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2006-2007 Boys BasketballWeek-3, Top-10 PollA USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith(12-14-2006) |
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2006-2007 Boys BasketballWeek-3, Top-10 PollA USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith(12-14-2006) |
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VALPARAISO (12-14-2006) - Valparaiso continues to represent themselves well at the top of this poll (and all others in NW Indiana) and if anybody feels they can beat them, they aren't saying it out loud. The surprise team is Calumet, which has slapped together a team of guys who were not as good or were not on the roster last year and won four quick ones with a bold coaching move: 'Platoon substitution'. Calumet has 12 players they use and they will send five at a time to the scorer's table. It's a very entertaining style of basketball and, until you run into a much bigger, more physical squad with some athletes, it will hurt all comers.
Did you know that Calumet (4-0) plays at Valparaiso (5-0) on Jan. 20 and at Merrillville on Feb. 20? Give them credit for thinking big with that scheduling.
NW Indiana's hoop credibility took a hit at the Circle City Classic down in Indianapolis last weekend when Gary West Side got tipped 61-56 by Warren Central and East Chicago got smoked out 67-49 by Pike. All-stater E'Twan Moore didn't play for the Cardinals, but someone in NW Indiana needs to beat one of the Indy powers or win a tournament which includes teams from the center of the state before anybody up here starts talking about going to the state finals. Until then, we are the Chicago Bears, beating nothing teams in meaningless games and going nowhere.
Valpo will get their chance when they take on Indy superpower Cathedral (3-0) in the Hall-of-Fame tournament on Dec. 29. They should look forward to that day as the chance to prove they are good. Remember, as highly-regarded as Valpo is, this particular team has not gotten out of the regional in two tries. Valpo lost to Columbia City in the semistate three years ago, but none of the boys playing now were on the floor that day.
Anybody who says they have nothing to prove is making excuses for defeats they know are coming. You always have something to prove. Some interesting games on the rest of the schedule: Merrillville at Lebanon on Feb. 3... Lebanon is headed up by former Crown Point coach Tom Johnson. Calumet at Valparaiso on Jan. 20. Andrean at Brebuef on Dec. 30 in Indianapolis. LaPorte (4-1) at Plymouth (5-0) on Jan. 13.
Again, you can't just rank the teams with the best records at the top of the
poll. We know who the top teams are.
1.
(4A) Valparaiso (5-0)
2006 (21-3), 2005 (22-3), 2004 (22-3)
VALPARAISO - Valpo guard Rob Hummel scored 27 as the VHS boys coasted over Crown Point 74-50 Tuesday night. Valpo dropped the bomb on Portage 85-49 last Friday. What Valparaiso has not seen yet is a state class lead guard who can take on Hummel and a post player who can hurt CHS inside. The truth is, that lead guard does not exist in the DAC this year. This is a year when you really suffer with the 14-game DAC schedule because Valpo can't play 10 or 12 non conference teams and really test themselves. The next three foes, LaPorte (4-1), Merrillville (2-3) and Chesterton (4-1) have quality players, but they are not constructed in a manner that would beat Valparaiso. But the Vikings are experienced enough to know that when they see all these teams a second time, the games will be closer.
2. (4A) East Chicago
(4-1)
2006 (19-5), 2005 (13-8), 2004 (13-10)
EAST CHICAGO - EC is in the middle of a 10-day lay-off after getting spanked by Pike. Star guard E'Twan Moore was injured two weeks ago and he could only go one quarter against Pike. The time off will help him greatly. There is talk that a decision will be made in court as to whether 6-10 transfer Angel Garcia can play for EC. This is another one of those, IHSAA-sets-down-the-rules, school-tries-to-break-the rules-in-court situations. East Chicago can stop all this by saying that they will not allow Garcia to play until the IHSAA says he can play. They can do that. Schools are members of the IHSAA by choice and they should abide by IHSAA rulings. E'Twan Moore faces state No. 1 player Eric Gordon when the Cardinals return to Indianapolis on Dec. 28 for the North Central Holiday tournament.
