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2003-2004
Boys Basketball
Renegade Poll - Week 11A USA-365.com Special Report(2-11-2004) |
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Andrean's win over Penn (15-2) speaks well
for northwest Indiana's chances in the state tournament. The long DAC
league season is wearing on a lot of teams and it will be interesting to see if
any of the eight squads will excel in March because of the experience. No word
on the knee injury to Gary Patterson (23 ppg.) of Bishop Noll which would change
the face of the upcoming 2A playoffs.
1. Valparaiso (15-2)
This
is clearly NW Indiana's best team. The Vikings rejected the challenge of league
rival Chesterton (11-5) by a 54-46 count Friday (Feb. 6) and then smoked out
struggling Highland (11-4) by an intimidating 60-40 Saturday night. Point guard
Brent Kimmel (14.7 ppg.) scored 21 on Chesterton as VHS outscored the Trojans in
every quarter. Valpo is an incredible 95-25 all time against Chesterton and 2-0
this season. The Vikings made 22 of 48 from the field and 8-of-8 from the line.
Jordan Heckard (who?) came off the bench to score 15 against Highland while 6-8
forward Brian McMillan grabbed 10 rebounds. Valpo will take a 10-game win streak
into a first place battle with the only team to beat them decisively, Lake
Central Thursday (Feb. 12).
2. Lake Central (13-3)
LC
got by Portage 72-69 without injured guard Brett Summers (14.9 ppg.) and it is
not certain that Summers, a 6-5 junior, will be able to play in the first place
matchup with Valparaiso Thursday. Senior Krste Krstevski scored a season-high 23
points against Portage giving him a 17.3 average in his last three games. Scott
VanderMeer is at 16.2 in LC's last five games. Without Summers, LC is in
trouble against Valparaiso (15-2).
3. LaPorte (14-3)
LaPorte
stomped Michigan City 70-56 in another high speed funfest. The Slicers average
70 points a game. Football star Jerome Vann scored 23 points, his third
consecutive 20-point game. Vann just scored eight Saturday night but he wasn't
needed in a 87-38 win over neighbor South Central. LaPorte was 27 of 38 from the
foul line against South Central after just hitting 8-of-20 against MC. The
Slicers, who are 9-0 at home but just 6-3 on the road, need to beware of
traveling to Crown Point (4-12), a team that is 4-5 at home. One good note.
LaPorte reportedly made just eight turnovers in the win over Michigan City. The
Slicers average about 15 TOs a game.
4. Munster (16-1)
Munster
continues to pass every test. They smoked out Griffith 53-35 last Friday (Feb.
6) taking advantage of the injury absence of 6-6 Panther center Todd Polgar.
Center Scott Rutkowski scored 12 in a game Munster led 18-4 after a quarter.
Josh Martin scored a career-high 32 as Munster survived Hobart 81-77 in 2 OTs
Saturday night, their seventh win by 10 points or less. The Mustangs sank just
18 of 30 from the line. Games like that make you wonder about how
highly-regarded Munster is. Sometimes when everybody likes the coach (and
everybody likes coach Mike Hackett) they overrate their team. The Mustangs are
wildly overrated at 5th in the state but they do not play Valparaiso or LaPorte
and they have defeated LC 59-54. Their future is being written right now. If
they are coasting, it will be a short post-season. If they can lift their game
defensively (Hobart should not score 77 points on Munster in 5 overtimes), they
are experienced enough to go a long way.
Andrean
blasted Kankakee Valley 77-49 and turned back Class 4A No. 8 Penn 62-59.
Wing Frank Provenzano scored 19 against KV and 20 on Penn (15-2) in a state
class upset. Guard Matt Weiser scored a career-high 18 for the 59ers, who sank
21 of 23 foul shots against Penn, which had a nine-game winning streak. Weiser,
a junior guard, has made 15 free throws in a row. The 59ers, a potent offensive
team, have not been held under 55 points all season.
6. Gary West Side (10-5)
Gary
schedules are always open to change but West Side appears to be in the middle of
a 21-day layoff this week. I don't see any way this can help them but I
also don't believe the schedule is real. Look for some results to pop up some
night. Since some of the suburban team wont play West Side, I wish
somebody like Boone Grove would take a chance on them. KV and Lowell play West
Side but CP and Merrillville don't and, with present day schedules, really
can't. The Cougars seem destined to face Munster somewhere next month.
7. East Chicago (10-7)
The
Cardinals have won six of eight after EC beat Broad Ripple 77-61 Saturday night
(Feb. 6). Broad Ripple is just 1-13 so that win is no big thing. Freshman
E-Twan Moore scored a season-high 28 and senior shooter Tremaine Cooley sank six
three-pointer and went home with 21 points. Unofficially, Moore is 59 of 76
(77.5 %) from the foul line and Cooley,a 5-9 senior has 61 three-point goals.
The Cardinals face Lew Wallace Thursday (Feb. 12), but they probably are looking
forward to the Feb. 20 game against rival Bishop Noll (12-7). East Chicago is
the one team Munster does not really want to see.
