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2007-2008 Boys BasketballWeek-8, Top-10 PollA USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith(02-06-2008) |
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2007-2008 Boys BasketballWeek-8, Top-10 PollA USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith(02-06-2008) |
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CHESTERTON (2-06-2008) It seems odd that this late in the season, there are four undefeated Class 4A teams in the state. Top-ranked New Albany (18-0) has met every challenge, as has Carmel (15-0), which beat Lawrence North by the incredible score of 77-45 last weekend. Carmel bears watching. That's the first time in 18 years than Carmel has defeated Lawrence North.
Bloomington South (16-0) still has Lawrence North to play and then there is Chesterton (16-0), which still has rivals Merrillville (12-4) and Crown Point (11-5) remaining.
It's much easier for a 1A team to go undefeated because a 1A team usually plays in a 1A or 2A league where two or three good players can make a lager difference. In the larger conferences like the North Central Conference, the Hoosier Hills Conference (where New Albany, Jeffersonville and Columbus East play) or the Metro Conference in Indianapolis (where Carmel plays), everybody has two or three good players. Such is the case in the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC), only more so because the North Central, the Metro and the Hoosier Hills Conferences do NOT have a double round robin. You only play six or seven league games, not the insane 14 games the DAC plays. I don't think people understand how hard it is to beat two or three teams three times, which is what you must do in the DAC and 4A Sectional 2.
I will say this before it happens: I don't think anybody's going to go through the DAC double round robin and sectional 2 undefeated. I don't think that either EC's 2007 state title team or Gary Wets Side's 2004 title squad could have won 17 in a row against the DAC.
One of the most controversial stories of this season is the rise of Gary's Bowman Academy which posted a 103-75 victory over Class 1A Fort Wayne Keystone (8-8) last Saturday. Bowman (7-3) has had foul-filled losses against Gary neighbors Lew Wallace and West Side, both of which ended with the winning coach hinting he won't play them anymore. Bowman, which averages 75 points a game even though there are no juniors or seniors in the entire (they are just a 2-year-old school) program, takes on Calumet City, Illinois power TF North and defending 4A state champ East Chicago (13-3) in the final two weeks.
Bowman isn't eligible for the IHSAA state tourney until 2009 but they need good, clean performances here. The Eagles are getting a bad rep from area coaches who would rather have Bill Belichick give a sermon on sportsmanship than schedule Bowman Academy in boys basketball.
They simply cannot keep having these confrontations of roughhouse play, no
matter who's at fault. If Bowman can't win and lose without incident, they'll
have a tough time scheduling the Blue Island YMCA much less IHSAA foes.
Come on, boys. An all-sophomore team winning is a great story. Just play the
game. A team full of underclassmen doesn't have to prove anything.
Former Crown Point coach Tom Johnson, who led the team to the semistate in 1998,
finally broke a 13-game losing streak when his Lebanon Tigers stomped Southmont
61-51 on Jan. 25. Closer to home, we need some help for 1A Whiting (0-14), which
has lost 17 in a row with six games left. Whiting does have Morton (1-13) and
tiny Grant Park, Illinois left to play.
The hard-luck award goes to Hanover Central (8-8), which has lost five games by
three points or less. As tough as the scoreboard has been to them, if Hanover
beats Clark (8-7) Wednesday night, the Wildcats could easily end the season with
a six-game wining streak.
The weather is becoming a major problem. Somebody needs to call Al Gore. Freaky rain, fog, snow and windstorms keep striking the northwest part of Indiana and postponing ball games. Lowell has had four weather postponements already. I don't know if anybody is bothered by this other than those of us who watch games and athletic directors. But somebody has to have a long one-way discussion with Mother Nature before we all have to pick up the entire Indiana High School basketball tournament and take it to Florida.
