2004-2005 Boys Basketball  Week-9 Renegade Poll A USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith (1-20-2005)

(1-20-2005) The untold story in NW Indiana this year is the rise of Hobart. Not just in boys basketball. Hobart's girls ended the four-year win streak of Highland. Last week, Hobart wrestlers won the 16-team LAC. Last fall, Hobart wins the LAC in football. Hobart this. Hobart that. Where did they come from all of a sudden??? They came from the big school Duneland Conference where they couldn't get a witness for a decade since everybody else's enrollment blew up and they stayed a mid-size school. Return to a level playing field against schools their own size, and all of a sudden, Hobart is the law and what they say goes. I'll say it again. It's amazing how much better everybody thinks your players are once you stop playing teams you can't beat.

Suddenly, everybody in NW Indiana is chasing Merrillville (9-2), the undisputed No. 1 team. But out east in 4A, Mishawaka has gone to 13-0 and Elkhart monster Concord is up to 10-1. Andrean is leveling off in 3A but they're shorthanded while Jimtown (11-1) rolls on in a weak northern 2A field. Unless you believe that Caston is state of the art, Class 1A in the north is wide open.

1.) Merrillville (9-2)

MERRILLVILLE – Any doubt about who's No. 1 was erased when the Pirates blew out LaPorte 65-48 and then dismissed a good East Chicago team 72-55. In those games, the Pirates outscored LaPorte 25-12 in the third quarter and then outscored EC 26-5 in the third period. Merrillville has won eight in a row since two overtime losses. They should be 11-0 and everybody knows it.

The Pirates are short physically, but Josh Mayo is NW Indiana's top player and the lead guard everybody else would like to have. When Greg Hill is hot like he was against EC (19 points, 8-of-8 from the line), you probably have to go to Indianapolis to find somebody who can whip them.

2.) East Chicago (6-5)

EAST CHICAGO – EC got smoked by 17 at home against Merrillville but that goes with the territory of their wide-ranging independent schedule. Losses have included Marion, Gary West Side and state ranked monsters Arlington (12-1) and Washington (9-2). As long as they have E'Twan Moore (20 ppg.) and lead guard David Connor EC is a contender, not a pretender.

3.) Valparaiso (9-2)

VALPARAISO – Valpo laid some major league hurt on Portage 74-35 as the green team sank 30 of 54 (55.5%) from the field. Jon Moon is an unofficial 45 of 50 (90%) from the foul line and that's almost unheard of. Only one team (Hobart) has held the Vikings under 53 points this year and 6-6 sophs Rob Hummel and Scott Martin are mismatches for a lot of teams.

Valpo takes the 'death march' out to LaPorte Friday night (Jan. 21) where visiting teams meet their maker.

4.) Gary West Side (9-3)

GARY – The Cougars ran away from Wirt 82-56 last Saturday (Jan. 15) coming off a two-week layoff. DeShawn Wright sank 19. The Cougars play at EC on Jan. 27 but it's hard to rate these guys when they've played Wallace three times and Roosevelt twice. The Cougars play almost all 'city' teams and they are very strong against the best of them. But the West Siders need to play a slowdown team or a push and shoot the '3' squad.

5.) Andrean (10-2)

MERRILLVILLE – The 59ers are right where they should be considering the loss of Frank Provenzano. 6-7 Luke Harangody (22 ppg.), scored 22 in a 69-58 win over Calumet. The 59ers, who have lost the snowed out date with powerful Lafayette Catholic (6-4), have some nice games ahead including Penn (Feb. 5) and East Chicago (Feb. 25) but they need to be checking out Plymouth (10-1) and Tippecanoe Valley (10-2). If there's one school that always expects to go deep in the state tournament, it's Andrean. Roosevelt (6-6) notwithstanding, Andrean is the 3A favorite in Lake County.

6.) Munster (8-4)

MUNSTER - The Mustangs had a bad 'D' day in an 81-75 win over Kankakee Valley. KV isn't good enough to score 75 points on Munster. This was probably a low intensity game and the ponies were probably a little surprised by KV's feisty play. I'll say it again. Munster's four losses are all by 10 points or less. They are having a very good season.

This team has some confidence builders before they play at Gary West Side on Feb. 9. Munster has to ignore the won-loss record and get ready for the 'Side.'

