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2003-2004
Boys Basketball
Renegade Poll - Week 8A USA-365.com Special Report(1-21-2004) |
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Just past the midway mark of the season,
the DAC teams, as enrollment might suggest, dominate the poll. CP's 3-0
nonconference record speaks to the strength of the DAC, where the Bulldogs
are 0-8. If Tyrone Appleton (21 ppg.) is injured for Roosevelt, it changes the
3A bracket in Lake County. Wheeler's troubles gives hope to Boone and Noll
in 2A. The knee injury to Morgan Township's Nate McGinley was not as
serious as first thought, so Morgan is still the top 1A team. Relax,
there's a long way to go in the boys season.
1. Valparaiso (9-2)
It's
big game time at the top of the poll as Valpo tries to reverse an earlier 53-52
loss at LaPorte. The Vikings beat Portage 51-47 in an uncharacteristically
low-scoring game for both teams. 6-2 junior Johnny Moon (12.0 ppg.) had 10
points and 10 rebounds. Valpo was 12-of-16 from the line and is 78 of their last
97, an incredible (for high school) 80.4 percent in their last five games.
Friday, we get to see if the Vikings can control a more athletic LaPorte (12-2)
squad.
2. Lake Central (11-2)
Lake
Central did what had to be done against CP 67-56 and Lowell 59-42. The Indians
gave up 10 3-pointers against CP but led all the way in both games. With two
losses by 10 points or less to Munster (12-1) and LaPorte (12-2), this is still
a premier team and one of the favorites for the regional title. Remember, they
don't face Valpo, LaPorte or any of the DAC schools in the sectional. They do
not have an easy path but certainly the preferred one.
3. LaPorte (12-2)
Very
impressive wins over Merrillville 74-64 and Plymouth 70-47. Troy Tonagel scored
17 and defended Plymouth's Kyle Benge (23.8 ppg.), who was held to 10. Jerome
Vann (16.8 ppg.) had 23 against Merrillville. 6-7 center Todd Dermody (13.2 ppg.)
faces Valpo's 6-8 Brian McMillan in the pivotal matchup Friday night at
Valparaiso.
4. Munster (11-1)
Munster
has to avoid believing the annual Lake County hype about their 11-1 start. This
team is still a work in progress. They must get better defensively. The Mustangs
got 52 from the senior trio of Dustin Bothwell, Pete Trgovich and Josh Martin in
an 80-54 romp over KV last week. Five of Munster's wins are by 10 points or less
and the schedule, while good, has not been as strong as the ones played by DAC
teams. This team has allowed 60 points a game in the last four games. I don't
know why. Of the eight teams left on the schedule, only Lowell, Griffith and
Highland have winning records.
The
59ers beat Calumet 79-60 and Chesterton 69-57. David Carson had 22 and 19 in the
two games while 6-3 Frank Provenzano posted 19 and 20. Clearly, you have to slow
this team into a halfcourt game as the 82-80 loss to Munster would indicate.
Oddly, with 20 point scorers David Carson and Luke Harangody both having low
post skills, the injury loss of Harangody for the season might not create
problems in any aspect other than depth.
6. East Chicago (6-6)
East
Chicago has lost four to North Central, Arlington, LC and Munster, all teams
with top-heavy winning records. The Cardinals lost to Merrillville 59-50, but
won a big rivalry game against Hammond 63-57 Tuesday (Jan. 20). Freshman E-Twan
Moore scored 17 against Hammond, which keyed the defense against top scorer
Tremaine Cooley (18 ppg.). An 'old school' EC weekend has the Cardinals at home
facing Gary Roosevelt and Crown Point.
7. Chesterton (9-4)
No
shame to lose 69-57 to Andrean. Guard Matt Campbell (19.5 ppg.) scored 19 and
junior forward Casey Martin (11.4 ppg.) added 18. Here's another strong team
that is not considered that way because the schedule cuts down their W-L record.
Wins over Hobart 75-65 and Michigan City 68-60 were not impressive but
workmanlike. 6-9 freshman Evan Schmidt scored 14 off the bench against Hobart.