1. (4A)
Chesterton (16-0)
CHESTERTON: Chesterton nipped Valparaiso 42-41 last Friday, surviving the Vikings' slowdown tactics, which are becoming more effective as the season goes on under new coach Chris Benedict. Zack Novak (27.5 ppg.) and teammates Jack Haupt (12.6 ppg.) and Tommy Peller (11.7 ppg.) lead the team in scoring. If Chesterton reaches the state finals, Novak (1,645 points) has an outside chance (he'd have to average about 34 points a game) to become the second Porter County player to score 2,000 points in his career. Ricky Hise (2022 points) of Kouts was the first. Andrean's Shane Power (2,110) is the only Lake County player to score 2,000. Concord's Shawn Kemp (2,134 points) is the only Elkhart County player to score 2,000. Michigan City girls star Morgan Palombizio's dad, Dan Palombizio scored 2,021 points before he graduated from the old Michigan City Rogers high in 1981. Only 39 players have ever scored 2,000 points in the history of Indiana high school basketball. The Trojans go for the DAC title Thursday night at second place Merrillville (12-4, 8-3) and then Chesterton gets a much-needed rest where they won't play for seven days. Chesterton is shooting for their first undefeated regular season in 53 years.
2. (4A)
East
Chicago (13-3)
2007 (22-3),
2006 (19-5),
2005 (13-8),
2004 (13-10)
EAST CHICAGO: The Cardinals struggled but beat Lake Central 67-49 for their fourth win in a row. Derrel Conner scored 15 and the Cardinals pulled away late after trailing at the half. You're seeing some semblance of a defense from EC, and if they feel they can turn it on whenever they want to, (which many say is the case), let the word go forth from this day forward that now is the time. EC has very interesting games left. New Trier (14-5) of Winnetka, Ill, Bowman Academy (7-3) and Bishop Noll (13-3) are not physically equipped to handle the Cardinals but they can push them, which is what EC needs. I wish the Cardinals were better defensively, but until they do, they are what they are. And in an era of boring 'patient' teams, 70 points a game puts fans in stands.
3. (4A)
Merrillville (12-4)
2007 (13-9),
2006 (17-4),
2005 (18-4),
2004 (9-12)
MERRILLVILLE: The Pirates got turned back twice by Crown Point (11-5) and Munster (10-5) and they just could not score. The Merrillville front court people, tall and talented, did not finish at the basket last weekend. I wouldn't put too much stock in back-to-back games which tend to have carry-over. The losses were 56-45 and 49-46 and the point totals for Merrillville were their lowest of the season, but it's very hard to imagine the Pirates not showing up to play at home against Chesterton this Thursday. There's a bounce back factor for a winning team and it will show up in time for Chesterton to show up Thursday night. The Trojans can see this one coming at them like an atom bomb. I didn't think that Merrillville played badly last weekend. Give Munster and CP some credit. The Pirates have more depth of talent than anyone in NW Indiana. Don't let anybody tell you different.
4. (4A)
CROWN
POINT (11-5)
2007 (12-9),
2006 (9-13),
2005 (13-9),
2004 (6-16)
CROWN POINT: Stephen Albrecht scored 28 as the Bulldogs beat Merrillville by 11 points. No matter how CP may or may not be doing at any particular time, beating Merrillville cures all ills. The Bulldogs have won four in a row, but they need to show more of the same down the stretch. Crown Point is a bigger team with 6-foot-8 Jacob Burkholder in the starting lineup and the Bulldogs are creating match-up problems. Albrecht (17 ppg.) is playing the point as teams game-plan to take the ball away from lead guard Kyle Hanaway. If teams double-team Albrecht at the point and Hanaway gets the ball, he's still a very dangerous distributor. You wish CP had some weak side shooting. But they should still be 14-5 going into their game with undefeated Chesterton on Feb. 22.
5. (4A)
Gary West
Side (12-3)
2007 (14-7),
2006 (7-14),
2005 (19-5),
2004 (12-7)
GARY: The Cougars weren't overly impressive in a 56-45 win at Lowell last week before their Gary Roosevelt match-up was postponed by bad weather. 6-foot-3 guard Xavier Jones, a young but unique player, scored 18 at Lowell. Gerald Campbell is just 6-foot-5 but a competent big man. I think West Side players like junior DeShawn Clay may be carrying the weight of a long season in bad weather year and waiting for the playoffs. But Gary West Side has only lost to East Chicago (13-3), Howe (11-5) and Farragut (13-5) and the 12-3 record is about what they should have. The best thing the Cougars can do is draw East Chicago as a sectional opponent. There's no upside in waiting to play them and there's nobody else who can beat them.
