4A Carmel vs. Pike
There probably are not many people outside of Carmel that picked the Greyhounds to get out of their sectional, let alone make it to the state championship game. There are two main reasons for that—Hamilton Southeastern and North Central. Hamilton Southeastern knocked North Central out of the tournament on a 35-foot bank shot at the buzzer by Gary Harris. Carmel then shocked everyone by running Hamilton Southeastern out of the gym 81-63 for the sectional title.
Carmel is led by a bunch of hardnosed, tough guards in Ben Gardner, Sam Curts, and Michael Volovic. All three average double figures. Curts shot 44% beyond the arc for the season and he attempts almost 7 per game. Zach McRoberts, Karl Schneider, and Shawn Heffern provide an inside presence for a guard-oriented team. McRoberts leads Carmel in rebounding, but it is definitely a team effort as five players average more than 3 rebounds per game.
After seeing Pike lose to Lawrence North in the last regular season game of the year, there was no way that I expected to see them in the state championship game. They dominated in their sectional games though beating Avon by 16 and an up and coming Ben Davis team by 21. Pike squeezed by Jeremy Hollowell and Lawrence Central in the regional semi-final before cruising past Terre Haute North and Castle.
R.J. Hunter has had a spectacular season averaging 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 4 assists per game. Hunter is in the “180 club” by shooting 60% from the field, 40% from 3, and 84% from the line (typically the 180 club is 50-40-90). Zavier Turner has been really good as well. Turner has average 15 points per game while shooting over 53% from the field. More importantly, Turner has a 2:1 assist to turnover ratio which is extremely impressive considering Pike average 75 points per game. Johntae Alexander provides toughness and rebounding for the Red Devils. Taishaun Johnson is a scoring spark off the bench and Warren Gordon is a steady force on both ends of the court.
This is a rematch from January 18th, where Carmel won 63-58. There is a saying that “guards win games in March” and both teams are proof of that. Neither team has a dominant player inside, but their post players are tough and do their role very well. In a game that could go either way, I always go with the team who has the best player and that would be R.J. Hunter and Pike.