 |
2011-2012 Boys BasketballWeek-5, Top-10 PollA USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith01-06-2012 |
|
|
2011-2012 Boys BasketballWeek-5, Top-10 PollA USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith01-06-2012 |
|
ST.
JOHN (01-10-2012) Lake Central lost. Andrean lost. Bowman struggles to stay
above .500. Polls require me to tell you that I KNOW who the No. 1 team in the
area right now is. Truth? I don't know.
Not everybody was pleased when I said that this
is the weakest NW Indiana boys basketball season in 30 years. In prep sports,
you're supposed to say that everybody is wonderful because you don't want the
boys to be emotionally damaged by any suggestion that they aren't all LeBron
James.
But I'm searching for a powerhouse team. One that can make a playoff run. I
don't see them out there. Lake Central was upset at sub-.500 Michigan City.
Munster is OK. Noll is undefeated. Noll's schedule is so questionable and they
only beat North Judson by one? Really?
Noll or Bowman is going to beat Bishop Luers.
Has any body looked at the schedule Luers has played, including losses to 4A No.
6 Northrop (10-0) and 4A No. 20 Richmond (8-2) and a win over 3A No. 10 Marian
(8-2). Noll and Bowman will beat them?
Highland (7-2) and Whiting (8-2) have excellent records until you look at their
schedules.
All the public schools in Hammond are .500 or below. The Gary schools are
fattening up on teams like 21st Century Academy and Gary Lighthouse which just
started their basketball programs. Crown Point, Chesterton, Lowell, Boone Grove
and LaPorte are all under .500.
But the season's only half over. Everything can change. There is still time.
Let's look at where teams are at the half way mark.
ST. JOHN: LC got shut down by Michigan City 51-42 in an upset I didn't see coming. The Wolves (4-4) 'held' Glen Robinson to 22 and no more LC players scored more than five points in a Tuesday night post-holiday letdown. LC missed 10 free throws and made 17 turnovers. We'll try to overlook a surprise. But there are whispers that LC isn't ready for what they'd face outside this area.
GRADE: (B)
Wins over Munster (6-2) and Valpo (7-2) balance a loss to Hamilton Southeastern (7-2). They don't always have a lot of floor direction, but this is still the best constructed (post, wing, shooter, lead guard) team in NW Indiana. I thought they'd be 8-1 after nine games.
GARY: The comeback win on New Years Eve over Cathedral (6-2) showed Bowman's quality, even if Cathedral is not the type of team Bowman will see in the 2A post-season. Bowman's loss to Warren Central (7-3) and North Central (8-2) and it was a little unsettling that the Bowman front line was dominated by Lawrence Central's 6-foot-8 Jeremy Hollowell (38 points) in an 84-76 Bowman win. But when they play under control and get games like the 24 points Bowman got from 5-foot-10 guard Carlos McCormack against Lawrence Central, they can be a top team.
GRADE: (C)
Four losses are too many with the talent they have collected. The schedule is preparing them for the 2A playoffs, which are much tougher than 1A. But I didn't think they would be 5-4 now.
3. (3A) Andrean (6-1)
2011 (15-9), 2010 (13-10), 2009 (10-13)
MERRILLVILLE: Andrean lost to Lebanon (10-1) on Jan. 2 and that's no
shame, but the 59ers really don't have any significant wins.
Nick Davidson was held to 10. Josh James was held to five.
Merrillville (5-4) and Gary Roosevelt (5-4) are victims, but those aren't the
caliber teams Andrean needs to face.
This team gets local hype because they are Andrean and because of who their
coach is. But I wish they played a tougher schedule.
GRADE: (B) I thought they'd be 5-1 after six games and they should go 17-3. Noll
and Munster are left to play but Lafayette Catholic is 3-6.
They're OK, especially in a year when almost everybody else is struggling.
4. (4A) Munster (7-2)
2011 (25-1), 2010 (24-3), 2009 (24-2), 2008 (16-6), 2007 (21-4)
MUNSTER: Munster split two in holiday play. The losses are only to
Warren Central (7-2) and Lake Central (8-2).
The record has been fine, but there have to be doubts that the Mustangs can
defeat Lake Central, which is what they will have to do in March. The Ponies
will ride through the Northwest Crossroads Conference.
GRADE: (A) I didn't think they'd be 7-2 at this point and, while I have doubts for
the post-season, the Mustangs are about two games ahead of where they should
be.
5. (2A) Bishop Noll (8-0)
2011 (26-1), 2010 (17-5), 2009 (13-9), 2008 (19-5)
HAMMOND: Bishop Noll survived their 'Region Rumble' game with North
Judson, edging out a 61-60 victory on a three-point shot by John Dodson.
