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2004-2005 Boys BasketballWeek-19 (Final) Renegade PollA USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith(3-30-2005) |
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2004-2005 Boys BasketballWeek-19 (Final) Renegade PollA USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith(3-30-2005) |
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(3-30-2005) Gary West Side got beat by 29 points by the the team that got routed in the state finals indicating how far NW Indiana is behind the top teams (or should I say team). Anyone who hopes to win the state 4A title next season better be working on it right now. Two-time state champ Lawrence North returns 6-1 Michael Conley and 7-1 Greg Oden plus a strong JV including Oden's 6-8 brother Anthony (how much do you want to be that he can't play?) and an undefeated 8th grade team.
Plymouth made a remarkable run to overtime in the title game with no one taller than 6-3. Hammond, which got blown out by Plymouth at the regional, should not feel so bad although it helps to have the first five playoff games at home.
In 2A somebody's going to have to go hard to beat Forest Park in 2006 with both of the 6-7 Hopf cousins returning for the state champs. In the north, 2A Harding returns their top outside shooter and their 6-8 center. They'll also be a problem.
In 1A, one certainty is, Lapel wont be back. They graduate their top player. the great thing about 1A is, there's almost always a small school emerging to capture everyone's attention. In 2004, it was Waldron (27-0). In 2005 it was Lapel (26-1).
In Indiana, the next miracle is always getting ready.
1.) 4A Valparaiso (22-3)
VALPARAISO
– Honestly, I thought West Side
caught Valparaiso at just the right time. Valpo lost 57-43 to West Side after
the Vikings had suffered a meltdown in the semifinals, a 69-63 win over Clay.
There's no way Valparaiso is beaten by 29 points by Muncie Central. It simply would not have happened. Jon Moon (14.8) and 6-8 center Jon Hanselman graduate but 6-6 forwards Scott Martin (13.1 ppg.) and Rob Hummell (8.7) will key this team for two more seasons.
I thought that winning the DAC, winning 2 out of 3 from Merrillville and surviving the double round-robin made Valpo the top team in 2005.
Valpo is also the region's top program with a 61-10 record in the last three years against top competition.
2.) 4A Gary West Side (20-6)
GARY
– Gary
West Side had a solid playoff run but they didn't beat
East Chicago, they didn't beat Merrillville and they folded against a Muncie
Central team that was not invincible.
6-7 Jamil Tucker (24.4 ppg.) was 0-of-8 against Valparaiso and 2-for-17 against Muncie Central. More disturbingly, the Cougars could not find the shooter as Ty Riddle hit 6-of-12 three-point shots in Muncie's 69-40 rout of the Side.
The Cougars lose DeShawn Wright (14.2 ppg, 6.6 rebounds) but they will return plenty of talent to rule Gary. They need a back-to-the-basket center but, beyond that, I would suggest a change in scheduling strategy. West Side needs to travel downstate and play at Anderson or Muncie Central or Jefferson. Don't get me wrong. Chicago teams have more talent than most everybody downstate. But it's the atmosphere of sellout Central Indiana crowds that West Side needs to simulate.
West Side could be playing Lawrence North in the 2006 4A state title game. But they need to stay out of Chi-town and head south to some down home Hoosier hot-beds. And if all else fails, John Boyd needs to get on the phone to Jack Kiefer at Lawrence North and say 'We will play you anyplace, anytime.'
If you want to be the man, you've got to beat the man.
MERRILLVILLE
– Andrean was upset 58-56 by Twin
Lakes in the Plymouth regional, perhaps the most disappointing result of the
season, because I was most certainly looking forward to a Plymouth-Andrean
showdown.
Power forward Luke Harangody (23.2 ppg., 12.3 rpg), a junior all-star selection, was held to just 16 by good defense and some whistle-happy referees. But that's what you have to expect playing on the road. Most schools wouldn't call a second consecutive sectional title a disappointment but some at Andrean might.
The 59ers return Harangody and 6-7 Chris Kaba so 2006 will be a big season for Andean if they can find a lead guard. Here's another team that needs to get on the phone and give Indianapolis a call.
A road trip to Pike, Lawrence North or Arlington could school the Niners of a return trip to Indy next March. And, to be honest, if Plymouth is going to host the regional every year, I'd schedule a game at Plymouth every season.
MERRILLVILLE
– Merrillville graduates Josh Mayo
(13.7 ppg.) after the sectional semifinal
loss to Valparaiso. 6-3 Greg Hill and 5-10 Darryl Evans return for their senior
seasons and there's always plenty on the Pirate's JV team. The first name to
come to the front may be 6-6 Mike Stokes. 5-11 James Rowe could be the new lead
guard. Merrillville has a size problem which came into view against Valparaiso
this season. The Pirates need a big man to battle Valpo and Chesterton and they
have 6 months to find him.
5.) 4A East Chicago (13-8)
EAST
CHICAGO – East Chicago lost to
Munster in the sectional semifinals but they return 6-3 G-F E'Twan Moore (20.6
ppg., 10.4 rebounds), the top sophomore in NW Indiana. The Cards also return a trio
of 6-4 forwards who must take a more dominant role, especially
6-4 Efrem Simmons (11.2 ppg.) and 6-4 freshman Marcus Johnson.
