The fourth year of the Metro Indy Basketball Fall League tipped off Sunday. I believe this year they have more teams participating than in any other year. It is upperclassmen dominated this year with underclassmen sprinkled in. Committed players include Ron Patterson (Indiana),Marquis Teague (Kentucky), Chris Page (Albany), Max Landis (Gardner-Webb),and Josh Gentry (North Dakota). Here is a link to the rest of the rosters and schedule...http://metroindybasketball.com/fall-league/2010-schedule-rosters/.

Here is a breakdown of my team.

Chris Page,6'5 SG Plainfield 2011, was a big reason why my team went 2-0 in the first night of action. Page was really good on defense especially when matched up with Ron Patterson. He kept Patterson from getting to the rim and focused him to make tough shots. Page did most of his offensive damage by getting to the rim. He should have a good chance at making the Indiana All-Star team with his career stats if he improves those numbers and Plainfield wins some tough games this year.

Max Landis, 6'2 PG Perry Meridian 2011, was another reason why my team played well together. I still feel he plays his best basketball when he is playing off the ball and not the primary ball handler. He did the majority of the ball handling for us against some tough pressure and he handled it well. Landis is a good shooter but he rarely forces shots. He isn't afraid to take an important shot either, I have seen him hit a lot of big shots over the past few years.

Marcus Mershon, 6'6 C Plainfield 2012, is under the radar right now but he has the potential to be pretty dang good. Mershon needs to be in the gym non-stop working on his post moves in order to finish more consistently but he has a good fundamental base. Possibly still growing, Mershon has a chance to get to 6'8 or 6'9 and if he does that he will be a mid major prospect.

Sam Cooper,6'6 PF Perry Meridian 2011, really surprised me. I had never heard of Cooper before Sunday, but he did a lot of good things. Cooper is a good athlete who I believe is just becoming healthy from dislocating his knee in the spring. Cooper is still a good athlete and Max Landis told me that Cooper had a 35 inch vertical before the injury. Cooper isn't just an athlete though. He finished really well inside and showed a variety of post moves. He looks like a guy that could be really good at the D2 level and possibly the low major level.

Bobby Blackwell, 6'5 PF/SF Southport 2011, was our glue guy in a lot of big spots. He did a little bit of everything...he rebounded really well, finished inside, hit some open 3's, and even led the break a few times. After 2 games of watching him play, he looks like a guy that could really do well at the right D2 or NAIA school. I was most impressed with his motor and toughness.

Ben Cramer, 6'2 SG Shelbyville 2011, is a good athlete that can really shoot the ball. He made some tough shots off the dribble over the top of defenders and he also knocked down some open 3's. He can definitely play at the NAIA level and could even be a good walk-on candidate at the higher levels because of his athleticism and ability to shoot the ball.

Sam Curts, 6'0 PG Carmel 2012, hit a bunch of 3's early in the game against Ron Patterson's team. I had forgotten that I saw him hit a ton of 3's in the sectional for Carmel but that made me remember him. He can really shoot the ball, but he must be able to handle the ball at a higher level since he is only 5'11 or 6'0. If he can become more of a point guard then he will be able to play in college.

John Harnett, 5'11 PG Shelbyville 2011, got to the basket a lot and has the athleticism to finish inside against bigger players. He has good quickness and can hit open shots if left open. I'm not sure if he can play in college or not, I will have to see him more to determine that.

Notable players that we played against...

Dustin Smith, 6'2 SG Eastern Hancock 2011,played really well against us. He hit a lot of shots from the outside and also hit some shots off the dribble. He ran the floor for a couple of easy baskets as well. I think his shooting ability and athleticisim would allow him to play at the low major level and would be a steal for a D2/NAIA program.

Kyle Wuest,6'2 CG Edinburgh 2012, took and hit some really tough shots over our defenders. I really liked him the first time I saw him last winter but wasn't too impressed when I saw him over this spring and summer. Right now, I think he is borderline between low major and D2/NAIA levels. If he continues to improve his ball handling and shooting then he could end up at the low major level. Wuest is a pretty good athlete although not eye catching.

Zach Kissick, 6'1 PG Eastern Hancock 2011,shoot the ball well against us. I didn't get a chance to see him play defense too closely, but I think he was at least a decent defender. Probably an NAIA/D3 type of player.

Cole Murray, 6'6 PF Delphi 2013, impressed me with his offensive game. He had a few nice moves on the block to score and he also stepped out and hit a couple of mid-range jumpers and even hit a 3. He is very thin right now but he is only a sophomore. I didn't get a chance to note his athleticism but on first glance he looks like a D1 prospect.

Ron Patterson, 6'2 SG Broad Ripple 2012, I think most have heard of him but I did want to mention that he played hard for a fall league game. He isn't trying to impress people like me to get colleges after him since he is committed to Indiana. He is just competitive and that is why he plays hard. He runs down every opponent when they are on a fast break kind of like Lebron James looking for the block. That competitiveness bodes well for his continued improvement for the next few years.