8. Chesterton (11-5)
Historically,
Chesterton never beats Valparaiso, so the 54-46 loss is nothing unusual. The
Trojans stand well-armed with Matt Campbell (18.9 ppg.), Casey Martin (11.9 ppg.)
and Josh Malone (11.1 ppg.). But the last four games are tests against
Merrillville (7-9), which has won 3 in a row, Boone Grove (10-7), LaPorte (13-5)
and improving Crown Point (4-12). Freshman center Evan Schmidt has been
recovering from an ankle injury. His 6-9 presence makes them a better team.
Still, they've got to beat Valparaiso sometime and I can't see it.
9. Highland (12-5)
Highland
rallied to beat Bishop Noll 62-51 after trailing by 10. Gary Simkus scored 24.
But the Trojans were outscored in every quarter of a 60-40 loss Saturday night
(Feb. 7) at Valparaiso (15-2). Highland made 16 of 42 from the field and 7 of 14
from the foul line. Highland got into serious foul trouble and was dominated.
Kevin Thomas, a 6-8 forward, who shoots 63% from the field, spent a lot of time
on the bench and finished with five points. Highland does not seem that quick
defensively but only good teams exploit it. The record speaks for itself but
they've been down 10 points in each of the last three games.
10.) Wheeler (16-3)
The
BearCats hit a big slump but a 15-point win over Morgan Township 58-43 looked
good. I know that Hammond high beat Wheeler, but they probably could not do it
again. Steve Wilson (13.6 ppg.) scored a career-high 26 points and Cordale Micou
(18.1 ppg.) added 15. No, I can't explain losses to Clark and Hobart, teams that
comparatively speaking, are not very strong. But wins over Munster (16-1),
Andrean (11-4) and now Morgan (12-3), can't be ignored. The last three games are
sub-.500 North Newton, North Judson and winless South Central.
Others to watch......
Hanover Central (8-9)
Hanover
rolled over LaCrosse 68-52 as Jeff Johnson sank six more three-pointers and went
home with 24 points. Johnson (16.8 ppg.), who has had an up-and-down senior
season, still leads all of northwest Indiana with 63 three-point baskets. 6-2
senior Owen Goff (10.1 ppg.) scored 14 in the road PCC win. The Cats are very
inconsistent offensively, probably because they rely on the three-point goal and
the fact that they truly don't have a center. But in 2A, if injured senior
Brandon Hegg can return to form, this team has a shot at their first sectional
title in 19 years. With Clark (9-6), Kouts (9-6) and River Forest left on the
schedule, the Cats have to scratch to be .500. But could they beat Bishop Noll
at the Noll Sectional next month? Without Gary Patterson? Sure they could.
Out of town......
4A Mishawaka (13-3)
The
1,600-teen school in South Bend's eastern suburb that is better known for
wrestling, is having a big season largely due to the exploits of 6-0 junior
guard Antonio Dye (20.5 ppg.). Dye, a speedy shooting guard who scored 37
against Gary Roosevelt earlier in the season, last weekend added 27 against
Goshen. Junior center Doug Cox (15.0 points, 8.1 rebounds - 60% FG) scored 17
against Goshen including five three-point shots. Cox has made 25 three-point
goals. The post player is 6-3 Scott Flaegle, who averages 6.0 rebounds a game.
This team was under .500 last year so it's all new to them. To be honest, some of their schedule is about as fake as George Bush's military record. They don't play much ball in Ontario, Canada and Sydney Australia. But they average 18 points more than they give up and the Cavemen did smoke out Gary Roosevelt, so there's only so many jokes you can make.
The game with Penn on Feb. 12 obviously is very telling because Penn and Mishawaka are neighbors and arch-rivals. But if the Cavemen (I've never gotten a good explanation of the nickname) slip by Penn at Sectional time, they could be playing somebody like Munster or Valparaiso in the Michigan City Regional.
They
seem too young to do much. The key players are juniors. But Cox seems difficult
to guard and Dye seems even more so. If you had to play them second in a one-day
regional, there would be problems.
4A
Mishawaka (13-3)
COACH:
Robb Berger OFFENSE 66.1, DEFENSE 47.4
Nov.
24 (W) 63-32 at Culver
Military
Nov. 29 (W) 88-52 New
Prairie
Dec. 2 (L) 47-62 at Chesterton
Dec. 6 (W) 69-42 at Mishawaka
Marian
Dec. 12 (W) 58-55 South
Bend Riley
Dec. 13 (W) 58-42 East
Noble
Dec. 19 (L) 48-53 at South
Bend Clay
Jan. 2 (W) 81-44 Horace
Mann
Jan. 3 (W) 68-20 Georgetown (Ontario)
Jan. 3 (W) 91-31 Sydney Cranbrook (Australia)
Jan. 7 (W) 77-64 Gary
Roosevelt
Jan. 16 (L) 31-50 at Elkhart
Central
Jan. 20 (W) 54-51 at South
Bend Riley
Jan. 24 (W) 77-58 St.
Joseph's
Jan. 30 (W) 70-55 Washington
Feb. 7 (W) 77-48 at Goshen
Feb. 12 at Penn
(15-2)
Feb. 14 at Elkhart
Memorial (3-11)
Feb. 20 South
Bend Adams (12-5)
Feb. 24 at Concord
(10-5)