With the high school basketball season now complete, we are going to take a look back at the season. Congratulations to Indianapolis Metropolitan, Park Tudor, Washington, and Bloomington South for capturing state championships last Saturday. The state finals were well attended with around 27,000 taking in the two sessions at Conseco Fieldhouse. The Indianapolis Metropoliatan/Triton and Park Tudor/Bishop Noll games were great. Both went down to the wire.
Bishop Noll
Bishop Noll had an undefeated regular season. They almost pulled off the perfect season as they led basically the whole game against Park Tudor. They couldn't score on the final possession of the season but it was a great season. Senior Adonis Filer was a big addition for the Warriors. He transfered to Noll in the off-season and elevated them from a good team to a great team. Noll returns basically everyone except Filer next year. Filer will be missed though as he was a play-maker and leading scorer for Noll.
Bloomington South wasn't expected to be in the state finals, but they beat North Central behind great games from their D1 seniors Dee Davisand Spencer Turner. It was the second state title for both as they went undefeated in the 2008-2009 season. They proved that guards win games. South didn't have much height on their roster, but everyone who played significant minutes was very skilled.
Bowman played a ridiculously hard regular season schedule comprised mainly of out of state schools. They lost three D1 players from their 2009-2010 state champion team, but were expected to return to the state finals. Bowman was very talented this year, but their guards weren't as special as they were last year. Bowman struggled through the regular season and was upset by Morgan Township in the sectional championship game. Bowman returns Dejuan Marreo, Elijah Ray, Mike Ford, Justin King and Stephan Hawkins next year so expect them to come back very hungry.
Wallace played a loaded schedule like Bowman did. Wallace was much more depleted though. Wallace lost LaTroy Taylor (now at Indian Hills CC) who was a play-maker that got people open by his driving ability and they also lost two big men to graduation. Wallace did return Branden Dawsonso that gave them high expectations. Dawson doesn't have the ability to go one on one from the wing and score consistently right now and that is what he was asked to do against big time talent. Wallace still won their sectional but had their season ended in regional play.
Kokomo
They had one star (D.J. Balentine) and a bunch of solid players that did what it took to win. Kokomo had a great season and beat a previously unbeaten Munster team to get to the state finals. Seniors Huston Clark, 6'4" PF, and Cheyse Swain, 6'3" SF, are both NAIA/D3 prospects. Underclassmen LaBradford Sebree, 6'2" SG 2013, and Tayler Persons, 6'1" G 2014, are both prospects to keep an eye on along with D.J. Balentine.
Hall of fame coach Jim East's career did not end the way he dreamed it would. The Pirates were upset in sectional play by Valparaiso. A game that saw Merrillville lead by 20 points in the second quarter. Senior point guard Brandon Clark recently committed to Santa Clara. Fellow seniorJeremiah Jones is still uncommitted. We have him ranked 10th in the senior class. Josh Hogan, 6'3" SF 2011, is a nice NAIA/D3 prospect that is active, defends, and does a little of everything on the offensive end.
Coach Mike Hackett and company took an undefeated season into the semi-state match-up with Kokomo. The game came down to one possession and unfortunately for Munster, D.J. Balentine made a 3-pointer in the final seconds of the game. Senior Joe Crisman is still committed to Loyola, but is watching who they hire closely. Fellow senior Ricky Carbajal had a great season. Carbajal is a steal for D2 Quincy University in Illinois. Brian Stolarz, 6'4" F 2011, remains uncommitted but has an offer from St. Joe's College.
Terone Johnson graduated and North Central didn't miss a beat for most of the season. The Panthers bench might not have been as strong as their state champion 2009-2010 group but overall they were very strong. North Central held the number 1 spot in the state for a good portion of the year. They rolled through sectional and regional play but Bloomington South got the best of them in the Southport semi-state. North Central will lose 1 starter to graduation and have a great group of freshmen and sophomores who will be ready to contribute next season. They will be the team to beat once again next season.
Yogi Ferrell and Park Tudor lost a nail bitter in the state championship game last year, but won in dramatic finish this season. Ferrell and freshmanTrevon Bluiett put Park Tudor on their back in order to get the state title. Ferrell didn't have his best game, but Bluiett came up big especially late. Park Tudor loses 0.4 ppg to graduation, but Broad Ripple joins their sectional next year.
Always one of the most talented teams in the state and they seemed to get it all together when they won the county championship. Kentucky-bound Marquis Teague had a very good senior year. He made more of a commitment to defense and team play. Overall, he seemed more coachable. R.J. Hunter, 6'5" SG/SF 2012, also had a great year. Hunter really made a difference on defense with his long arms and anticipation skills. Hunter announced that he will be back at Pike for his senior year even though his father, Ron Hunter, took the Georgia State job. Zavier Turner, 5'8" PG 2013, also had a strong season. He shot it consistently well from the outside all season.
In part 2, we will look at Mr. Basketball candidates and who will possibly make up the Indiana All-Star team. Along with a look ahead at next year's candidates.