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2024 FORUM Tipoff Classic

Written by Trevor Andershock

The annual FORUM Tipoff Classic returns to historic Southport Fieldhouse on Saturday, December 14. The event features four of the top five teams in the state—No. 1 Fishers, No. 2 Greenfield-Central, No. 4 Jeffersonville, No. 5 Lawrence North. Plus, Fishers ranks No. 1 in 4A, while Crispus Attucks rates at the No. 1 3A team.

Each year, dating back to the event's inception, has featured the eventual Indiana Mr. Basketball. Flory Bidunga won the 2024 award after playing against Fishers last December. He is now coming off the bench for the Kansas Jayhawks.

University of Connecticut signee Braylon Mullins has a great chance to join the list. Mullins had 31 points in the 2023 FORUM Tipoff Classic against Southport. Currently ranked as the No. 16 player in the 2025 class by 247Sports.com, Mullins is the frontrunner for the 2025 Indiana Mr. Basketball award. Through three games, Mullins averages 36 points per game. Last weekend, the 2025 shooting guard scored 41 points on only 18 shots against Ben Davis.

Mullins and Greenfield-Central play a deep Lawrence North team at 5:00, the day's fourth game.

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FULL SCHEDULE

8:30 PM – Fishers vs. Crispus Attucks

7:00 PM – Jeffersonville vs. Noblesville

5:15 PM – Greenfield-Central vs. Lawrence North

3:30 PM – Avon vs. Southport

2:00 PM – Zionsville vs. New Palestine

12:30 PM – Warren Central vs. South Bend Riley

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Fishers is back at the FORUM Tipoff to play Crispus Attucks. Fishers won the 2024 4A title and have a great chance to repeat. Fishers brings back a majority of its production from the state title team—JonAnthony Hall, Justin Kirby, Cooper Zachary, Millen McCartney, Jason Gardner Jr., and Nathan Baker all return after playing significant roles last year. Hall is a Stanford football commitment; Kirby is headed to Miami of Ohio; Gardner is shaping up to be an elite 2027 point guard, and Zachary has D1 offers as a sophomore. Gardner already has scholarship offers from Indiana, Purdue, and Notre Dame. Gardner recently took an unofficial visit to Indiana for the Minnesota game.

Garrett Winegar’s program will not miss a beat this season.

Attucks features a veteran squad led by Dezmon Briscoe. He is a Mr. Basketball candidate with many D1 options. Behind Briscoe, Attucks is a major contender for the 3A state title as head coach Chris Hawkins looks for his second state title. Seniors Chris Hurt, Kayden English, Imon Cousins, Lamar Jones, Ronsione Thomas, and Eric Jackson bring experience and skill to the Tigers.

Hawkins has the Tigers off to a 5-0 start with wins over Lawrence North, East Chicago Central, and North Central.,

In the penultimate game, two 4A state contenders face each other—Jeffersonville and Noblesville. The Red Devils were a possession away from playing for the 4A state title last year and brought back nearly everyone, including three Division 1 commitments. Northwestern-bound Tre Singleton saw his recruitment blow up in July before picking the Wildcats. Singleton injured his lower leg in the preseason but is expected back soon. He has classmates Michael Cooper and P.J. Douglas, both Wright State commitments, to carry the load.

Despite a loss to Pike, Sherron Wilkerson has a loaded squad for a deep 4A run.

Much like Jeffersonville, Noblesville's fantastic season ended in a one-possession game. The Millers lost an all-time classic sectional game to Fishers, 49-47. Scott McClelland lost many key pieces from that team, but the Millers have a bunch of talent back. The junior backcourt of Justin Curry and Baron Walker will be one of the best in the state.

Lawrence North is yet another 4A state title contender competing in the 2024 FORUM Tipoff Classic. Led by Butler signee Azavier Robinson, the Wildcats went 25-4 last year and could be better this season. Chris Giffin has talent at every position around Robinson—Kai McGrew, Brennan Miller, Jamar Thomas, Cam Webster, and Duke Karnes.. They put a hurting on Gary West Side last weekend.