The Cardinals are almost going to have to find some size up front to counter what teams like Munster and West Side can bring to the table. They also need a lead guard to replace David Conner (10.1 ppg.) and an outside shooter to balance the floor.
But Moore is probably better than both Andrean's Ty Harangody and West Side's Jamil Tucker. That's a good place to start.
CROWN
POINT – The
Bulldogs beat Chesterton 61-48, but they got run over by Valparaiso 64-36 in the
sectional title game at Merrillville. The Bulldogs had a five-game winning
streak but they ran into Valpo on the wrong night. The size of Valparaiso was
too much for CP, especially on defense where they shut out post players Ryan
Brown and Brian Maloney all night.
Too many graduation losses for the Bulldogs to compete for the DAC title in 2006. Lead guard Mark Patrick, wing shooters Sam Henderson (10.2 ppg, 59 3-point goals) and Chachi Albrecht (9.0, 44 3-point goals), forwards Ryan Brown (9.9 points, 4.2 rebounds) and Brian Maloney (8.0 points, 4.2 rebounds) all graduate. It's too much to overcome.
The immediate future is unclear for Crown Point, which graduates seven seniors, but CP was 20-0 at the freshmen level and they'll be back in the sectional championship game by 2007.
7.) 4A Munster (16-8)
MUNSTER
- The
Mustangs were strong in the 62-55 Sectional one semifinal win
over East Chicago but they were overmatched in the 60-40 title game loss to Gary
West Side.
Munster was probably too young to take on that type of challenge. Promising point guard Michael Bizoukas was shut out in this game against the taller, faster Cougars.
Munster loses just two guards off this team so they don't really have many problems. 6-8 Scott Rutkowski (83-134, 61.9% FG) has to become dominant. He's the best low-post center in the LAC and he has to start playing like it.
As it turns out, the Mustangs were closer to the regional title this year than they may have thought they were. West Side is beatable. It's got to happen in 2006 because beyond that, other teams will take command as the talent balance swings towards East Chicago and Chesterton.
PORTER
TOWNSHIP –
Of all the teams in NW
Indiana, Boone Grove probably came the closest to winning a state title. (West
Side had no chance against Muncie Central and would have had even less hope
against Lawrence North). Boone lost to Glenn in OT but they could give Harding a
better game than West Side gave Muncie Central (anybody could have) and Boone
had a shot against Forest Park as well.
Danny Borys (22.2 ppg., 8.1 rebounds) had the best year of any player in NW Indiana, bar none. Boone will be back in 2006 with 6-3 wing Will Mitchell, 5-10 shooter Jake Pivarnik and 6-4 center Jon Shurr. Boone has won eight sectionals but no regionals. That streak could be in jeopardy in 2006 because Boone and Wheeler will again be favored to win the sectional.
9.) 4A Highland (16-8)
HIGHLAND
- Here's
another team that did everything they could do before losing 64-60 to eventual
sectional champion Gary West Side. The Trojans led 36-32 at the half before West
Side turned the tide.
This team returns Andrew Helmer (12.9 ppg, 8.5 rebounds) and Derek Moser, two 6-3 athletes that will create another winning season. Highland has now won 16 games for three consecutive seasons. The Trojans need a back-to-the basket center to battle Munster. But the reality is, Munster and Highland have to beat East Chicago AND Gary West Side at the sectional most seasons and they do not have a 50-50 chance of doing that in 2006 as things stand right now.
10.) 4A Lake Central (10-10)
ST.
JOHN – LC had a good year and they
led Gary West Side in the fourth quarter of their sectional quarterfinal before
losing to the Cougars 63-55. The Indians won six games by 10 points or less and
three in overtime.
LC returns forward Adam Short (13.7 ppg.), but they graduate seniors David Hoffmaster, Jon Maida, Brett Summers and Mike Crnocrak. This will be a much different team in 2006 and they'll go the way of Crown Point. Rebuilding, in a league where you don't get time to rebuild.
2005 POST-SCRIPT
INDIANAPOLIS – There clearly was a breakthrough in the acceptance of class basketball. The final session of the state title games (3A Plymouth vs. Washington and 4A Lawrence North vs. Muncie Central) was a total sellout and, if Lawrence North returns to the title game in 2006, they'll sell out again.
Semistate games at Huntington North and Lafayette Jefferson were total sellouts. If the IHSAA would just stagger the sectionals (1A-2A on Monday-Wednesday-Friday) and 3A-4A on Tuesday-Thursday-Saturday) they'd double the sectional attendance.
But while state interest in basketball is again on the rise, NW Indiana again gets the cold shoulder. Local free TV and cable simply fails to cover the finals if local teams aren't involved which means we might as well be in Illinois. (We see more of the Illinois playoffs than we do the Indiana tournament).
The balance of power in the north appears to be leaving the Elkhart-South Bend area and moving to Fort Wayne where Harding and Snider will be monsters next year. Lafayette Catholic will lead the 1A pack and new school boy legends may be coming in Northridge (6-4 Brent Eaton) and Indianapolis (6-3 North central guard Eric Gordon and 6-3 Howe freshman Larry Stone).
But please, will somebody commit to IU?