6. (4A)
Michigan
City (8-8)
2007 (8-13),
2006 (9-12),
2005 (6-16),
2004 (2-19)
MICHIGAN CITY: The Wolves have beaten Merrillville (12-4), Crown Point (11-5) and Goshen (9-6) and they've split with LaPorte (5-11), the only non-winning team to beat MC. The Wolves' offense is getting better as it should with two future college players, Stephen Ward (Bethel College) and 6-foot-9, 230-pound Jarrod Jones (yet to be decided). The Wolves outran LaPorte 71-64 last Saturday as Jones posted 18 points and grabbed a season-high 19 rebounds. Guard Chance Nelson scored a career-high 22 points. There are still teams ranked in the Lake County newspaper polls than wouldn't last a half with Michigan City. MC plays 19 4A schools including six games against the Top-50. Watch this team. Remember, when a new coach comes in, it usually takes about a full regular season to get it right. The Wolves finish with four teams that are not better than they are.
7. (2A)
Bishop Noll
(13-3)
2007 (9-13),
2006 (6-15), 2005
(8-14), 2004
(15-10)
HAMMOND: Bishop Noll regained top scorer Jason Chorba (18 ppg.) off injury and continued to win. They were fortunate that Chorba was hurt during a very weak part of the schedule when they were able to pour the sauce on Whiting (0-14) and Highland (3-15). The names of the teams Noll has lost to are unimpressive, but the records of Calumet (12-4), North Montgomery (12-4) and Wheeler (11-4) are not. Chorba had 19 points in a 60-41 win over Highland, while 6-foot-4 Antoine French had 10 and 6-foot-5 Kris Wilson scored 11. This is an experienced team, so they should know that this is the dead part of the season and they need to peak in about three weeks. Noll should be 15-3 when they face East Chicago (10-3) on Feb. 15 in what should be one of the more entertaining games of the season.
8. Munster
(12-5)
21-4
(2007), 20-4
(2006), 16-8
(2005), 20-2
(2004)
MUNSTER: The ponies have won eight in a row and they finally got a big win, a narrow 48-45 victory over Merrillville (12-4) last week. This is a very young and talented team that is still small and physically weak. But they are well coached and their post players get good position. Munster benefits from having several boys with point guard skills. Juniors Krste Ruiz and Jeff Lucas, sophomore starter Kyle Ritz and freshman JV lead guard Joe Crisman (6-1, 168) all, at first glance, appear to be highly skilled dribblers and the more lead guards you have in high school the better team you're going to have. They're a year ahead of where they figured to be and they also need a couple of players at East Chicago to graduate. But if you change the uniforms and give them a tan, there's not that much difference between Munster and West Side.
9. (3A)
Wirt (8-5)
2007 (14-9),
2006 (12-9),
2005 (9-12),
2004 (6-15)
GARY: Wirt is still in the poll because of the strength of the teams they've lost to. Gary West Side (13-4), East Chicago (13-3), Lew Wallace (11-6) and (Indianapolis) Northwest (13-3) have all had good years. But that 0-3 in Gary (2 losses to West Side) probably bothers them more than it does any of us. They couldn't or wouldn't slow the game against East Chicago and there aren't any real good wins here late in the season. The Terre Haute North (8-9) team they beat is a little bit bad and the Huntington North (3-12) team they beat is worse. Wirt beat Munster before Munster got together and they scheduled Washington Township (1-13) for reasons that only they can explain. Everybody assumes that teams from Gary are good and Wirt's senior guard pair is the best in NW Indiana, but you have to prove yourself every day. Or at least once a month.
10. (3A)
Lew Wallace
(11-6)
2007 (5-17),
2006 (4-17),
2005 (5-17),
2004 (9-12)
GARY: Here's another instance where I believe is a good team because they are competitive in the city of Gary and for no other reason. Nobody's sure. They are 5-4 against Indiana teams and 6-1 against teams from outside the state. Lew Wallace lost 67-65 to Hyde Park, a traditionally decent Chicago squad. They have a lot of offensive capability (70 points a game) but they have two 30-point losses. LW lost 101-69 to East Chicago and they get a rematch this week. But let's tell the truth. We assume that they're good because they can hold their own in an urban area. In local basketball polls, Wirt and Lew Wallace get more 'black' votes than Barrack Obama. And like Barrack, they look and sound good, but I'm not that sure what they've actually accomplished upon closer examination. They still look like 'Vice President' material to me.
