on the varsity level. Rival
Mater Dei gets some coachesâ?? consideration, but Bosse should be the best in Evansville.
4. Washington
Height
should be no problem for the Hatchets. With a starting frontline of 6â??8â?, 6â??10â?,
and 6â??11â?, coach Gene Miiller is blessed with two future Division I players: 6â??10â?
senior Bryan Bouchie (Valparaiso
University) and 6â??11â?
junior Tyler Zeller. The duo averaged a combined 30 points and nearly 17
rebounds last year.
Who handles
the ball and how he gets it to Bouchie and Zeller may be the difference between
a nice season like last yearâ??s 18-6 and a possible return to Conseco Fieldhouse
two years after the Hatchetsâ?? state title run. Itâ??s worth noting that Bouchie
was a starter on that team, while Zeller was in the shadows of his famous older
brother.
Two more
starters, Andrew Obaseki and Kyle Price, also return. Obaseki is a 5â??8â? senior
point guard, while Price adds more size as a 6â??8â? junior. Furthering the
Hatchetsâ?? towering height is 6â??10â? junior Seth Coy.
A
tournament run likely would have to go through Vincennes Lincoln. These two
teams have met in the past four sectionals with each team winning twice, Washington having taken
the two most recent meetings.
5. Batesville
Colt Ryan
was introduced as one of the stateâ??s top freshmen last season, one of the
reasons the Bulldogs jumped from 10-11 to a 21-3 sectional championship. After
four Bulldogs left via graduation, the 6â??2â? Ryan is expected to take on
additional responsibilities, but it wonâ??t be a one-man team. Helping Ryan in his
sophomore season will be 6â??4â? junior Alex Grimsley and 6â??2â? senior Alex
Siefert.
Others
contenders:
Connersville
Any discussion
of the Spartans centers on Matt Howard. The 6â??8â? Butler-bound forward has
dominated games in his previous three seasons and is expected to do so again. The
Spartans were 19-3 last season with a pair of capable senior guards, but
replacing Chris Bloom and B.J. Day will be key to this seasonâ??s success.
As much
hoopla as Howard has received, he still has yet to cut down the nets in a
sectional. In fact, Connersville
has not captured a sectional crown since the spring of 1997.
Roncalli
The Rebels
have enjoyed new highs with coach Michael Wantz at the helm. After its first-ever
sectional title two seasons ago, Roncalli came back for a second last season. A
14-9 team that was tested in the regular season, the Rebels were knocked out of
the tournament by three points in the regional by eventual state champ New Castle.
This
yearâ??s senior class is highlighted by guard Paul Corsaro and 6â??8â? center Joe
Britner, who have been on the varsity scene for a few seasons and were also key
football players. Help beyond those two may be the difference between a
sectional contender and going further.
Edgewood
Garrett
Butcher has already made a career of scoring and rebounding, but the Mustangsâ??
6â??5â? stud is only halfway through his high school career. A 17-5 team last
year, Edgewood did lose a couple of senior
frontliners. But between Butcher and some capable seniors, the Mustangs hope to
make it past the sectional this time around.
Mayâ??s Mark: New Castle is the easy and comfortable pick
here. If youâ??re looking for something beyond that, Vincennes Lincoln is my next
best with four returning starters. There are plenty of other prime teams in
this semistate, but Bosse and Washington are my other sure-fire contenders.
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