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2006-2007 Boys BasketballWeek-1, Top-10 PollA USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith(11-27-2006) |
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2006-2007 Boys BasketballWeek-1, Top-10 PollA USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith(11-27-2006) |
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VALPARAISO (11-25-2006) - I don't know how the regular season is going to play out, but the 2007 post-season should be exciting in Northwest Indiana. Valparaiso still has to prove they have the back court players to win a regional and semistate title, but the presence of two Division I players (Scott Martin and Rob Hummel) will keep the spotlight on the Porter County school all year long.
Some like it when the regional championship race is 'wide open'. I don't. I want a clear cut favorite and major challengers. Valpo is the favorite with Merrillville to challenge them during the regular season and East Chicago to challenge them later. This might be one of the best years ever in the eight-team big school Duneland Athletic Conference. Everyone is big and everyone has firepower.
The
Lake Athletic Conference (LAC) will be 'down' in its final season, but it looks
like a strong year in Gary with West Side and Roosevelt well-armed and Lew
Wallace and Wirt on the rise.
Feature games:
** (Fort Wayne) Snider at East Chicago on Dec. 2
** East Chicago vs. Pike at Hinkle Fieldhouse - Indianapolis on Dec. 9
** Lafayette Catholic at Andrean on Dec. 22
** Merrillville vs Valparaiso Dec. 22 and Feb. 16.
** I believe this one is a late change. East Chicago vs. Valparaiso at Valpo
University on New Year's Day.
** Mishawaka at Gary Roosevelt on Jan. 5
** Wheeler at Boone Grove on Jan. 6
** East Chicago at Crown Point on Jan. 20
** Gary West Side at East Chicago on Jan. 25
** Crown Point at Boone Grove on Jan 27
** Gary West Side at three-time defending 4A state champ Lawrence North on Feb.
16.
1.
(4A) Valparaiso (1-0)
2006 (21-3), 2005 (22-3), 2004 (22-3)
VALPARAISO - Valpo has lost nine games in three years so they are the No. 1 team in the pre-season. 6-foot-8 'twins' Rob Hummel (11.3 ppg.) and Scott Martin (19.3 ppg.), two Purdue University recruits, lead the way. The back court is crucial. They need a lead guard who isn't Hummel. Everyone with quickness will press them, especially if they play 7-foot Chesterton transfer Evan Schmidt with Hummel and Martin. Seniors Nate Windsor and Travis Allen will be invaluable defensively and on the boards. This is a great defensive team because they can lock up your best two scorers. The Vikings are potentially a state finals team, but they are a touch slow and I don't know who the wing shooters and lead guards are. Valpo needs the games against East Chicago and Merrillville to test them.
2. (4A) East Chicago
(0-0)
2006 (19-5), 2005 (13-8), 2004 (13-10)
EAST CHICAGO - EC is led by NW Indiana's premier player E-Twan Moore (23.3 ), a 6-foot-3 guard who has started since his first day as a freshman. No one in this region can guar him one on one which gives EC a huge advantage at the offensive end. Junior center Kawaan Short if 6-foot-4 and 250 pounds so he can get some rebounds and taller teams would dominate against EC. The Cardinals will use 10 players and run the floor which will devastate all except the most gifted teams. They play a brutal schedule and a 15-5 record would be an achievement.
3. (4A) Gary West Side
(0-0)
2006 (7-14), 2005 (19-5), 2004 (12-7)
GARY - I like this team a little better without graduated Jamil Tucker. Senior guard Wesley Danzy ( 11 ppg.) should lead a big and fast team and 6-4 sophomore DeShawn Clay (10 ppg.) may come into his own. 6-7 senior Horace Bond gives the Cougars size up front. Wets Side has depth and balance and they'll always be close. Against a difficult schedule, however, they need big plays at the end of games. They didn't get them last year and now is the time for four seniors.
4. (4A) Merrillville
(0-0)
2006 (17-4), 2005 (18-4), 2004 (9-12)
MERRILLVILLE - The Pirates should be strong again around 6-foot-6 sophomore post player Ryan Smith. There is a lot of speed with 6-foot-3 forward Anthony Anderson, 5-10 junior guard Bo Patton and lots of 'White boys' in 6-0 senior Josh White, 5-10 senior Issac White and 5-9 junior Joe White. I have not seen 6-foot-7 Jonothan Nwannunu but apparently, we all will. Two move-ins, juniors Aireus Stephenson and Mario Stapleton were varsity players in Atlanta. Coach Jim East is never going to tell you how good they are. You have to find out once the game starts. This team has the speed to take down Valparaiso, a team they'll probably see three times.
5. (4A) Lake Central (0-0)
2006 (7-14), 2005 (11-10), 2004 (17-6)
ST. JOHN - There is a lot here. 6-foot-8 center Eric Summers takes over among the starters with returning guards Zac Fuhrman (13.5 ppg.) and Evan Lavery (8 ppg.). Big wing player Joe Wingis (6.5 ppg.) will score in double figures and Crown Point transfer Danny Bouchee (10 ppg,.) adds scoring power. The Indians have a lot of depth and good athletes on the bench. LC lost 14 games last year but 10 were in DAC play. The Indians have the power to go 7-7 in the DAC, which will take quite an effort this year. This team could be 12-8 and then win the sectional where there are no DAC squads.