On the
outside
looking
in...
(3A) Calumet
(12-3)
2007
(14-8), 2006
(4-19), 2005
(4-17), 2004
(2-20)
GARY: The Warriors got fast fried 84-64 by Hammond high in a game that let them know they've put up a lot of wins against a weak schedule. They've split with Wheeler (11-4) and they have an early season win over Bishop Noll (13-3). Calumet travels to Munster on Feb. 19 to end the regular season and they have more to prove than Wirt does. The Warriors' relentless attack, led by 6-1 senior Mike Akins, has rolled up 74 points a game and I know they can turn up the heat defensively. There are too many Highlands and Gavits on this schedule. How come Calumet doesn't play Gary West Side or any of the Gary schools? It's a natural match-up. Time has come to start cooking with gas here because they will see some teams that are getting a little tired. To play the style Calumet plays you have to be in better shape than everybody else. In the next couple of weeks we'll be able to tell it they are.
(1A) Morgan
Township
(14-3)
2007 (16-9),
2006
(5-16), 2005
(10-14), 2004
(19-4)
MORGAN
TOWNSHIP:
Morgan's
14-game
winning
streak was
broken by
Wheeler
(11-4) 43-41
last week.
That's not
quite as big
a surprise
as the
Giants
beating New
England
because
the
Cherokees
don't have
the offense
to blow good
teams out.
This loss
was the best
thing that
could have
happened to
Morgan. It's
a close,
non-league
loss on the
road to a
larger
school they
won't see in
the
post-season.
The text
book
description
of a 'good
loss'.
Plus, Morgan
wasn't
accused of
cheating
afterwards
like the
Patriots
were.
Morgan plays
three times
in the final
10 days of
the season,
which isn't
good, because
they go with
largely six
players.
(2A) Lake
Station
(9-8)
2007
(5-16), 2006
(1-20), 2005
(2-19), 2004
(0-20)
LAKE
STATION:
This is a
modern day
miracle. The
Eagles are
in the midst
of a 10-day
break before
they play
Clark (9-7),
standing
with a
winning
record in
February for
the first
time since
disco.
The records
listed at
the top of
this
paragraph
are not
misprints.
The Eagles
were 1-20 in
2003, 4-17
in 2002,
5-17 in
2001, 4-19
in 2000.
I don't
believe Lake
Station had
a winning
record in
any year in
the 1990s,
but I
honestly
cant find
the last
winning
varsity
basketball
season at
Lake Station
Edison high
school.
Soph Ian
Enriquez
(6-6, 175)
has
potential. The Todd
brothers,
5-foot-8
sophomore
Aaron and
5-foot-9 sophomore Nick
are battling
players who
can shoot.
Senior
Khalid
Ibrahim can
be very
difficult to
guard and
6-foot-5
Russell
Jorgensen is
a wide body
up front.
This team
has NEVER
won a
sectional
largely
because they
were grouped
with
the Gary
powers in
the old one
class
tournament. Their
chances
aren't great
this year
grouped with
Bishop Noll
and Wheeler,
but it's a
five-team
sectional
and they
could draw a
bye.
But I just
want a
winning Lake
Station
season. It's
been way too
long.
The Eagles,
who have
benefited
greatly from
moving to
the new
small school
Greater
South Shore
Conference (GSSC),
have three
games left
against
Clark, Boone
Grove (8-7)
and Griffith
(7-9), all
talented
teams. They
need another
miracle. One
win means a
10-10
regular
season. Two
wins and
they are
guaranteed
to finish
above. 500
for the
first time
since 'The Jeffersons'
were on TV.
I know this
isn't a
Top-10 team
in anyone's
poll. But,
in the final
10 days of
the season,
Lake Station
has as much
to play for
as anyone.
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Revised: February 08, 2008
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