3. (4A) Chesterton (5-1)
2006 (14-9), 2005 (9-12), 2004 (13-8)
CHESTERTON - The Trojans rejected Lake Central 44-37 after road wins over Merrillville, Roosevelt and Michigan City. The Trojans' 6-foot-5 Zack Novak scored 17, but the Trojans were good defensively. The Trojans got 28 from Novak when they beat MC 54-46. Chesterton went 20 of 36 from the field in that game. Chesterton has good size, they're pretty athletic and very experienced. But it's early, even though the Trojans are 5-1. In a league with a double round robin schedule (everybody plays everybody twice), you'd do well to not get too happy about what you did the first time through the league. Your league 'friends' scout you and they game plan you and they slap the Jingle Bells off you after Christmas.
4. (4A) Lake Central (2-2)
2006 (7-14), 2005 (11-10), 2004 (17-6)
ST. JOHN - LC has not done well in the first four games, with wins over West Side and CP and losses to Valpo and Chesterton. Still, I would argue that Valpo and Chesterton are at the top of the DAC right now and West Side and CP are quality teams. When I see LC getting only three free throw attempts against Chesterton in a 44-37 loss, it would indicate they aren't able to get much going inside. LC was 14 of 42 from the floor in that game. I think the 2-2 record is a product of the schedule so far and the Indians will improve. Merrillville, Munster and Michigan City are next in line, so a winning streak might not be on the horizon just yet.
5. (4A) Merrillville
(2-3)
2006 (17-4), 2005 (18-4), 2004 (9-12)
MERRILLVILLE
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The Pirates fell short in a rally Tuesday night (12-12-2006) and lost at
Michigan City 49-47. Looks like the Pirates are trying to find out who
their offensive players are in key situations. Merrillville has held the last
three foes under 50 points so the defense seems fine. But, as you might
expect with a couple of transfers and some varsity rookies, this team has lost
close ones. Merrillville has lost three games by a total of eight points
to teams with a combined record of 11-4. This team is officially on the
15-game plan. They're so new you need to wait 15 games to see what they
really have.
6. (4A) Gary West Side
(3-3)
2006 (7-14), 2005 (19-5), 2004 (12-7)
GARY - Gary West Side lost to Warren Central by five, but that's not a black mark. The Side had defeated three consecutive Chicago schools including Farragut, a perennial power. But it's hard to judge them and it'll get harder, because they are apparently in a 16-day gap in the schedule before the Gary Holiday Tournament. This team really has to get busy. They have East Chicago, Munster, Hammond and Lawrence North (5-0) after the first of the year. But this is basically still the pre-season, so reserve judgement on this team. West Side opened the season with two games in one day, so they have not played a "normal" game against a region foe yet.
7. (4A) Munster (4-1)
2006 (20-4), 2005 (16-8), 2004 (20-2)
MUNSTER - Munster is shorthanded and they have played without senior guard Michael Bizoukas, whose injury apparently is a little more serious than was first stated publicly. Bizoukas missed three games in a row this month including a 66-62 loss to Calumet. Munster is not built to win without Bizoukas, but they can still play defense. The Mustangs shut out Lake Station 13-0 in the first quarter of a 52-20 first round LAC tournament win Tuesday. Clearly, there's no way to evaluate Munster until Bizoukas, a D-1 caliber player returns. The wild horses still have a chance to get wild this week as they have a very good tourney draw. Munster hosts Hobart Thursday (12-14-2006) and could then get a rematch with Calumet in the LAC semifinals. It's juts not fair to judge Munster without Bizoukas, who has a scholarship to DePaul.
8. (3A) Calumet (4-0)
2006 (4-19), 2005 (4-17), 2004 (2-20)
GARY - Calumet put the pedal to the medal and smoked Bishop Noll like a Christmas ham. When you beat someone 93-64, you didn't just get lucky. If you haven't seen Calumet, you have to go watch them, because they shuttle 2 players in and out at a time and wear down the opposition. Calumet's 66-62 win over Munster must be discarded for the moment because of the absence of Bizoukas. They aren't better than Munster. But they don't have to be. Everybody in 3A in NW Indiana has a problem with this very fast team. One thing about this 'jail break' style of full court 32 minute offense and defense: This style requires you to be 'in to' the game all the time. You have to go full speed all the time or you become easy to slow down. It's very difficult to maintain that intensity for three months. We'll see. But I don't think top scorer Errol Sherrod is 100% healthy yet and he is an explosive scorer who can get 20 eight days a week when he's right. Calumet travels to Andean for an LAC quarterfinal game Thursday night and the 59ers better call the law because they are about to get run down.
