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2007-2008 Girls BasketballSeason Final PollA USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith(03-06-2008) |
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2007-2008 Girls BasketballSeason Final PollA USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith(03-06-2008) |
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MICHIGAN
CITY, IN (03-08-2008) -
Next year will be better. And 2010 will be better than that. But
it's a down time in Northwest Indiana girls basketball. Anyone who has
watched for 10-20 years would tell you that there are less good players and less
good teams than there have been. I've talked about it quite a bit here.
The lack of ball-handling guards. The emphasis on and the notoriety given
to shooting as opposed to more important skills of ball-handling and passing.
The dominance to teams in the South Bend-Elkhart area. I even wonder if the success of swimming, gymnastics and softball (which takes girls from summer teams) in NW Indiana takes girls away from the No. 1 Hoosier sport. That would explain why boys teams continue to excel in NW Indiana while girls have slumped. The drift of population from the cities (Hammond, East Chicago and Gary) to the more affluent suburbs is also an issue. Gymnastics, swimming and softball aren't available to city girls. If those families move to the suburbs the next generation might not play basketball.
Whatever the reason, there haven't been any great players or teams (with the possible exception of Michigan City) in some time. Where is the girl version of E'Twaun Moore and Zack Novak? No one comes to mind.
But the big weakness is at the lead guard position. NW Indiana boys teams like Michigan City, Crown Point, Merrillville and Chesterton have two or three people who can play the lead guard position. The main ball handler. The pass-first, shoot-second distributor that allows the other players to reach their potential. Michigan City (11-10) had Stephen Ward AND Adam Harmon. Munster has three above average lead guards in the program. Gary West Side's Xavier Jones. Hanover and Crown Point have freshmen lead guards that are very good prospects.
Where are the good girl lead guards? I like the potential at Griffith. Michigan City still has TaKenya Nixon, who is very good. Hanover Central still has Jordan Kramer. But where are the team floor leaders? What many parents and daddy-mommy coaches don't understand is that you can win at lower levels or in less structured levels (read: AAU) without a top floor leader. You can win with team work and athletic ability. High school basketball is more structured and you must have a smart floor leader or you will have letdowns.
All coaches know that. The ones who suggest you don't need a lead guard are trying to use some mind control. They don't want their players to hear them talk about something that they (the coach) knows they don't have and cannot create. That's the darkest truth. If you do not have a lead guard you cannot 'create' her. You can put someone in that role as Boone Grove did this year and do fairly well. But you cannot create a lead guard. It's a gift, not a learned skill. It's like being left-handed. You can pretend you are left-handed. You can tie your right hand behind your back and acquire some skill with your left hand. But you will not be nearly as good with those tasks as someone who is naturally left-handed. I think all coaches know that. Some of them like the challenge of winning with lesser talent, without 'all the pieces'. But no great team does not have a natural point guard. Not one.
Portage did very well the last two seasons without a true point guard. You can get away with that if you have top athletes at other positions in a time when everybody lacks floor direction. Hammond got by without a top flight floor director. So did Valparaiso.
Watch Crown Point. The Bulldogs have a complete team in search of a
natural floor leader. So does Chesterton. So does Gary West Side. So does
Boone Grove. Give them the one player who can dribble past any one defender and
has the strength and vision to make all the passes, and even if that player does
not score one point, those teams will be regional title contenders. But
without that player, several schools are looking at a repeat of this season.
Heritage Christian won a third consecutive state Class 2A title and South Bend
Washington, the defending 4A champ, lost the state title game for the second
time in three years.
All-star teams are simply sucking up to players on teams with good records.
Look for that elsewhere. Let's talk about what the future holds.
1. (4A) Michigan City (20-6)
MICHIGAN CITY: Michigan City lost 88-66 to South Bend Washington. they are 0-4 against Washington and All-American guard Skyler Diggins (26 ppg.) in two years. Diggins comes back next season, but so do the MC backcourt of TaKenya Nixon (19.0 ppg., 5.6 rebounds, 4.7 assists, 3.7 steals) and Bianca McGee (16.8 ppg., 5.1 rebounds, 2.5 assists, 2.0 steals, 68 3-point goals). The Wolves have some young forwards who can lift them to state glory in 2009, but it will be tough and they need to play a lot in the off-season because the potential is there. But you aren't great if you 'almost' beat the champs. You have to get it done. MC was the No. 1 team in this poll all season and they are the No. 1 team at the end. One more chance for MC against Washington next season.
