Ten Best: Noblesville Holiday Tournament
On Wednesday, we spent time in Noblesville for their Holiday Tournament. Some of the better teams from around the state were in town for the annual event including Crown Point, Indianapolis Pike, Bloomington South, and Fishers. We breakdown our Ten…
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Continue ReadingOn Wednesday, we spent time in Noblesville for their Holiday Tournament. Some of the better teams from around the state were in town for the annual event including Crown Point, Indianapolis Pike, Bloomington South, and Fishers. We breakdown our Ten Best from the full day of hoops.
MVP: Austin Peterson (Chesterton)
Peterson is a big bodied post player was near unstoppable against Columbus North. He’s really good at asserting his size and strength down low and he pretty much scored at will. Then, he would step out and knock down a three. He finished just shy of 30 points in the game and almost had half his teams points. He was a man today and showed just how he has been putting up those kind of points all season.
Best Offensive Performance: Sasha Stefanovic (Crown Point)
The best performance on offense all day was Sasha. He was really good with the ball in his hands and early on, his jumper was falling and he was really starting to get hot. He slowed down a bit in the second half but his efficiency was solid. He, if anything, probably doesn’t shoot the ball enough. Sasha continues to handle the ball well and was pretty creative driving the lane and in transition. He had around 28 points and about 6+ rebounds.
Best Defensive Performance: Isiah James (Indianapolis Pike)
James has really brought his game all the way around in the last year. His ability to play on the perimeter and his ball handling have made him a defensive nightmare. Now, he can switch on most guards and showed just how lethal he can be as he got quite a few steals that led to fast break points. He’s taken big steps this winter so far.
Best Player On No One’s Radar: Ethan Mitchell (Columbus North)
One kid the probably needs to be on more college coaches radars is Ethan Mitchell. The 6’7 forward is a guy who really has a good body that still has to fill out but is productive right now. He’s a low post scorer who doesn’t use flash, just good mechanics and is pretty efficient. Has some really solid agility and is able to move to create if he needs to. Would be a big under-the-radar pick-up for a team.
Best Intangibles: Dominic Tomich (Crown Point)
Tomich isn’t a guy that is going to show up on the stat sheets most games but he did in this one and he, in a way, won the game for Crown Point against Noblesville. He was very active, especially late, getting a few big steals and hitting some clutch threes to help Crown Point sneak back in and take the lead with only a minute or two to go. Made big plays in this one.
Best Under-The-Radar Performance: Jamil Turner-Hall (Fishers)
While guys like Sasha and Austin Peterson put up big numbers, this has been a coming out party of sorts for Turner-Hall. He’s become such a good scorer off the bounce and has added just enough of a jumper to compliment his game. Still, he didn’t have a great game against Manual but he was great in this one scoring 20 points and making a few really tough buckets at the rim against size.
Best Underclassmen:Brandon Vernon (Indianapolis Pike)
Vernon continues to show that he is going to be really good one day. He’s still got to work on the body and tone it up but as he does, the underlying skill set is going to become more impactful. He’s really sold me on his ability to penetrate and create even though it is still a work in progress. His shooting is always solid and he’s seemingly becoming more confident with every play he makes.
Best Player We Have Never Seen: Jake Wadding (Chesterton)
Went into this game hearing about Wadding but as a freshman, we have yet to see him. He was really good. Big guard for a freshman with a great frame that will hold a ton of strength and he seems to have solid handles. Shot the ball a couple times late in the game and it looked really good. Easy to see the talent and will watch again soon.
Best Breakout Peformance: Josh Hall (Bloomington South)
After watching Hall this summer and fall and how much he struggled due to injury and looking like he never got fully healthy, the Hall we watched on Wednesday was a breath of fresh air. He looked great, getting the body back in shape and the athleticism definitely took a jump forward. He was very aggressive and showed toughness around the rim. He looked like a guy that is going to get early minutes for DePauw and challenge for a possible starting spot earlier than anticipated.
Best Shooter: Chance Coyle (Bloomington South)
This was by far the best game we have seen live from Coyle. He had his shot working and he was really trying to expose some Columbus East defenders. He had a couple catch-and-shoot attempts but he had even more off the bounce including a pull-back three that was the prettiest play we have seen all week. He was letting it fly on some tough shots on the perimeter and in the mid-range and he was making them.