Preseason Team Rankings: #36
It’s now creeping up on the start of the high school season and we are looking to start our series of previews on some of the best teams in the state. Today, Eric Gardner and Kyler Staley join up to…
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Continue ReadingIt’s now creeping up on the start of the high school season and we are looking to start our series of previews on some of the best teams in the state. Today, Eric Gardner and Kyler Staley join up to start our deep dive into some of these teams.
Our series will take a look at the best teams in the state for each class with our rankings. Starting at #50 and going to #1, we will look at each class ranking across all classes starting now with #36.
1A #36: Lakewood Park
Lakewood Park is looking to get back into a groove and develop some momentum. This will be the first year since 2015-16 that they have a returning head coach so that will help. Add in some young talent including Caedmon Bontrager and Aiden Fetters. Last year, this talented group of sophomores had a tough season going 7-16 but a year older and a schedule that is still fairly easy, there should be a lot of room to get better during the year. The talent is there now and old enough to impact things. Look for this to be a good year for them.
2A #36: South Spencer
Even though South Spencer wasn’t able to get over .500 last year, there is a ton to expect out of this group this year. First off, Their schedule is always ridiculously difficult but it did get easier with Forest Park, Tell City, Princeton, and Evansville Day taking steps back. For a 2A schedule, theirs will be one of the tougher ones this year. Also, look at Jace Kelly, Kobe Bartlett, and Michael Donoho as the leaders this season. They lose a little bit of size but they are setup to have a strong backcourt with some shooters.
3A #36: Lebanon
Lebanon isn’t losing a ton from last year, just Alex Smith and Jaden Jarrett. Their team was a little younger than normal with guys like Hunter Crew and Kobe Ottinger playing some significant minutes. But, Luke Ferrell and Carson Burtron are both now seniors and have taken some big steps forward in their play. They also have another solid incoming freshman class that will add some size and depth. This could be a surprising team this year but they did move Sectionals where they will now have to play Brebeuf Jesuit, Guerin Catholic, and Bishop Chatard. Watch out for that.
4A #36: Merrillville
For Merrillville, this is a new road to go down and could be off to a fast start. New head coach Bo Patton takes over and will have a slew of talent including a very talented backcourt in Dorian Harris and Keon Thompson. They have a very difficult schedule, though, so it may take some time but with the Region being down a bit, they might hit their stride just in time for a huge Sectional run. This team will likely be one of the more high-powered offenses with that backcourt.