2. (4A) MERRILLVILLE (17-5)
2007 (16-6), 2006 (19-3), 2005 (12-10), 2004 (12-8)
MERRILLVILLE: Merrillville and Michigan City were clearly better than everyone else in NW Indiana. They graduate Britney Cruse (13.6 pg.) and it remains to be seen whether they have another lead guard of her caliber. The Pirates beat Michigan City 2-out-of-3, but they lost the playoff game 77-75 in overtime. I thought they went as far as they could although I'm sure they don't agree. The Pirates have gifted young players in soph Bryonna Davis and freshman Melanee Stubbs. 5-foot-7 forward Tierra Turner (17 ppg., 7 rebounds) has another year. There are a couple of 5-foot-9 girls who can be the 'dirty work' forwards they need. I wish they had big post players but 52-14 over the three last three years is the best record in NW Indiana. In an eight-team sectional (4A Sectional 2) with all big schools, you just have to keep knocking on that regional door and hope you break it down. Again, Michigan City and Merrillville were the region's top two teams this year and nobody else was that close.
3. (4A) Gary West Side (18-5)
2007 (16-6), 2006 (16-7), 2005 (23-5), 2004 (22-3)
GARY: West Side dropped out of the playoffs in a disappointing performance, a 58-53 loss to Elkhart Memorial (22-5), which lost by 17 to South Bend Washington. But how bad was the 'Side'? Really? The Cougars lost to Marshall (30-5) of Chicago, but Marshall won the Class 3A state championship in Illinois. Elkhart Memorial is state-of-the art and they may be better than everyone in NW Indiana. The Cougars return Aurielle Anderson (12.1 ppg.) to lead the attack in 2009 and they will be a heavy sectional favorite again. Their style of play allows lots for the development of depth. But the mountain they will face at the 2009 regional is so high they can't see over it. They need a hero to come out of nowhere to juice up an inconsistent attack because they will see some teams they simply can't stop at the regional.
4. (4A) Valparaiso (13-10)
2007 (8-14), 2006 (13-8), 2005 (21-2), 2004 (23-3)
VALPARAISO: A good season for Valpo ended with an overtime 55-44 loss to a superior Michigan City squad. Foul shooting, 11 of 20, cost them in the upset bid. Obviously with 6-foot-4 Stefanie Lang (10.9 ppg., 7.1 rpg.) returning for two more years, Valparaiso is in very good shape for the future. Lang creates a half-court defensive obstacle that most teams cannot overcome. It would appear that a major reconstruction job is needed at guard. Michigan City is all-state at the guard position and everyone in NW Indiana must deal with that. Valparaiso is reportedly very good at the 8th grade level so they have quality players in the pipeline.
5. (4A) Chesterton (10-11)
2007 (7-14), 2006 (16-8), 2005 (11-11), 2004 (14-8)
CHESTERTON: Chesterton lost back-to-back games to Valparaiso to end the year. It's funny, Chesterton hosted the sectional and they faced a team they'd beaten earlier. It just didn't work out. Here's another DAC team with quite a bit returning in 2009. 5-foot-10 bookends Abbe Skube (11.3 ppg., 4.5 rebounds) and Morgan Palombizio (10.6 ppg., 6.9 rebounds) should enable the Trojans to challenge for the DAC championship, although Valparaiso, Michigan City and Crown Point return tons of key players.
6. (4A) Portage (13-8)
2007 (16-9), 2006 (4-17), 2005 (4-17), 2004 (10-12)
PORTAGE: Portage was eliminated by Merrillville 57-46 in a 4A Sectional One quarterfinal that was not a surprise since the Indians were short three players to injury. This final ranking might seem low, but Portage was 16-9 last year and 13-8 this year. Injuries certainly hurt them, but this is where they have been for a couple of years. The graduation of Gloria Hernandez and Lisa Samplawski means that, like Highland, Portage will have to rebuild around Tara Ellis (8.6 ppg.), a versatile wing. I don't know if Portage has the depth in their program to replace the caliber of talent they've lost. It could be a tough ride in the DAC the next couple of years because Michigan City returns most of a very good roster. Chesterton returns two all-area players, Merrillville returns two young but potential all-DAC players and Crown Point returns 16 girls who were on the playoff roster. Portage needs a top-caliber lead guard, but then, so does almost everyone else. Give them credit for a couple of hard-fought winning seasons.