6. (4A) CROWN POINT (0-0)
2006 (9-13), 2005 (13-9), 2004 (6-16)
CROWN POINT - There's a lot of excitement around good old boy and former Andrean coach Clint Swan coming back to NW Indiana, but you have to look closely. Its not about coach Swan. CP returns six players who played regularly last season, including starting guards Kyle Hanaway and Stephen Albrecht (12 ppg.). Ben Derks and Billy Cox should give CP four guards they can play at any time. Up front, this is CP's biggest team in 15-20 years with 6-foot-6 small forward Aleks Alavanja, 6-5 center Andrew Krumwied and 6-3 pivot man Zac Cecich. Krumwied and Cecich are football linemen who won't often be pushed around.
Add 6-4 Mitch Robinson, another improving small forward and 6-6, 270-pound football lineman Kurt Wermers and the DAC's big people will not scare the Bulldogs. Swan will pick up the pace and CP, which has nine juniors, may end up in the second division of the DAC at times, but they'll also be in the top-10 in the region.
7. (4A) Chesterton (0-0)
2006 (14-9), 2005 (9-12), 2004 (13-8)
CHESTERTON - The Trojans return the DAC's best offensive player in 6-foot-5 forward Zack Novak (19.5 ppg.), who will cause havoc against teams that don't have a big defensive stopper. Senior guards Mark Babcock (6.1 ppg.) and Adam Hutnick (5 ppg.) are athletic and solid. Chesterton did not lose 7-foot Evan Schmidt to Valparaiso. Evan played maybe 5 varsity games ever for Chesterton. 6-foot-7 senior center Chris Saylor and 6-foot-7 junior Jack Houpt got experience last year and are well-suited to man the pivot. Football star Alex Beierwalter and soccer star Jordan Lewis man the bench. Here's another very big and athletic DAC team. And here's another team that could finish in the second half of the beefed-up DAC.
8. (3A) Gary Roosevelt
(1-0)
2006 (11-12), 2005 (10-11), 2004 (11-13)
GARY - The Panthers opened with a 10-point win at Andrean and they have bigger fish to fry. The 'Velt' returns four starters in 5-10 senior guards Tim Tarver (12 ppg.) and Derek Mamon (10 ppg.), plus forwards Amos Little (10 ppg.) and Nigel Jefferson (8 ppg.). They are not as big as the DAC teams, but 6-5 Quashar Littles and 6-6 Robert Horton are big enough. What you don't know is just how hot they can make the full court defensive heat. This is a very good year for half court teams in NW Indiana. But Roosevelt doesn't want to be a half-court team. How defensively fast are they? The schedule is stiff. We'll know soon.
9. (4A) Munster (0-0)
2006 (20-4), 2005 (16-8), 2004 (20-2)
MUNSTER - The ponies are the LAC favorite with D-1 point guard Michael Bizoukas leading the way. Munster will probably go with three guards with Steve Luptak and Danny Crisman. Back-up center 6-foot-6 Mike Sudbury should be able to handle the post play in the LAC with 6-foot-5 football tight end Mike Fisher behind him. Munster has depth and athleticism like 6-4 football QB Joe Gill. They will need perimeter scoring and full court pressure defense, but they usually get that. The Mustangs have nine seniors and that can be a positive or a negative. Munster consistently has 'Chicago Bears' disease. They whip up on a weak division during the regular season and then step up in caliber during the playoffs, a tough way to win. But a team with a four-year varsity lead guard has a chance in every game.
10. (2A) Bishop Noll
(0-0)
2006 (6-15), 2005 (8-14), 2004 (15-10)
HAMMOND - This is a word of mouth pick because I did not see Bishop Noll last year. But 6-4 forward Antoine French and Jason Chroba (11.2 ppg,) have good size up front and 6-8 center Steve Radloff can be a problem for rebounders. Word is, watch out for 6-1 lead guard Andrew Lockett, an out-of-state move-in. This team returns virtually everyone from last season and, once the 2A playoffs begin, they will be bringing the pain.
On the outside looking in...
11. (2A) BOONE GROVE (0-1)
2006 (18-6), 2005 (19-7), 2004 (13-9)
PORTER TOWNSHIP - The Porter County Conference (PCC) favorite. Boone returns league MVP Bryce Palleson (15.5) a big guard who is very hard to defend 1-on-1. Wing shooter Jake Pivarnik is back for a fourth season to spread the defense and Joe Johnson is a valuable third guard. Sophomore Nick DeMarco takes over at the point. Boone went 18-6 without a point guard in 2006. The Wolves also have four freshmen on the varsity roster and they have good size. The Wolves play half the DAC (CP, Chesterton Portage and Valpo) and that's probably four losses. But that's what they need to tackle Wheeler and Bishop Noll at sectional time.
12. (2A) Wheeler (0-0)
2006 (19-6), 2005 (16-5), 2004 (20-5)
UNION TOWNSHIP - The Bearcats are going to need some help on the perimeter, but 6-foot-8 Nate Kasper (13.2 ppg.) is solid inside. 6-foot-3 wing shooter Derek Highlan is a big outside threat and 6-5 Tyler Koss adds more front court power. The Cats need some ball-handlers to get out of a 2A sectional with Boone and Bishop Noll.
13. (3A) Clark (0-0)
2006 (16-7), 2005 (8-13), 2004 (12-9)
HAMMOND - This team will have a lot of speed in a year when all the really good teams are big. But 'Team Carpen', 5-10 back court players Jon Carpen (12.8), Mike Carpen (7.9) and Albert Carpen (6.2) will be too much for most of the LAC. Mario Ramirez is a powerful forward (8.5 ppg.) and 6-4 Nick Curosh (8.9) add some size up front. They don't have a real center and not much of a half court game, but they're just better than most everybody in the LAC. They play a fairly weak schedule and that will hold them back in the long run. An 18-win season is not out of the realm of possibility.