Avon, another 4A contender, plays Southport in the third game. Avon brings in talented transfer Keriawn Berry from Louisville. He adds to an already talented and experienced roster. Rohan Pearson, Jedidiah Minnett, Deandre Lott-Hancock, and Kendrick Dunmore look like a group to build on last season’s success.

Southport will have a new look under Ben Rhoades. He takes over the Cardinals after five years at Mt. Vernon. Jack Turner and James Kalala are back for the Cardinals and will need to have big games to beat Avon.

Zionsville vs. New Palestine in the second game features a few of the best scorers in the state—New Pal’s Julius Gizzi, Zionsville’s Maguire Mitchell, and Drew Snively. There will be fireworks between that group.

New Pal is 2-0 with a rivalry game on Friday night against Greenfield-Central. Julius Gizzi averages 28.5 points per game through the first two games.

Warren Central and South Bend Riley get the day started. Criss Beyers is once again building the Warriors after they went 14-11 in his first year back at WC. Riley went 21-5 last year, and Alex Daniel brings back most of his production, plus he added Tyrese Jones from Clay. They have a chance to make a deep 4A North run.

Riley is 4-0 this season.

Mr. Basketballs who played in the FORUM Tipoff Classic:

(Event year)

Flory Bidunga (2023)

Markus Burton (2022)

Braden Smith (2021)

Caleb Furst (2019, 2020)

Anthony Leal (2019)

Trayce Jackson-Davis (2017, 2018)

Romeo Langford (2015, 2016, 2017)

Kris Wilkes (2016)

Kyle Guy (2014, 2015)

Caleb Swanigan (2014)

Most points scored in a FORUM Tipoff Classic game:

Romeo Langford (New Albany) 42 points vs. Fort Wayne North Side 2017

Isiah Moore (Park Tudor) 41 points vs. Cloverdale 2016

Markus Burton (Penn) 38 points vs. Zionsville 2022

Kooper Jacobi (Silver Creek) 36 points vs. Blackhawk Christian 2019

Jalen Haralson (Fishers) 35 points vs. Bloomington North 2022

Keion Brooks (North Side) 33 points vs. Cathedral 2016

Kooper Jacobi (Silver Creek) 33 points vs. Blackhawk Christian 2020

Jalen Moore (Cloverdale) 33 points vs. Park Tudor 2016

Braden Northern (Silver Creek) 32 points vs. Blackhawk Christian 2020

Kris Wilkes (North Central) 32 points vs. New Albany 2016

Trayce Jackson-Davis (Center Grove) 31 points vs. Hamilton Southeastern in 2017

Tayshawn Comer (Cathedral) 31 points vs. Covington Catholic 2021

Zane Burke (Blackhawk Christian) 31 points vs. Silver Creek 2020

Braylon Mullins (Greenfield-Central) 31 points vs. Southport 2023

Romeo Langford (New Albany) 30 points vs. North Central 2016

Braden Smith (Westfield) 30 points vs. Homestead 2021

Damien Jefferson (East Chicago Central) 30 points vs. Brownsburg 2014

Addison Wagler (Barr-Reeve) 30 vs. Marquette Catholic 2014

Caleb Swanigan (Homestead) 29 points vs. Lawrence Central 2014

Poll: December 11-16 Player of the Week

Category: Recruiting News

Written by Super User

Last week, Hobart's Anthony Hnilo won the Indiana Basketball Source Player of the Week honor. His feature article is coming this week.

Poll: December 4-9 player of the week

Category: Recruiting News

Written by Super User

Last week, New Albany's won the Indiana Basketball Source player of the week. Here are the candidates for December 4 through December 9.

