(Mr. Basketball Braden Smith pictured last spring. Runner-up Fletcher Loyer will not participate)

 

RELEASE: Thirteen players have been selected to join IndyStar Indiana Mr. Basketball Braden Smith of Westfield for the 2022 IndyStar Indiana Boys All-Stars, All-Stars game director Mike Broughton announced Monday (April 4).

      Those chosen to the team will play three games in June -- one exhibition game against the Indiana Junior All-Stars as well as home-and-home contests against the Kentucky All-Stars.

      Smith's selection as Mr. Basketball was announced this past Saturday (April 2). The players completing the 2022 Indiana Boys All-Stars, listed alphabetically, are Javan Buchanan of Lafayette Jeff, Tayshawn Comer of Cathedral, Ryan Conwell of Pike, Jaxon Edwards of Cathedral, Connor Essegian of Central Noble, Tae Davis of Warren Central, Travis Grayson of Chesterton, C.J. Gunn of Lawrence North, Jalen Jackson of Fort Wayne Northrop, Amhad Jarrard of Mt. Vernon (Fortville), Branden Northern of Silver Creek, Peter Suder of Carmel and Jalen Washington of Gary West.

      Washington is injured and is not expected to play in the games.

      Chad Johnston of South Bend Adams has been named the head coach of the 2022 All-Stars. He will be assisted by Steve Lynch of Brownsburg and Rob Yoder of Westview.

      Johnston is 85-65 in five seasons at South Bend Adams and 280-182 in 20 seasons as a varsity coach. Johnston, previously 195-137 in 15 seasons at South Bend Washington, also was head coach of the 2021 Junior All-Stars. Lynch has a 151-69 record in nine seasons at Brownsburg and is 254-121 in 16 seasons overall. He previously was 103-52 in seven seasons at Mt. Vernon (Fortville). Yoder, who stepped down as Westview coach at the end of the 2021-22 season, posted a 310-141 mark in 18 seasons leading the Warriors. He was a Junior All-Star assistant coach in 2018.

        The Junior-Senior exhibition game is set for June 8 at a site to be announced. The first game against Kentucky will be June 10 at the Owensboro Sportscenter in Owensboro, Ky. The final game against Kentucky will be June 11 at Southport Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The games in Indianapolis are at Southport because Gainbridge Fieldhouse is unavailable because of a third phase of renovations will be occurring there during June.

      All three dates will be doubleheaders with the IndyStar Indiana Girls All-Stars, whose roster was announced last month. The roster for the Indiana girls Junior All-Stars also was announced last month. The roster for the Indiana boys Junior All-Stars will be announced later.

      The Indiana Junior All-Stars will play two girl-boy doubleheaders this year -- June 5 against the Kentucky Junior All-Stars at Bedford North Lawrence and June 8 against the Indiana seniors at a site to be announced.

      The Indiana All-Stars program was founded in 1939 when the Indiana Boys All-Stars played the state champion Frankfort Hot Dogs. The series with Kentucky began in 1940, and the girls' portion of the All-Stars was added in 1976. The Junior All-Stars, boys and girls, were added in 1996. The All-Star senior girls have played Kentucky every year since 1976, except 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The All-Star senior boys have played Kentucky in all but three years since 1940 -- 1943 (World War II), 1944 (World War II) and 2020 (COVID-19 pandemic).

       The Indiana Senior boys lead 101-44 in their series with Kentucky. The Indiana Senior boys lead 40-10 in games against the Indiana Junior boys. The Indiana Senior girls lead 51-39 in their series with Kentucky. The Indiana Senior girls lead 40-10 in games against the Indiana Junior girls. The Indiana Junior boys lead 6-4 in their series with Kentucky. The Indiana Junior girls lead 9-1 in their series with Kentucky.

        The Indiana portion of the All-Star Games is organized and produced by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association. The Indianapolis Star, with its IndyStar brand, is a title sponsor.

        Mr. Basketball is selected through a balloting process of coaches and media overseen by game organizers from the IBCA. The remainder of the team is finalized by Broughton after observing numerous games and events throughout the season, conferring with coaches, school officials and media across the state. Broughton also reviews votes submitted by coaches and media who each could recommend up to 10 players.

        A complete list of those chosen as 2022 IndyStar Indiana Boys All-Stars with assigned jersey numbers follows. Mr. Basketball traditional wears the No. 1 jersey. All other jersey numbers were randomly assigned. 

 

2022 IndyStar Indiana Boys All-Stars

No., Name, School, Height, Pos., PPG, College Choice

 1. Braden Smith, Westfield, 6-0, G, 18.3, Purdue

 2. Amhad Jarrard, Mt. Vernon (Fortville), 6-4, G, 14.6, IUPUI

 3. Tayshawn Comer, Cathedral, 6-1, G, 16.2, Eastern Kentucky

 4. Travis Grayson, Chesterton, 5-10, G, 19.0, undecided

 5. Peter Suder, Carmel, 6-5, G, 13.6, Bellarmine

 6. Connor Essegian, Central Noble, 6-4, G, 26.5, Wisconsin

 7. Ryan Conwell, Pike, 6-3, G, 22.6, South Florida

 8. C.J. Gunn, Lawrence North, 6-5, G, 23.5, Indiana

 9. Jalen Jackson, Fort Wayne Northrop, 6-2, G, 25.8, Illinois-Chicago

10. Tae Davis, Warren Central, 6-8, F, 22.0, undecided

11. Branden Northern, Silver Creek, 6-0, G, 24.9, undecided

12. Jaxon Edwards, Cathedral, 6-6, G, 10.9, Murray State

13. Javan Buchanan, Lafayette Jeff, 6-7, F, 20.5, Indiana Wesleyan

14. ^ Jalen Washington, Gary West, 6-9, F, 12.5, North Carolina

         Head coach: Chad Johnston, South Bend Adams

         Assistant coaches: Steve Lynch, Brownsburg; Rob Yoder, Westview

       ^ injured in 2021-22 season (PPG from 2020-21); unable to play in All-Star games

 

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2022 IndyStar Indiana All-Star key dates

                Sunday, June 5 — Indiana Juniors vs. Kentucky Juniors at Bedford North Lawrence High School (595 Stars Blvd., Bedford, IN 47421) — girls, 2:00 p.m.; boys, to follow; admission, $8 at the door for adults and school-aged students (pre-school children are free).

                Wednesday, June 8 — Junior-Senior All-Star game at Site TBA — girls, 6:00 p.m.; boys, to follow; admission, $8 at the door for adults and school-aged students (pre-school children are free).

                Friday, June 10 — Indiana at Owensboro Sportscenter (1215 Hickman Ave., Owensboro, KY 42301) — girls, 5:30 p.m. CDT p.m. (6:30 p.m. EDT); boys, to follow. Ticket information TBA.

                Saturday, June 11 — Indiana vs. Kentucky at Southport Fieldhouse (971 E. Banta Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46227) — girls, 5:00 p.m.; boys, to follow. Tickets: $10, $25 and $75. Ordering information, TBA.