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2003-2004
Boys Basketball
Renegade Poll - Week 10A USA-365.com Special Report(2-5-2004) |
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The season gets long about this time as all
the Northwest Indiana league races (except the DAC) have been decided and the
state tournament draw is still off in the distance. When you hear of all the
power teams in the Indianapolis area, you wonder if the region's best (Valpo,
LC, Munster, LaPorte) are state class. But other than Penn (14-1) and Mishawaka
(12-3), there doesn't seem to be much strength in the SB-Elkhart area either.
There is clearly no dominating team in the northern third of the state.
1. Valparaiso (13-2)
Valpo
struggled with Crown Point 62-52 and then leveled winless South Central 73-27.
Point guard Brent Kimmel (14.9 ppg.) scored 22 against CP, his fifth 20-point
game of the year. VHS shot 51 of 106 (48.1%) for the weekend and 17 of 23
(73.8%) from the line. Valpo, an elite shooting team, has lost only to LC
(12-3) and LaPorte (12-3) and they are 184-of-255 (72.1%) from the line for the
season. The Vikings won a rematch with LaPorte and will probably win the rematch
with LC on Feb. 12. This stat is always a little faulty but Valpo is undefeated
against the other five teams in their sectional. They only go 7 or 8 deep, but
you'll need to control the pace of the game to exploit that.
2. Lake Central (12-3)
Chesterton's
fourth quarter rally and a somewhat lucky shot beat LC 57-54 last week. It did
not appear to be a game where LC played poorly as the Indians held Chesterton to
17-of-37 shooting from the field. Believe it or not, 54 is a season-low point
total for Lake Central. Scott VanDer Meer scored 14 points with seven rebounds
and five blocked shots. LC may have lost the game at the foul line where they
sank just 11-of-20. Of LC's 15 games, 11 have been decided by 11 points or less.
Brett Summers has been slumping. While he hasn't missed any games, a sprained
ankle reportedly has something to do with it.
3. LaPorte (13-3)
LaPorte
smoked Portage 68-53 to avenge an earlier defeat. Portage had held LaPorte to a
season-low 53 points last month. Senior Kevin Brandy scored eight points with
nine rebounds and four assists. 6-4 senior guard Jerome Vann is averaging 19.8
points over his last four games. The foul shooting (12 of 24 against Portage) is
still scary. LaPorte is undefeated (8-0) at home this year, but that will be
tested against Chesterton (11-4) on Feb. 20 and Lake Central (12-3) on Feb. 27.
4. Munster (14-1)
Munster
continues to pass every test. They overcame a 31-28 half-time deficit to roll by
rival Highland 62-44 last week. 6-3 guard Josh Martin scored 24 including 12 of
15 from the line. 6-4 senior Pete Trgovich scored 20 in a 66-39 win at Crown
Point the next night (Jan. 31). Munster isn't going to be tested the rest of the
way against Griffith, Hobart, Portage, Lowell and Morton. But the Mustangs need
to not simply win, but play well the last few weeks because their sectional is
stronger than their league. I still can't see them beating West Side, East
Chicago and Lake Central (sectional foes) in a 5-day span.
Andrean
tripped up at home losing 60-58 to Hammond high. The 59er's center David Carson
scored 24 and guard Tommy Finn added six rebounds and five assists. Frankly, I'd
just write this loss off without a second thought. Andrean may see Hammond again
this year. The 59ers sank 14 of 16 from the line and are now 63 of 78 (79.4 %)
in the last five games. No one has held Andrean under 56 points this season. A
major test is in store for the 59ers Saturday as they host Penn (13-1).
6. Gary West Side (10-5)
The
Cougars beat Lowell 52-38 and Lew Wallace 64-61 to win the Gary city
championship. West Side has won eight games in a row to soar back into the
top-10. Point guard Robert Hall gives up some turnovers but he has been
connecting with 6-7 center Sean Smith and 6-8 soph wing Jamil Tucker, who had
three dunks against LW Tuesday night. There is no more athletic player than 6-5
high jump champion David Bell, who scored 11 at Wallace Tuesday (Feb. 3) night.
West Side is not a great foul shooting team (11 of 22 vs. LW) and that hurts
them. The Cougars aren't NW Indiana's best team, but they might be the most
entertaining.
7. East Chicago (9-7)
The
Cardinals have won five of their last seven after a 44-38 win over Wirt on
Tuesday (Feb. 3) night. EC played with top scorer Tremaine Cooley for a
nonmedical reason. This was a second mediocre performance with a 65-55 loss to
West Side last week. EC seems inconsistent and obviously there is untapped
potential here. Just as obviously, the Cards better get to tapping some of it
before Bishop Noll (13-7) gets to town on Feb. 20 and Andrean (9-4) arrives on
Feb. 27.
8. Chesterton (11-4)
The
Trojans were fortunate to beat Lake Central on a game-ending three-point shot by
Josh Malone, who scored a career-high 24. Chesterton's scoring star Matt
Campbell (19.0 ppg.) was held to a season-low nine and the Trojans made just 17
of 37 shots from the field. 6-9 freshman center Evan Schmidt missed the game
with a sprained ankle. Chesterton has lost only to LC (12-3), Andean (9-4),
Munster (14-1) and Valparaiso (13-2). This is the poster child for northwest
Indiana basketball. If this area is strong in comparison to the rest of the
state (something we can't determine with the cutback in nonconference games
among DAC teams), then so is Chesterton. If this area is not that strong, then
Chesterton's record is the most misleading.
