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2011-2012 Boys BasketballWeek-3, Top-10 PollA USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith12-21-2011 |
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2011-2012 Boys BasketballWeek-3, Top-10 PollA USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith12-21-2011 |
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ST.
JOHN (12-25-2011) Over the first month of the season, only Lake Central and
Andrean have held up in what we kindly call a 'wide open' year in Northwest
Indiana basketball.
Everybody else has major questions as a few teams head into holiday tournament
play. The question that nobody's going to answer in the next two months is 'Why
don't Lake Central and Andrean meet?
The schools sit maybe 20-minutes apart and most Andrean students come from the Lake Central school district. Public schools talk about what competitors they are, but then they won't play private schools which they say, "take their players."
At a school like LC that argument gets weak. Lake Central doesn't have room for all the students that would head their way if Andrean suddenly closed. Plus, LC, at 3,100 students, has plenty of players in every sport.
Crown Point formerly had the same attitude towards Andrean. The grudge ended when CP constructed a $64 million dollar new school and suddenly they had all the kids they could stand. That's going to be the end of the LC-Andrean "feud" as well. With Lake Central finally passing a bond issue for school reconstruction recently, look for their enrollment to go up at Andrean's expense.
Everybody knows that the athletic plant at LC
is as raggedy as the turf at Soldier Field in Chicago. But LC, with top
facilities on the way, is poised to be the dominant school in Northwest Indiana.
They are the 'Carmel' of Northwest Indiana, circa 2020.
A jolt for the "Region Rumble," scheduled for Jan. 2. The NCAA says that two
good match ups: North Judson vs. Bishop Noll and Andrean vs. Lebanon, cannot use
Valparaiso University.
An NCAA rule bans "non-scholastic" organizations from using college for
basketball tournaments. It's a shot at AAU groups which host multi-team summer
tournaments as recruiting tools.
But the unintended consequence is: Valpo can't host 4 high schools for one night in a tournament that the Times newspaper has sponsored for 12 years. It's a stupid rule which obviously will be altered eventually. Maybe the NCAA should spend its time looking into runaway scandals at Syracuse, Penn State, Ohio State and a dozen other colleges and stop creating problems for its few member schools that are halfway legitimate.
ST. JOHN: LC shut down Crown Point, Merrillville and Munster inside a five-game winning streak to stay up as the clear-cut No. 1 team. All-stater Glenn Robinson faces a challenge at every stop, but the Indians survived Merrillville 66-60 and Munster 53-48. Lake Central plays a game I can't explain at Menominee Falls, Wisconsin on Jan. 7. Part of the reason this is a lame year in NW Indiana basketball is that none of the top three teams here can face each other under any circumstances.
MERRILLVILLE: Andrean completed the first 25% of the schedule very
successfully with five wins by 15 points or more over five teams with losing
records. So we won't know much until they face Lebanon (4-0), but we don't know
when that game will be played with the NCAA banning Valparaiso from hosting the
game. Oddly enough Nick Davidson, who scored 18 in the 64-46 win over
Merrillville, is committed to Valpo. The Niners want to show something in
nonconference play because their league, except for Munster, is also all below
.500. Andrean at Munster is not until Feb. 17 and judgment may be withheld on
them until that time.
3. (2A) Bowman Academy (1-3)
2011 (12-11), 2010 (24-1), 2009 (19-4), 2008 (7-7)
GARY: Bowmen is 1-3, but against the only Indiana foe they've faced, the Eagles lost just 75-72 to 4A No. 1 North Central. I don't think Lake Central would do as well. The problem here is the schedule and, and I do mean to harp on this every week. Bowman does not play until Dec. 23 against Southport and they face Marion (3-2) in the four-team Marion Holiday Tournament on Dec. 29. Anybody who says they can accurately judge the Eagles team is lying. They play out of state. They play out of the area.