Soph Curt Bradford sank five three-pointers for 19 against Michigan City.
Campbell graduates, but the future for Chesterton beyond this year seems very
bright.
8. Highland (9-2)
A
good win, 45-31 against Griffith. Kris Boyd and 6-6 Gary Simkus split 26 points.
The Trojans do not have any great wins or any damning losses. Games with Horace
Mann and Morton are next, but the rivalry game is Munster (11-1) on Jan. 30. An
interesting weekend on Feb 6-7 against Valparaiso and Bishop Noll (9-6). There's
just nothing certain about this team yet. If you go back to the start of the
year, they appeared to be well constructed to defeat LC at the sectional. After
11 games, I've seen nothing to indicate that still isn't true.
9. Wheeler (11-3)
Losses
to Griffith 58-54 and Clark 67-61 (OT) were surprising, but 11-3 is a great
record and Clark and Griffith are 3A teams. Wheeler is 2A. Cordale Micou (18.1
ppg.) and Steve Wilson (13.1 ppg.) are still rarely stopped. Wilson is averaging
17.0 in his last 3 games. Micou needs to average 19 points over the next 10
games (they have 8 regular season games left) to reach 1,000. Games with
Whiting, River Forest and Lake Station will be victories and Morgan Township
(9-1) on Feb. 7 is an interesting challenge.
10.) Bishop Noll (9-6)
First
time in the poll. Bishop Noll came out strong in their neighborhood rivalry game
against Hammond (5-5), leading 37-16 and winning 51-35. Senior Gary Patterson
has 1,497 points and needs just three Friday (Jan. 23) at Munster to reach
1,500. Patterson scored 28 against Mishawaka Marian and Gary Roosevelt. The loss
56-53 to Roosevelt was in overtime. Noll lost 45-43 to Wheeler. They are very
close to being 11-4. You'd like a little more in the basket and on the boards
from 6-4 Vince Johnson. But remember, this is now a Class 2A school and they
have northwest Indiana's premier player.
Others to watch......
6-4
junior Danny Borys (18.0 ppg.) and 6-6 center Phil Bien (10.1 ppg.) lead the
scoring and 6-3 defender Will Mitchell (9.1 ppg.) is a tough man to beat for the
defending region 2A champs. Some of Boone's losses are to 4A Valparaiso, 4A Portage
and 2A Wheeler (11-3) and 1A Morgan Township (9-1). Take away a 60-58 OT loss at
Washington Township (6-5) and its been a good year. The Wolves have been looking
forward to the Porter County Conference (PCC) tournament and they better be
ready, because a lot of PCC teams are looking forward to facing them.
Out of town......
Penn (10-1)
The
giant (3000-teen) Mishawaka-area school with the elite sports reputation
survived a late start due to state finals football and has rolled into the new
year. The biggest surprise has been 6-3 forward Tyler Brown (18.5 ppg., 7.0
rebounds), who started as a freshman. Brown is 65 of 82 (79.2 %) from the line
with no three pointers, a pure inside player. Senior guard Brad Overloop (11.3
ppg.) runs the show and is 23 of 25 (92%) from the foul line. 6-3 shooting
guard Kyle Beaudway averages 5.3 assists per game and shoots 70 percent (29 of
41) when he shoots. At Penn games, you better get there early. Penn ran out to a
27-0 lead on Elkhart Memorial (2-9), a 31-10 lead on Niles, Michigan and a 41-4
lead against Culver Military. Coach Dean Foster, a 30-year coaching veteran, doesn't
have anybody taller than 6-6 AJ Graft but this team clearly plays under great
control. They had six turnovers in a 73-26 win over Culver Military and only
nine in a 64-21 win over Niles (1-7).
Penn
will be at the Michigan City Regional if they get by Concord (7-3), Goshen
(2-9), Elkhart Central (7-5), Elkhart Memorial (2-9) and arch-rival Mishawaka
(9-4) at the at the Elkhart Sectional. They wont be hard to find.