Bloomington South sophomores Keaton Hendricks and Isaiah Gooch began drawing the attention of college coaches this fall before most people had heard of them. Neither played on the varsity for their state champion team last year, but both are starting now.

Southport is led by varsity mainstays and D1 commits Kellon Thomas (Kent State) and Michael Ramey (Ball State). They have been staples for Southport for their 4-year careers. Southport entered the game 2-2 with blow-out losses to Brownsbug and Center Grove.

Hendricks and Gooch didn’t take long making an impact on the game. They combined for 14 of Bloomington South’s 18 first quarter points. Gooch dominated the inside while Hendricks was primarily on the outside.

It looked like Bloomington South was going to blow the game open in the second quarter. Their lead reached 17 points thanks to the outside shooting of junior Johnathon Winters. Winters went 3-3 beyond the arc in the quarter. Mike Ramey and Kellon Thomas took over late in the first half though. Thomas would score 13 points before the break. Southport trailed by 12 at halftime though.

Gooch dominated with 17 points and 6 rebounds for Bloomington South in the first half. Then in the second half, it was Hendricks turn to take over. Hendricks scored 12 points in the third quarter. He did it in a variety of ways…outside shots, driving lay-ins, cuts to the basket. Thomas tried to match him though and scored 11 points of his own in the period. It was 62-49 South heading to the final quarter.

Southport had their chances in the fourth quarter. Ramey hit some big 3’s from way outside and Thomas continued to play well. The closest they got was 7 points though. Freshman Johnny Jager hit 6-7 free-throws down the stretch to make sure Southport didn’t get too close. The final score was Bloomington South 84 and Southport 70.

Thomas led all scorers with 28 points while Ramey had 27 for Southport. Hendricks led BHSS with 21 points & 9 rebounds, Gooch had 17 points & 9 rebounds, and Winters added 14.

Player Evaluations

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Bloomington South

Keaton Hendricks 6’6” SF 2014 First real good look at Hendricks and it was impressive. He has a great release and touch shooting the ball. He is smooth attacking the basket. Hendricks will also rebound. He posted up a little bit, but I can’t remember post score. He did have some footwork issues when he was pivoting on the outside which ended in turnovers. First impression is that Hendricks is a mid-major plus prospect. He has a chance to be a high-major player for sure.

Isaiah Gooch 6’6” PF 2014 I’ve seen Gooch for a few minutes here and there, but this was my first good look at him. He was great in the first half. He finished through contact and had an above the rim tip-in. His outside shooting didn’t look smooth, but he went 2-2 from about 15-17 feet. He had a couple of chances to make the play easier by finishing with his left hand but finished with his right instead. First impression is that he has a chance to be a mid-major prospect as a stretch 4. He has some perimeter skills, but they need to continue to improve.

Johnny Jager 5’10” PG 2015 Foul trouble limited the freshman’s minutes, but it looks like he has a chance to be a very good player. He showed poise against a senior D1 commit in Kellon Thomas. He was clutch down the stretch from the line. Although, he didn’t get many looks…his outside shooting looks to be very strong. He will be one for D1’s to keep an eye on.

Johnathon Winters 6’2” SG 2013 Winters showed off a great outside stroke going 3-3 from the perimeter. He is also strong and athletic, which allowed him to get to the rim with ease.  First impression is that he could be a D2/NAIA prospect possibly higher if he performed like he did against Southport consistently.

Michael Bower 6’3” SG 2012 Bower showed the ability to get to the basket and finish with athleticism. He wasn’t extremely productive on the offensive end against Southport, but it looks he has the ability to be. First impression is that he could be a NAIA/D3 prospect in the right fit.

Southport

Kellon Thomas 6’0” PG 2012 (Kent State commit) Thomas had a really nice game against Bloomington South. He looks stronger even though he has always been built well. His jump shot is looking really smooth off the catch and off the dribble. If he keeps working, he will have a nice career at Kent State.

Michael Ramey 6’4” SG 2012 (Ball State commit) I haven’t seen Ramey have too many good shooting performance in person. It looked like that might be the case again versus Bloomington South when he missed his first 4 shots. He got his rhthym by making frequent trips to the free-throw line in the first half. The second half he shot it well all half with a few coming from 25+ feet.  He still didn’t do much off the dribble. He only had two 2-point field goals and I know one of those was a transition lay-up.

KeWan Davis 6’5” PF 2012 Davis has some physical tools to work with, but he doesn’t have a feel for the game and not many basketball skills. He would be a stretch for a lot of D2/NAIA, but if you are looking for a project he could be an option. {/iACL}