Player of the Week: New Albany's Chris Lampkins

Category: Recruiting News

Written by Trevor Andershock

New Albany’s Chris Lampkins won the Indiana Basketball Source Player of the Week by coming off the bench to score 23 points against Kokomo on December 2, 2023.

That statement would have been hard to believe a few years ago, but Lampkins has grown literally and figuratively since then.

“My eighth-grade year, I didn’t make the basketball team, and I had to sit back on that and refocus to get better over the summer,” Lampkins told Indiana Basketball Source. “My freshman year, I played a little bit at Jeffersonville High School, but I ended up transferring my sophomore year.”

The junior focused on improving instead of wallowing in the disappointment of getting cut in middle school.

“I wasn’t good enough to be on the middle school team, so I focused on staying in the gym a lot and being active,” said Lampkins. “I usually spent about two hours a day going at it against grown men at the YMCA. I got used to playing against them and got pretty good.”

The results speak for itself.

—23 points against Kokomo.

—18 points and eight rebounds in a win over Floyd Central.

—16 points in a victory against Bloomington South.

—14 points in a blowout win over Clarksville.

As a junior, Lampkins is turning heads with his production and potential. He is a six-foot-five forward with exceptionally long arms. The added length allowed Lampkins to defend Kansas signee Flory Bidunga in the post despite being a natural wing.

“I feel like I should be playing as a shooting guard, but I’m a big right now because I’m the tallest person on the team. But I can play all around and do a lot on the floor and play all five positions.”

Going against Bidunga is no small task for any high school player, but Lampkins gave a valiant effort.

“I played my heart out, and my team did too,” said Lampkins. “We wanted to play harder than them because, I guess, whenever they got into the gym, they weren’t taking us seriously.

New Albany stayed with Kokomo the entire game. The Bulldogs trailed 66-63 with 100 seconds left in the contest but could not get any closer. The Wildkats won 71-63.

Lampkins played a major part in New Albany staying with Kokomo. He did not start the game and committed two fouls within the first two minutes on the court. However, Lampkins gave New Albany 23 points in 17 minutes.

He pulled Bidunga away from the rim by hitting two three-pointers. Lampkins also handled the ball and drew fouls slashing to the basket – he went five of six at the free-throw line. The most electric highlights for Lampkins came above the rim as he threw down a few high-flying dunks.

Lampkins says his best attributes are getting to the rim, finishing, playing hard, and defending. He checked all those boxes against Kokomo.

The New Albany junior knows he is not a finished product and is working to improve.

“Mainly my attitude, my body language,” Lampkins said about the areas he is focusing on. I can’t keep putting my head down whenever a bad play happens. You have to play through it and focus on the next play.”

Lampkins aims to play college basketball, but for now, he is working to get New Albany another sectional championship.

“I’m just trying to be a better person for my teammates.”

Kasym Nash expanded his game leading to the 51-point performance

Category: Recruiting News

Written by Trevor Andershock

(Picture via Borden Athletics)

Kasym Nash exploded for 51 points on November 21 against Eastern (Pekin) in a 77-53 victory. The total points are staggering, but the way Nash accumulated them was equally impressive.

“It was just one of those nights,” Borden head coach Doc Nash said. “I just expect my kids to play hard; that’s just an expectation of Borden basketball. In terms of an expectation for Kasym, he’s our guy and expected to score a lot. He’s not expected to get 50 every night; that’s unheard of, but he is going to take some of our big shots.”

Nash tallied a 43-point game last year as a junior, so high-scoring games are nothing new to the Borden product. However, he scored the first 24 points for Borden against Eastern.

“I’ve had a couple,” Kasym said about his large scoring stretches. “Last year in the sectional championship against Rock Creek we had 14 or 16 points at halftime, and I had all of them. There are certain stretches where I go ‘Okay, I need to take over the game.’ It’s a mindset.”

Nash made his first five shots from the field to give Borden the lead, and the Braves never surrendered it.

