2009-2010 Boys Basketball  Week-3, Top-10 Poll A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith (12-27-2009)

VALPARAISO (12-28-2009)  It still appears to be a strong season for Northwest Indiana basketball with Valparaiso, Bowman Academy, Merrillville and Bishop Noll undefeated on Christmas Day.

Unfortunately, Valparaiso does not play Bowman or Noll, Merrillville does not play Bowman or Lew Wallace and Bowman doesn't play anybody local except for East Chicago.  That means you have to take a good matchup wherever you can find it.  The first two come up on New Year's Day at Valparaiso when 2A neighbors Boone Grove (5-2) and Wheeler (5-1) go head-to-head after Bowman Academy (8-0) tackles Elkhart Memorial (6-2) at 2:00 p.m.

The Gary Holiday Tournament, formerly a quality local event, now lacks interest to even the casual fan.  The three remaining Gary public schools will face three Chicago teams:  Corliss Farragut and Washington.  While there will certainly be talent on the floor Dec 28-29, I don't know what could make someone who is not related to the players show up and pay for that at Gary West Side.

When the four Gary schools (including Bowman Academy) get together for a tournament is the next time anybody will care about a Gary tournament.  High school sports must be local to have any relevance.  The reason Bowman and the Gary schools don't play pale compared to the money and interest lost.

The two matchups of Valparaiso (7-0) and Merrillville (7-0) are Jan. 5 and Feb. 19 and 4A No. 5 Munster faces 3A No. 7 Mt. Vernon (4-2) in the Hall-of-Fame Tournament Dec. 29-30 in New Castle.  Munster could also play 3A No. 3 Princeton (6-2).  North Central figures to meet East Chicago in the finals of the North Central Tournament Dec. 29 in Indianapolis.

It's painful to go watch a basketball game on New Year's Day.  Not as much as watching the Lakers on Christmas Day, but painful nonetheless.

1. (4A) Valparaiso (7-0)
2009 (20-4), 2008 (11-14), 2007 (23-3), 2006 (21-3), 22-3 (2005)

VALPARAISO:  If you are guaranteed 21 games each season, Valpo is 1/3 of the way home with Andy Martin (8.7 ppg.) leading the way for senior Brad Karp (15.1 ppg.), Derek Kennett (11.0 ppg.) and junior Jerrick Suiter (11.6 ppg.).  This team will eventually be hurt by the lack of a true post player, but eventually may be quite awhile as Valparaiso has a lot of skilled ball-handlers.  Valparaiso battles superpower Carmel (6-1) the night of Jan. 2 in Mackey Arena at Purdue.

2. (4A) Munster (7-0)
2009 (24-2), 2008 (16-6), 2007 (21-4), 2006 (20-4), 2005 (16-8)

MUNSTER:  Munster's 68-60 win over East Chicago is a step forward because EC is a 4A sectional rival.  That's been the closest game all year for the Mustangs, who allowed just 41 points a game in the first third of the year.  Munster should win the Hall-of-Fame tournament and be 14-0 the night they travel to Valparaiso on Jan. 30.  In an area where there aren't a lot of fundamentally sound teams, Munster almost can't get beat by a lot in any games remaining on their schedule.

3. (1A) Bowman Academy (8-0)
2009 (19-4), 2008 (7-7)

GARY:  Bowman Academy is averaging 77 points a game and the 'World Tour' has taken them to Kentucky and Illinois so far, but not to downstate (read: small town, slowdown basketball) Indiana.  Watch how well Bowman does in the Winter Classic Dec. 29 against Covenant Christian.  They have superior talent, but this might be one of the few times the Eagles see a slow down slow paced style.  The far-ranging schedule is 'fools gold' because the Eagles have to be ready to play at Triton (8-0) in the second week of March.  Anyone who rates Bowman number one is guessing because they haven't seen the Eagles play anybody from around here.  Nobody has.  Bowman will be a 2A (or maybe 3A) school next season so the future is most definitely now.

4. (4A) East Chicago (4-1)
2009 (14-8), 2008 (20-4), 2007 (23-3), 2006 (19-5)

EAST CHICAGO:  The Cardinals lost by eight to Munster, but they did win on the road at Howe (3-3) in Indianapolis.  6-2 senior Michael Harris (18.3 ppg.) and Jerrick Ware (13.6 ppg.) lead a team that averages 72 points a game.  This is a very small team with some very big games coming.  What's this team going to do against Lawrence North (6-1) on Jan. 8 in East Chicago?

5. (4A) Lew Wallace (5-1)
2009 (14-7), 2008 (13-11), 2007 (5-17), 2006 (4-17)

GARY:  Wallace averages 77 points a game led by 6-foot-6 Brandon Dawson (28 ppg.).  The Gary Holiday Tournament (or the newly renamed Gary Holiday Classic) is next and it could mean three wins or three losses.  Since it's against out-of-state schools, it doesn't matter in the long run.  Wallace plays just four teams in Northwest Indiana all-season.  Anybody who says they truly know how they rank against Munster or Valparaiso is also just guessing.  There's nothing to go on.

