Our Week In Preview segment takes a bit of a different approach this week as we look at five tournaments around the state that will feature some of the top teams, players, and games. Games featured are for December 22nd through 27th.
SAC Tournament
The Summit Athletic Conference tournament is always good for a classic game or two as the best teams in Fort Wayne square off. The field is wide open this year, as any of six teams could be considered to have a realistic chance to cut down the nets. North Side claimed last year's title with a 54-51 win over Snider. Snider comes into this year's edition as the #1 seed.
Teams to watch: Snider, Northrop, North Side, Bishop Dwenger, Concordia
Players to watch: Devlyn Williams,
Malik Williams (Snider), Jagger Surface,
Anton Berry (Northrop),
Jaylen Butz, Sean McGee, Jajuan Starks (North Side), Kyle Hartman, Ryan Christman (Bishop Dwenger), Paxton Bergdoll, Reggie Tharp (Concordia), Trae Masten (South Side)
Dates: December 23, 26, 27 at Wayne HS.
Gibson County Classic
The best in greater southwest
Indiana come to play each year in the Gibson County Classic. The favorited this year has to be considered
Evansville Reitz, who boast Toledo signee Jaelan Sanford as well as
Southern Indiana signees
Alex Stein and Jacob Norman. Their biggest challenger could be Class 1A Wood Memorial, who come in at 6-1 with their only loss coming to Washington in triple overtime.
Teams to watch:
Evansville Reitz, Castle, Wood Memorial
Dates: December 22, 23, 26, 27 at various HS.
Wabash Valley Pizza Hut Classic
The Wabash Valley Classic has been a staple of holiday hoops for several years now, and provides a nice mix of large and small schools. The fact that all the games are played at one site gives the fan a full day of basketball without having to leave their seat. Host Terre Haute South looks to be the class of the field this year, but upsets are always a staple of this tournament, so don't be surprised to see an unknown school make a run.
Teams to watch: Terre Haute North, Terre Haute South, Owen Valley, Rockville
Players to watch: Lance Hopkins (Rockville),
DeAvion Washington, Tre Minnett,
Jaylen Minnett (Terre Haute South), Evan Wood, Cam King, Ethan Daffron (Owen Valley)
Dates: December 26, 27, 29, 30 at Terre Haute South HS.
Hall of Fame Tournament
One of the highlights of the year is always the Hall of Fame Tournament at New Castle. The organizers work to bring in some of the best teams and top talent from across the state, and this year is no different. Each team brings a winning pedigree and impressive talent and the hopes that winning the Hall of Fame could springboard them to a state title in March. Brownsburg and Southport look to be poised to meet in the final, but Batesville and Penn could easily come away with the trophy. Unfortunately, Bryan Hoeing will miss the rest of the season for Batesville with a torn ACL.
Teams to watch: Batesville, Penn, Brownsburg, Southport
Players to watch: Bryan Hoeing - injured (Batesville), Nate Miller, Billy Doslak, Ryan Lutz (Penn),
Darrian Ringo,
KJ Walton (Brownsburg), Paul Scruggs,
Joey Brunk, Malik Bennett (Southport)
Dates: December 27 at New Castle HS.
NIC/NLC Shootout
More of a showcase than a true tournament, the NIC/NLC Shootout features north central Indiana's finest schools that will vie for bragging rights in the area. Some talented players will look to make their name known outside of the greater South Bend area, while teams look to gain impressive victories heading into the bulk of their conference slate.
Teams to watch: Penn, Mishawaka
Marian, South Bend St. Joseph, Concord
Players to watch: Billy Doslak, Nate Miller, Ryan Lutz (Penn), Brady Betchel (Goshen), Devin Cannady, Nick Harris (Mishawaka
Marian), Filip Serwatka (Concord), Mark Madsen, Francis Uzorh (South Bend St. Joseph)
Dates: December 27, 29, 30 at various HS.