9. Highland (9-4)
Highland
just has to forget about getting blown out on their home floor by arch-rival
Munster (14-1) 62-44, a game Highland led 31-28 at the half. The Trojans made
just 4-of-19 from the foul line, probably the worst FT shooting for one game in
Highland history. There's no conclusions to be drawn from a game that odd, so
the Trojans need to start fresh against Bishop Noll (12-7) Friday and Valparaiso
(13-2) Saturday (Feb. 7) night. Highland will meet Munster again and the outcome
may be different, but two losses this weekend could start a tailspin.
10.) Bishop Noll (11-7)
Greg
Jones scored 18 in a 69-53 win over Gavit and Sam Watts scored 21 in a 93-52 win
over Calumet. By the way, 5-11 Gary Patterson scored 25 against Gavit and 30
against Calumet. Patterson is 23.6 ppg over his last six games. Noll has made 57
of 73 (78.0 %) free throws in the last five games. Because of the LAC
tournament, Noll gets to play 22 games so they travel to Highland (10-4) and
(Indianapolis) Arlington this weekend (Feb. 6-7) before visiting East Chicago
(Feb. 20) and hosting Lowell (Feb. 27). The biggest positive here is 6-4 Vince
Johnson scoring a season-high 17 with eight rebounds at Calumet last week. The
only difference between Noll and Wheeler is that Noll still plays big schools
like Gary Roosevelt and East Chicago so their schedule is tougher than most 2As
in this region.
Others to watch......
Merrillville (6-9)
The
Pirates won back-to-back games for the first time all season beating Michigan
City 66-49 and Boone Grove 59-35 last weekend (Jan. 30-31). Guard Daryl Arthur
scored 15 against MC while junior guard John Mayo posted 18 against Boone. These
were not major wins but they kept the Pirates hopes of getting back to the .500
mark this season alive. The Pirates still have the depth to pull an upset
victory at the upcoming Valpo Sectional, but I don't know how healthy LaVell
Cook is and I can't figure why 6-2 soph Greg Hill isn't scoring. The Pirates
were 40 of 55 (72.7%) from the line last weekend and their man-to-man defense
should again stop Crown Point this Friday. But Chesterton (11-4) and Valparaiso
(13-2) are dead ahead. All nine of Merrillville's losses are to winning teams,
but eventually the Pirates have to beat those teams. I think the Pirates are
better than they have shown and they have had injuries, but time is running out.
Like Charles Barkley says, once the playoffs start, you either win or go home.
Out of town......
1A No. 10 Lafayette Catholic (8-6)
The
tiny Lafayette Catholic school (232 students) that always has good players, has
appeared to be headed for a mediocre season but that judgment was premature.
Early this season, top scorer Sebastian Greene (14.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg) was suspended
and his team floundered to a 3-4 start. Since his return, the Knights, defending
1A state champs have rallied and appear to be headed deep in the state playoffs
again.
Even after an upset two overtime loss to Knox (10-4) last week, 71-69, Catholic is on the move. Greene, a 6-7 center, had 21 points, eight rebounds and four blocked shots in Catholic's 52-46 upset of Benton Central (12-1) on Jan. 16. Point guard Beau Sturgeon (10.8 ppg.) is averaging 3.6 assists and he scored a season-high 21 Saturday against Knox. 6-6 junior forward Alex Loepker (11.8 ppg.) is grabbing five rebounds per game and 6-2 wing shooter Ryan Svenstrup averages 6.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists.
Veteran coach Chad Dunwoody, who is related to Chicago Cub minor league baseball player Todd Dunwoody, is 150-54 in 10 seasons. There is always controversy because this school gets players from far and wide. In their defense, Lafayette Catholic is the only Catholic high school in Lafayette, a major college town with affluent educators. It's only natural, they would have attract good players. Lafayette Catholic also plays much larger schools like McCutcheon and Jefferson, Andrean, Anderson and Indianapolis Catholic schools like Roncalli and Cathedral.
Catholic
should dominate their sectional, which includes Carroll, Frontier, Rossville and
Clinton Prairie but Tri-Central (13-2) confronts them at the regional. If the
Northwest Indiana 1A champ, possibly Morgan Township (12-2) can get past No. 12
Blackhawk and No. 5 Caston (13-1), they would be confronted by Catholic at the
Semistate. Morgan, with 6-6 and 6-4 starters and a 6-8 backup center, could
match up. But there's no way to match experience with a three-time state
champ.
Lafayette
Catholic (8-6)
OFFENSE:
61.2, DEFENSE: 57.9
Nov. 29 (W) 42-37 at Eastern
Greene
Lafayette
City Tournament
Dec. 1 (L) 57-60 Benton
Central
Dec. 4 (L) 67-68 West
Lafayette
Dec. 6 (W) 49-46 McCutcheon
Dec.
13 (W) 48-38 at Indianapolis
Roncalli
Dec. 19 (L) 56-58 (OT) at Indianapolis
Cathedral
Dec. 27 (L) 63-80 Andrean
Jan. 3 (W) 90-73 at North
Miami
Jan. 10 (W) 96-51 at Covenant
Christian
Jan. 16 (W) 52-46 at Benton
Central
Jan. 23 (W) 60-56 (OT) at Clinton
Prairie
Jan. 24 (L) 42-65 at Anderson
Jan. 30 (W) 66-62 at Heritage
Christian
Jan. 31 (L) 69-71 (2 OTs) Knox
Feb. 5 (W) 81-55 Attica
Feb. 12 Clinton
Central
Feb. 14 at Tri-Central
Feb. 20 Rossville
Feb. 21 Fountain
Central
Feb. 24 at Lafayette
Jeff
Feb. 27 Carroll
(Flora)