6. (4A) Merrillville (7-0)
2009 (16-6), 2008 (16-5), 2007 (13-9), 2006 (17-4), 2005 (18-4), 2004 (9-12)

MERRILLVILLE:  The Pirates beat Lake Central by 36 in their most impressive victory so far.  6-foot-3 Junior guard Jeremiah Jones (20.1 ppg.) has been scoring consistently and Brandon Clark is averaging five assists a game.  Jones and Clark had 30 3-pointers combined after seven games, which is news at Merrillville where they not only don't make a lot of 3-point goals.  They don't even attempt many.  This team hasn't had a true test yet.

7. (2A) Bishop Noll (7-0)
2009 (13-9), 2008 (19-5), 2007 (9-13), 2006 (6-15)

HAMMOND:  Noll also hasn't been tested.  The 57-55 home court win over Lake Station has to be a red flag that Noll isn't ready for prime time yet.  Senior guard Kendall Coleman (18.1 ppg.) leads a team that should score more than 64 points game against the level of competition they've faced.  Truthfully, there aren't many tough teams in the Greater South Shore Conference, but a Jan. 6 game at Wheeler (5-1) will tell some stories.  Noll is not an experienced team in the sense that they haven't played together for years as some others have.  It's hard to believe this talented team is at the level where they can win the 2A Sectional, but we'll know more on Jan. 6.

8. (2A) BOONE GROVE (5-2)
2009 (13-7), 2008 (12-10), 2007 (11-12), 2006 (18-6), 2005 (19-7)

PORTER TOWNSHIP:  Boone Grove shut down undefeated Morgan Township 63-50 in the finals of the South County Tournament.  This team is exactly where they should be with losses only to 4A Mishawaka (2-2) and Valparaiso (7-0).  It's now or never for Boone, which has eight seniors including lead guard Michael Eleftheri (15.3 ppg.), wing shooter Wayland Roach (10.7 ppg.) and 'power' forward Ryan Reynolds (15.8 ppg.).  I expected a lot from this team this year and 1/3 of the way through the schedule, I think they are on target.  We'll know a lot more after the New Year's Day game against Wheeler and the Jan. 8 game against fast-rising Hanover Central (6-1).  Boone plays six 4A schools and it's a strong year in the PCC.  You don't hear a lot from (or about) them and you shouldn't.  If things are going your way, just shut up and play.

9. (4A) LaPorte (6-2)
2009 (9-12), 2008 (8-13), 2007 (9-13), 2006 (12-13)

LaPORTE:  The only people who say the DAC is overrated are folks who don't have to play the 14 league games.  LaPorte isn't even in the top three in the DAC as their losses to Merrillville (7-0) and Valparaiso (7-0) exhibit.  But they are a pain to play with three senior starters including Dustin DeMuth (18 ppg.), Rich Leslie (18 ppg.) and Patrick Spence (18.2 ppg.).  This is a very difficult team to play and they will win two out of every three games.  LaPorte plays North Central at 2:00 p.m. on New Year's Day at Purdue.

10. (4A) Michigan City (4-3)
2009 (3-18), 2008 (11-10), 2007 (8-13), 2006 (9-12), 2005 (6-16)

MICHIGAN CITY:  The Wolves haven't shown whether they're good or average in the first seven games, but seven of the next nine games are at home and we'll know more after that.  The Wolves only have two seniors who have played regularly, so they aren't going to win the DAC in a year when there' two league schools in the top 10.  But with underclassmen like Alajuwon Edwards (11.3 ppg.) and Shareef Knight plus 5-foot-11 four-year starter Adam Harmon (10.1 ppg.), MC will be an annoying team to face.

ON THE OUTSIDE LOOKING IN...

(4A) Chesterton (3-3)
2009 (11-10) 2008 (19-3), 2007 (15-7), 2006 (14-9)

CHESTERTON:  The Trojans are out of the Top-10 until 6-foot-10 Mitch McGary (22.3 ppg.) gets back off the injured list, which should be by the end of January.  Guard Freddy Price (14 ppg.) leads the attack, but it's a weak attack without McGary.  There's just no other way to look at it.

(2A) Hanover Central (6-1)
2009 (9-11) 2008 (11-11), 2007 (9-11), 2006 (7-14)

CEDAR LAKE:  Hanover ended the calendar year with a five-game winning streak so they won more games than the Chicago Bulls did in December.  The only loss is to 4A Crown Point (3-3) and the victories include wins over 3As Kankakee Valley and Gary Roosevelt on the road.  The three-guard perimeter of Zach Rush, Nick Bollenbacher and Luis Norman isn't going to turn the ball over very often.  The 6-foot-4 forwards of Derek De St. Jean and Aaron Jackson can defend and rebound against most foes.  The Wildcats start the new year with Griffith (4-1) and Boone Grove (5-2) and that's going to explain a lot of where HC can go this year.