This was the first game of the season as most Indiana high schools start on Wednesday. Rushville is a very different team than they were last year. Rushville graduated three very good players in Spencer Comer, Jon Thompson, and Brandon Herbert. Heritage Christian is different as well with Basil Smotherman, Sr. stepping down from the head coaching position, which led to Basil Smotherman, Jr. transferring to Lawrence North.
The first quarter was all Heritage Christian. Senior Joel Smith led the way with 7 points and 3 rebounds. Smith has been a mainstay on the Heritage Christian varsity since his freshman year. Rushville couldn’t get anything going offensively, their inexperience really showed in the opening period. HC led 21-6 after one quarter.
Rushville started to get things together in the second quarter. Matt Niehoff was able to get to the line frequently where he connected on all six of his free-throws. Cameron Cox also gave Rushville lift from inside and out. Rushville cut the Heritage Christian lead to 37-27 at the half.
The second half started off just like how the game started…with Rushville struggling to score or even get good shots. I was really impressed with Anthony Warrum. Warrum did a little bit of everything, but made some great passes finding open teammates. A lot of Warrum’s passes were to DJ Sternasty, who spotted up for open 3’s all night. Sternasty was 5-7 from three on the evening.
Rushville could never put together a run to cut very deep into Heritage Christian’s lead. HC walked away with the 72-56 victory behind 26 points from Joel Smith, 19 from DJ Sternasty, and 8 points from Anthony Warrum. Matt Niehoff led Rushville with 24 points including 13-14 from the line. Cameron Cox added 18 points in the loss.
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Heritage Christian
Joel Smith 6’5” PF 2012 I’ve seen Smith play a lot over the years in high school and AAU. He isn’t a very explosive athlete and certainly plays below the rim, but he is skilled. He posts well, gets great position, and has post moves to go with it. Smith can also step out and hit 15-20 footers. He is a nice NAIA/D3 prospect.
Derek Foresman 6’5” PF 2013 Foresman came off the bench for Heritage Chrisitan. He is an above average athlete with a decent catch and shoot game. He is extremely thin and needs to put on muscle. Foresman also needs to keep improving his skills while being aggressive. He can be a D2/NAIA prospect if he does those things.
Anthony Warrum 6’1” PG 2013 Warrum is the player that I walked away most impressed with since I knew what Smith could do. Warrum was always under control and saw the floor extremely well. He found cutters and fed post players, which is hard to find at the high school level. Warrum has good quickness and explosiveness with the dribble. He didn’t look to score much, but his shooting form looked good. First impression is that Warrum is a D2/NAIA prospect at the minimum.
DJ Sternasty 6’3” SG 2013 Sternasty is a good catch and shoot, shooter from the outside. He has a nice, quick release and moves without the ball well. He is decent laterally on defense, so he has a chance but I would like him to be a little more versatile on the offensive end. Looks like a D2/NAIA/D3 prospect at this point.
Rushville
Nate Hoeing 6’2” CG 2014 Hoeing is an okay athlete and has good length for a player that was his team’s primary ball handler. He needs to tighten up his handles though. His shot is also a little shaky and inconsistent. He is only a sophomore though and he has some tools that will allow him to improve if he puts the work in.
Cameron Cox 6’3” PF 2014 Cox is the poor man’s version of 2011 Rushville graduate Jon Thompson. He is strong and stocky as an undersized power forward. I don’t think Cox has the shot fake that Thompson had, but Cox is very similar in his ability to score inside and outside. He is going to be a very product
Matt Niehoff 6’3” SG 2012 Niehoff is an above average athlete with a good first step. He tried to force some plays tonight and was out of control at times. He was great from the free-throw line though. First impression is that he can be a NAIA/D3 prospect.
Hunter Orme 6’5” PF 2013 Orme has good length and is an okay athlete, nothing outstanding though. He is also on the thin side. He needs to improve his skill set to be a college prospect.{/iACL}