Sectional Preview: 8
The coming high school season is almost upon us. With that, we are taking a look at each Sectional in the state. Starting with 64 and ending with 1. Today, we are previewing Sectional 8.
Anderson (4-20) – Lost Sectional Semifinals
Anderson is coming off just a 4-win season and they have really struggled as of late, putting together competitive seasons. They do, however, have a new head coach and this Sectional is very top heavy so they could get lucky. They bring back Marquavious Beverly, Ethan Russell, and JoMel Boyd. The only tough departure is Zak Millhouse but this group could score the ball fairly well. Wide-range of outcomes from them but doubt they could knock off one of the top dogs in this Sectional.
Carmel (22-5) – Lost Regional Finals
Carmel had a fairly successful season in Coach Heady’s last year and luckily, they bring back a lot of what they had last season. They lose their head coach but replace him from within with Ryan Osborn who should be able to seamlessly take over. They also lost Sterling Brown but this team is stacked with guards so they should be able to make up his offense. They have the size with John-Michael Mulloy and Andrew Owens. The backcourt of Eddie Gill Jr., Jalen Whack, Alex Jackson, and Luke Heady will be among the best in the state. They should be the favorite to win the Sectional along with HSE and could make another run into Regionals this season.
Fishers (10-14) – Lost 1st Rd. Sectional
Fishers will also be with a new head coach and will be looking for a completely new direction. They bring back a paired down team as they lose a ton of seniors along with Jamil Turner-Hall and Armaan Franklin transferring out. They do have a solid young core of players with Terry Hicks, Willie Jackson, Justin Long, and Alex Szilagyi along with seniors Jeremy Szilagyi and Brendhan Russom. They should be good at some point, just might take a year before they can contend at the top.
Hamilton Southeastern (21-6) – Lost Sectional Finals
On paper, Hamilton Southeastern has as much talent as anyone else. They have a ton coming back even though they lost a ton. Their starting backcourt is broken up but the combo of Nick Bowman and Noah Smith should be really good. They also bring back Aaron Etherington, Mabor Majak, and Chaz Birchfield. They will be among the favorites to take home the Sectional Championship this season with a chance to make a really deep run in the tournament.
Noblesville (12-13) – Lost Sectional Semifinals
Noblesville has really struggled to have enough talent to compete at the top of this Sectional for a while. They always win games but aren’t able to get over the top. This season, they pretty much have to start over as they lost all their top contributors from last year except Xavier Hines. They do bring back some size so they will have a chance to regroup quickly but need to find those guards that can make shots.
Westfield (6-17) – Lost 1st Rd. Sectional
Westfield, much like Noblesville, hasn’t had enough talent to really compete. This season could be really difficult as they lose Ian Kristensen, Jonah Welch, and Josh Van Dyke. This is a team that only score 51.1 points per game as a team last season and now they only bring back Caleb Welch with more than 5.0 ppg last season. They do have some size coming into the program and that could help a bit but more than likely a record similar to last year is to be expected.
Contenders For 2017-18: Carmel, Hamilton Southeastern
Prediction: Carmel
Player to Watch: Luke Heady (Carmel)