7.) Crown Point (6-5)

CROWN POINT – CP is changing somewhat, relying on a quick, matchup zone defense to frustrate opponents while they try to correct some offensive problems. The Dogs won twice last weekend, but they went 12 minutes without a field goal in a less than impressive 36-35 win at South Bend Adams (4-7). The Bulldogs have held their last five opponents to 200 points (40 ppg.).

Soph Danny Bouchee scored 16 against LC in a 59-38 victory. This is a senior-laden team and they have not come close to playing their best yet. The computer rankings have CP losing at Michigan City Friday (Jan. 21) but truthfully, CP should win by 10 or more.

8.) Chesterton (6-5)

CHESTERTON – The Trojans went down to funky town in a 67-63 loss to Michigan City, which was worse than the score indicates. Give them a break, Chesterton played without 7-foot Evan Schmidt and 5-9 guard Matt Maple. It was 36-20 MC at the half.

Two of the Trojans' losses were to Merrillville (9-2) and Mishawaka (13-0) which is why they should still be highly regarded. I still think this is a team that needs about 15 games to get together (and now) get healthy.

9.) Lake Central (7-6)

ST. JOHN – Back-to-back losses to Highland and Crown Point were big, but forward Adam Short (12 ppg.) was injured and the Indians can be excused there. A blowout win over Lowell Tuesday was expected.

LC has to decide where they want to use 6-6 guard Brett Summers (15 ppg.), in the low post or on the perimeter. They've got to get him more shots. The DAC schedule works well for them and they have defeated Gary West Side (8-3).

The Indians have little to lose in Friday's home game (Jan. 21) against Merrillville (9-2).

10.) Highland (8-4)

HIGHLAND – Highland's here because other teams have fallen down. The Trojans beat LC 49-44 and Griffith 46-32, but the offense is struggling. Losses are to state-rated Richmond, Merrillville and Andrean (8-2). 6-3 forward Andrew Helmer has scored 10 or more 10 times in 12 games and this team is more athletic than they appear to be. You wish the schedule was a bit tougher and you wish they hadn't lost to Portage (3-8).

OUTSIDERS...

Outsider No. 1 - Boone Grove (8-2)

PORTER TOWNSHIP - You wish they hadn't lost to Portage, too. The 54-43 defeat ended Boone's 8-game winning streak. The Wolves must navigate the mine field of the 82^nd PCC tournament this week on their home floor. The big rival is Kouts (9-2), which could be in the house at the 8 p.m. championship game Saturday (Jan. 22) night. To win three in 72 hours will be a real test for the Wolves who do not have much depth.

Outsider No. 2 - Kouts (9-2)

KOUTS - The Mustangs were upset by Washington Township 56-48 Friday (Jan. 15), but bounced back to put four in double figures in a 56-55 win over Rensselaer (9-3) Saturday night.

Foul shooting (178-240, 74.3%) has been top flight. Kouts was 14-of-14 in the loss. If Kouts is across the floor from Boone Grove late Saturday night, this PCC tournament week has been a success.

But there are almost as many potential disasters for the favorites in the PCC tournament that there are in a second Bush administration.

Outsider No. 3 - Hobart (7-4)

HOBART - Hobart rolled over Morton 64-48 with Richard Mitchell tossing in 13 and Michael Brown adding 10. Hobart's losses are to Valpo, Wheeler, Bishop Noll and Chesterton. I'm not sure if this team is strong or just on a hot streak, winning 5-of-their-last-6. The rest of the schedule is not overly strong but unless the Brickies continue to improve, they'll get shut down faster than Randy Moss in the NFL playoffs.

Outsider No. 4 - North Judson (8-2)

NORTH JUDSON - The Judds stopped Winamac 48-34 and Culver Academy 59-52 to end the first half of the season. 6-5 forward Adam Richie had 22 points and 11 rebounds against Winamac and Richie added 24 against Culver Military. The Blue Jays have lost only 62-58 to Kouts (9-2) and 48-47 to John Glenn (8-2) in overtime.

Judson is very similar to Boone Grove, big and skilled but not that fast. There is a possibility that these two meet at the regional level but both have some hurdles to climb.

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Revised: January 20, 2005 .