MUNSTER: Munster lost 53-48 to Lake Central Tuesday (12-20-2011) and it wasn't a surprise. I think everybody knew that, despite five opening wins, this isn't a state ranked team. Munster's early No. 3 4A ranking was based largely on last year's 25-1 team. Could be a telling holiday for the Mustangs. If they defeat Warren Central (3-2) in the Marion Holiday Tournament (or even if they don't), they could face Bowman Academy in the final round. That game needs to happen, because it tell us a lot about the strength of both schools.
5. (4A) Valparaiso (6-1)
2011 (16-9), 2010 (19-4), 2009 (21-4), 2008 (16-6)
VALPARAISO: The Vikings have played very well early on with largely a new team. Few saw this coming. The Vikings have won four on the road and four in a row. John Mosser (11.6 ppg.) leads a junior-dominated team in scoring. But you have to wonder how long this lasts. It's hard to see them winning the DAC or in Class 4A. They've already lost one to Lake Central. But LC isn't in 4A Sectional 2. Here's a surprise team in the making.
HAMMOND: Bishop Noll barely beat Lake Station 84-83 in overtime to complete a shaky (Noll only beat Morton by 9 and they struggled with a shorthanded Lowell) first five games of the season unbeaten. Noll came from five points behind at the half to win, but that's not the issue. With all due respect to Lake Station, Noll cannot give up 83 points to Lake Station if they want to hope to get out of sectional play. Noll has a lot to prove and they get a chance in the next 10 days against Guerin Catholic (5-1) and North Judson (5-0).
7. (4A) Merrillville (3-4)
2011 (21-2), 2010 (20-4), 2009 (16-6), 2008 (16-5)
MERRILLVILLE: The Pirates came close in a 66-60 loss to 4A No. 7 Lake Central and they're still worthy of Top-10 local status. But it must be kept in mind for the next two months. This is virtually an all-new team from 2011. But it's a weak season in the DAC. It's a weak season in NW Indiana. It's a weak season. Nobody is afraid of Lake Central or Munster or Bowman. They've all lost early. Anybody can win. Including the Pirates.
8. (4A) East Chicago (3-2)
2011 (14-8), 2010 (17-4), 2009 (14-8), 2008 (20-4), 2007 (23-3)
EAST CHICAGO: The Cardinals spiraled downhill with a 72-39 loss to Munster, a blowout of uncomfortable proportions. That's the worst EC loss since an 86-46 loss to Gary Roosevelt on November 25 of 2000. That team was 15-10. They'll bounce back, but there's a lack of defense. It's hard to lose by 30 or 40 to a sectional rival and come back and beat that team in March. It almost never happens. East Chicago will take on Fishers (2-4) in the North Central Holiday tournament semifinals and they'll probably get a shot at the host team in the finals.
NORTH JUDSON: The Jays carry a 5-0 record into a 2A matchup with Bishop Noll (5-0) on New Years Day. Four seniors have started strong including John Eckert (19 ppg.), Kendall Hochstedler (14.4 ppg.), Mitch Fingerhut (11.4 ppg.) and Winston Yergler (19.8 ppg.). But the pace of the game will be a problem against Noll and Bowman. When teams are giving up 65-70 points, that's not playoff basketball, but wins over 1As West Central and Morgan Township won't help either.
HEBRON: It takes a lot to rank 2A teams above 4As Michigan City, LaPorte and Crown Point (2-4), but Hebron has won 5 in a row and 6-foot-6 Jay Patz (7.0 ppg.) is back to join 6-foot-6 Cody Artuso (15.1 ppg.). The Hawks have topped only one Class 4A school in Lowell (3-4) and the only non-losing team they've defeated is Hanover Central (4-4). But they play hard. They've got 4A size and they've got Damon Wallace (19.5 ppg.), the PCC scoring leader. I don't know if they can beat North Judson at the 2A Winamac Sectional, but... and don't say this out loud, Hebron could go 20-1. Look close at that schedule.