7. (1A) Oregon-Davis (24-1)
2007 (25-3), 2006 (14-8), 2005 (11-11), 2004 (7-14)
HAMLET: 1A No. 1 Oregon-Davis had their 43-game win streak broken by eventual state champion Canterbury (21-5). O-D, an outside shooting team, got beat when their shots didn't go down. That's something they'll always face. The Bobcats return the core of their team, including top guard Gabi Minix (16 ppg.) and, while they don't have to, I'd love to see them schedule a Lake or Porter County team to give a lot of people in our area a chance to see them play. Truthfully, the game everyone wants to see is O-D against South Bend Washington, a true David-Goliath or Denise-Grace matchup. I don't think they lacked anything. It's just tough to win them all. Here's another example of an undefeated team that did not make it through the state tournament. Most teams that finish the regular season unbeaten lose quickly in the postseason. I can't say why. That's just the way it is.
8. (3A) Griffith (17-5)
2007 (15-7), 2006 (14-8), 2005 (15-8), 2004 (13-9)
GRIFFITH: The Panthers lost to Calumet 35-28 in the 3A sectional championship game in Rensselaer. The offense went south, which is what happens with young teams in the post-season. Nobody should be disappointed over this season. I'll say it one more time. Griffith played five small 4A schools and that needs to change. I have heard that the Panthers' schedule will not be the same as it was this year and that's good for them. They have a potential state finals team the next two years and they need to schedule games as if that were the case. Here's a team that should play Oregon-Davis. This will not be the only Top-10 that Griffith girls basketball will enter in 2009.
8. (4A) Highland (17-4)
2007 (20-6) 2006 (12-11), 2005 (19-5), 2004 (17-6)
HIGHLAND: The Trojans lost to Gary West Side 65-51 in the 4A Sectional One semifinals. The Trojans gave up a season high 65 points and lost by a season-high 14 points. Like Munster, Highland plays in what is largely a 3A league and then they play large 4A schools in the post-season. Until they load up their schedule with non conference powers, they can only hope to beat Gary West Side and only Barrack Obama gets by on hope. And I mean powers. Elkhart Memorial, Michigan City. South Bend Washington, Indianapolis Chatard. Playing Portage will not prepare them for West Side and they have to know that. But I am confident that by the time they do, they will also get some heavy hitters on the schedule and they will be better for it. Highland isn't going to be in the Top-10 for a while, but they should still compete for the title next year in the Northwest Crossroads Conference.
10. (3A) Hammond (19-3)
2007 (17-9), 2006 (15-8), 2005 (15-7), 2004 (8-12)
HAMMOND: The Wildcats walked through their sectional with no-contest wins 67-28 over Roosevelt and 81-31 over Gavit and they fell 56-49 to eventual state champion Plymouth in overtime. They can be very pleased with that, although I suspect that, after the consecutive regional eliminations, they are not. As long as 5-foot-10 Sancheon White (12.2 ppg., 5.1 assists, 7.3 rebounds) is on the roster, Hammond will mop up most of their soft schedule. I'd like to see them play tougher teams, but why should they as long as their sectional is as soft as it is? I don't think there's a real desire here to reach the state finals. When you don't schedule the maximum 20 regular season games, that says something.
HEY, WHAT ABOUT US??????
(1A) Kouts (21-2)
2007 (20-3), 2006 (12-9), 2005 (12-9), 2004 (13-9)
KOUTS: 1A No. 2 Kouts lost to eventual state champion Canterbury in the Caston Regional finals, but they can't seriously be disappointed. Canterbury last year and the Fillies would have a chance against them. No team at any level achieved more with less than Kouts. Despite injuries and playing league rivals three and four times, the Fillies won three different tournaments and the PCC regular season title. The PCC will be wide open again next year and don't think they can't do it again.
(3A) Calumet (20-3)
2007 (13-8), 2006 (5-16), 2005 (7-15), 2004 (16-10)
GARY: Calumet could not get it done against then-undefeated Northwestern, but here's another squad that hugely overachieved. I didn't think the competition was that strong, but to win 20 with basically no size is an amazing feat. And the good times will continue to roll as 5-foot-6 sophomore Juaniece Jackson (15.8 ppg.) continues to improve. There's a lot of possibilities in 3A and there's no reason the hits just can't keep coming for the Warriors. I like them better than Hammond for the future.