But here's another team playing on last year's reputation. There's no way Noll
is better than Bowman Academy and both of them know it.
The Warriors beat North Judson by one. They beat Lake Station (5-2) by one in overtime.
The senior Dean Danos (16.4 ppg.), the transfer from Oak Lawn, Ill. has stepped
right in with Ronnie Beamon (16 ppg.) and Larry Crisler (9.2 ppg.), but there's
not a lot up front other than Beamon.
If this team is No. 2 in the state, then Northwestern is going to win the Big-10.
GRADE: (A) Luck (one-point wins) is irrelevant here. Noll should be 6-2 or 5-3
and they're 8-0. Here's another team that may face an 'awakening' in the second
half of the year, but they could not be better off than they are at mid-season.
6. (4A) Valparaiso (7-2)
2011 (16-9), 2010 (19-4), 2009 (21-4), 2008 (16-6)
VALPARAISO: Merrillville rolled over Valpo 57-42 last week (Jan. 5)
dropping the Vikings to 7-2. It's very hard to figure how Valpo has compiled this
record with an all-new squad.
You keep waiting for the other shoe to drop in the 2nd half of the DAC season.
GRADE: (A) Nobody that I know of thought Valparaiso could be 7-2 at mid-season
and I'd be shocked if they were 7-2 in their last nine games.
7. (4A) East Chicago (6-4)
2011 (14-8), 2010 (17-4), 2009 (14-8), 2008 (20-4), 2007 (23-3)
EAST CHICAGO: EC lost a 13-point lead against Crown Point but won on
New Year's Eve. With a starting freshman guard there's a lot of room for
improvement, but you get the sense this Cardinal team is not together yet. The
Cardinals host neighbor and rival Bishop Noll on Feb. 17 and they have Lake
Central (8-2) and Bowman Academy (5-4) yet to play.
GRADE: (C) I thought they'd be 6-3 or 7-2. They should not have lost to
Munster by 33 points. That's an embarrassment. But even a 10-10 EC team has a
chance to win the sectional this season.
NORTH JUDSON: Judson should be 7-0 as they played well enough to
defeat Bishop Noll. But remember, Noll is not a great team at this point and
the schedule beyond Noll has been very soft.
Still, the Jays have very good size and experience for Class 2A.
The Big 4, Winston Yergler (19.4 ppg.), John Eckert (18.1 ppg.), Kendall Hochstedtler
(12.7 ppg.) and Mitch Fingerhut (10.9 ppg.) are all seniors. It will be tough to
take these four out. It's hard to rank Judson ahead of Merrillville, but the
Pirates have injury issues.
GRADE: (B) Judson is where they should be. This schedule screams 6-1 and the fact
that they could be 7-0 doesn't affect the grade.
9. (4A) Merrillville (5-4)
2011 (21-2), 2010 (20-4), 2009 (16-6), 2008 (16-5)
MERRILLVILLE: The Pirates have topped Crown Pont and Valparaiso in
back-to-back DAC games, but they drop in the poll due to the injury to 6-foot-8
senor Edward Seay, who is now out for the year with a knee injury. Any hope of
catching Lake Central in the DAC went to the sidelines with Seay, but LC is not
in 4A Sectional 2. All eight teams in Sectional 2 have major questions and
somebody's got to win.
GRADE: (B) This is about where I thought Merrillville would be. Remember
they've lost four starters (now 5) from last year's team. The 5-4 record is a
good start.
HEBRON: Lake Station has done well. Whiting has done well. Crown Point (4-6) and LaPorte (4-6) could slip into the top-10 in another month. Kouts is good, but Hebron defeated them at the South County Tournament, avenging an earlier loss. Three seniors, Damon Wallace (19.7 ppg.), and 6-foot-6 forwards Cody Artuso (14.6 ppg.) and Jay Patz (7.7 ppg.) are the foundation much like North Judson's 'Big 4.' The Hawks have topped Hanover (5-4) and Kouts (7-1), but they're going to have to do it again at the Porter County Conference (PCC) tournament beginning on Jan. 16. But there's also a difficult game against Marquette (5-4) on Jan. 13.
GRADE: (C) This team should have swept Kouts and they should be undefeated. Patz did not play in the loss. The Lake County media is slow to the table here, probably because of North Judson. Seems locally, there's a limit to how many non-Lake County teams can be seen as good. Hebron wasn't bad last year and they have almost everybody back. To rank Highland above Hebron means you haven't seen Hebron.