9. (3A) Gary Roosevelt
(3-1)
2006 (11-12), 2005 (10-11), 2004 (11-13)
GARY - Roosevelt lost to Chesterton 75-63 last week and then they disappeared into the witness protection program. As far as I can tell, they are in the middle of a 17-day break before the Gary Holiday Tournament when they'll battle West Side. Truthfully, Roosevelt should be playing Crown Point and Merrillville, but those games got lost when the Duneland Conference went to its 14-game league schedule. That's why Velt, West Side and Wirt play a lot of teams from someplace else. The breakup of the LAC is going to help Gary schools because it will allow teams like Munster, Andrean and Hammond to play more nonconformance games. In case you're wondering, 3A Gary Roosevelt does not meet 3A Calumet during the regular season.
10. (2A) BOONE GROVE (2-1)
2006 (18-6), 2005 (19-7), 2004 (13-9)
PORTER TOWNSHIP - Boone blew out Washington Township and River Forest and they will bomb LaCrosse this Friday to go to 3-1. On Dec. 21, we'll find something out about the Wolves when they take on Morgan Township (3-2) in the semifinals of the South County Tournament. Boone could face Morgan three times and they play four DAC teams (CP, Chesterton, Valparaiso and Portage) plus Lowell (3-2) and Wheeler (5-0). The Wolves look promising with new point guard Nick DeMarco and PCC MVP Bryce Palleson, but this is definitely the calm before the storm.
On the outside looking in...
11. (2A) Wheeler (5-0)
2006 (19-6), 2005 (16-5), 2004 (20-5)
UNION TOWNSHIP - Wheeler has defeated five teams they should have defeated and they'll get their first test of the season Thursday night against Hammond high. I still doubt that this team has the back court to beat the faster teams. Hammond is one of those teams, so we'll see the real truth Thursday night. Wheeler must get ready for Bishop Noll at sectional time and Hammond is a good prep for Noll. No, I don't know why Wheeler does not play Valparaiso, but I don't think it's because they don't want to.
12. (4A) CROWN POINT (0-4)
2006 (9-13), 2005 (13-9), 2004 (6-16)
CROWN POINT: Crown Point lost three close games and got blown out by 24 at Valparaiso. But there is far too much talent on this team for the Bulldogs to stay winless much longer. Clearly, unless the IHSAA goes to a new ball that erases your past losses, it will be a major struggle for CP to get back to the .500 mark this season with two games remaining against Merrillville and Michigan City plus non-league showdowns with Boone Grove and East Chicago. With a roster of only one senior, the goal for the rest of the regular season should be to learn how to play the other seven DAC squads. CP is in a largely DAC sectional and they've got to get ready to pull that one upset that could get them to the finals of the CP Sectional.
Game of the Week:
12-15-2006 (Sat.) Munster (5-1) at Calumet (5-0), LAC semifinals
GARY: For this game to occur Saturday morning, Calumet has to beat Andrean and Munster has to defeat Hobart Thursday night and both of those things should happen. This would be the feature game of the LAC tournament, a rematch of the 66-62 Calumet win over Munster on Dec. 8. If Munster guard Michael Bizoukas plays, Calumet will have to come up with multiple presses to to get the ball out of his hands. If they allow the Mustang guard to bring the ball up against one defender, the game will slow and Calumet will lose. The Warriors will also have to run some offense here, because Munster isn't gong to allow an all-night lay-up party like Bishop Noll did in the first round against Calumet. Dyami Thurman sank three 3-goals against Noll and the Mustangs are going to have to guard the perimeter, because Calumet has not shown an inside game. But Munster can be lured into a running game and that would be fatal here.
If Bizoukas doesn't play, Calumet wins again because their confidence is soaring. But if Bizoukas can go, the Mustangs have something to prove. Calumet has be sure to wake up by 10 a.m. Sometimes when you play a morning game at home you try to roll out of bed right out on the court. If the Warriors try that Saturday, they will get whipped like a dusty rug.