“He made his first one, then he made his second, and it kept going,” said Coach Nash. “He carried himself differently. It was fun to watch.”

“I wanted to show them who I really was,” said Kasym Nash. “The last three years, I was kind of just there, a normal player.

The senior guard scored in every way imaginable — drives, stop and pops in the mid-range, threes coming off screens, free throws. Nash showed his improved repertoire.

“Freshman and sophomore year, I was just out there shooting threes and not doing anything off the dribble,” said Kasym. “Then, last year, people started taking that away much more. In my sophomore year, I would try to drive it and over drive it into bad positions. Junior year, I learned how to get to the free throw line and more off the dribble stuff opened up a lot of scoring opportunities.”

“Freshman year, he was a beneficiary player,” said Doc. “He made 71 threes on over 40 percent shooting, but he did not have to create his own shot. His sophomore year was mostly the same, but he learned to play off the bounce a bit. Last year as a junior, he upped his points per game and really learned how to score at three different levels.”

Now that Nash is scoring off the dribble and drawing fouls, he is looking to take the next step with his offensive game.

“My secondary moves,” said Kasym about what he is adding to his game next. “After I get going one way, trying to make another move knowing that another defender is coming at me. I saw box-and-one [defenses] last year, and now there are two defenders coming at me when I dribble it. So, I need to work on another move that is effective in either getting my teammates the ball or to provide for myself.”

After scoring 32 first-half points, Nash pushed Borden to a 42-21 halftime lead, and the Braves cruised in the second half.

The efficiency of Nash never dropped against Eastern. He finished 18-29 from the field, including 5-10 from three, and 10-13 at the free throw stripe.

Borden lost to the eventual state champion, North Daviess, in the regional title game in 2022. Last year, the Braves suffered a heartbreaking 47-46 loss to Rock Creek Academy in the sectional championship game. That game remains on the mind of Nash and the Borden program.

“Our goal is to win the sectional and advance in the state tournament,” said Doc. “Our goal is to be playing our best basketball in March. We look a little different, and we might have to play a little bit differently than we want to.”

Borden started this season 3-0 before dropping Saturday’s game against Providence. The Pioneers are one of the best 2A programs in the state.

Nash and Borden still have high hopes for the season.

“I’m close to individual records, but I care more about the team and winning than I do myself,” said Kasym.

“We want to win the conference; that’s a goal every year. I’ve won the conference MVP the last two years, so it is a goal of mine to win that as a senior. And then, obviously, the biggest goal is the sectional. I think our sectional is up for grabs for three or four teams this year, and last year, I think we should have got it but came up short with the last-second shot.”

The 47-46 loss to Rock Creek in the sectional comes up frequently with the Borden team and the Nash household.

“We do talk about it quite often. My dad, being the coach, and I’ve talked about it several times, and combined, we’ve probably watched that game 15 or 20 times. We talk about the things that went good and things that went wrong, and we still get sick to our stomachs about it.”

Nash is receiving small-college recruiting attention. Manchester is the team recruiting him the hardest at the moment, and he also took a trip to Huntington University.

“Once he gets an opportunity, he’s not going to blow it,” said Doc. “He’ll be an asset to whoever picks him up, but he wants to play the game, and we are going to do everything in our power to make that happen.”

The high-academic prospect is determined to play at the next level and wants to stay involved in the game long-term. Sports management is a possible major. He worked the broadcast of a girls’ basketball game last week.

“Being around sports is very important to me. The game of basketball is what I want to be around, so if I was a coach one day, I wouldn’t be complaining about it.”

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Indiana Basketball Source is the ultimate authority on high school basketball in Indiana.

News

Recruiting News

2024 FORUM Tipoff Classic

Poll: December 11-16 Player of the Week

Poll: December 4-9 player of the week

Player of the Week: New Albany's Chris Lampkins

Kasym Nash expanded his game leading to the 51-point performance

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