Preseason Team Rankings: #40
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 #40.
1A #40: Eminence
The Eells will be coming off a bad 11-13 record and blowout, Sectional loss to Bloomfield heading into this upcoming season. The good news for this team is that they return two of their top three scorers from last year. They will be led by guards Julian Webb (12.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg), who is a strong finisher to the basket, and Nolan Ringler (7.5 ppg,3.0 rpg), who is a three-point specialist. Center Zeke Newton will be looking to improve his post play (5.7 ppg, 2.6 rpg) as he will be the main player down low. Overall this team is very competitive. Come Sectional time, we expect this team to have a much-improved regular season. Consider them a dark horse to win Sectional, even with the mighty Bloomfield as the favorite.
2A #40: Rossville
Coming off an 18-5 record and Sectional loss to Delphi, the Hornets only return one of their top five scorers from last season. Luckily, that returning scorer, Dirk Shaw, is one of their top players from last year. Shaw is a 6’3 senior guard/forward that averaged 13.3 ppg and 5.8 rpg. He is a complete player but does most of his damage finishing at the rim as he does this extremely well. Look for incoming juniors Damon Shaw (4.3 ppg) and Reid Douglas (2.7 ppg) to provide crucial varsity minutes this year. Rossville will need guys to step up this year. With that said and if Dirk Shaw can continue his tremendous play his senior year, look for Rossville to be one of the favorites to win their Sectional along with Clinton Prairie and Seeger.
3A #40: NorthWood
The Panthers are coming off a 10-13 record and Sectional loss to Tippecanoe Valley heading into this season. They will be without one of their top players last year, Nick Bean, who one of their best scorers last season. However they do bring back a couple of standouts such as junior Ben Vincent and senior Trent Edwards, both who were two of the Panthers’ top three scorers a season ago. NorthWood is a team that competes every year. In order for them to continue that trend, they will need for more guys to step up this season. Consider them to be one of the favorites to win their Sectional this year.
4A #40: Plainfield
The Quakers are coming off a great record of 19-6 followed by a tough Sectional loss to Avon in Sectional heading into this season. The good news for the Quakers is that they return two of their top four scorers from last year. They will be led by 6’4 junior point guard Aiden Booher (9.5 ppg) and 6’3 senior forward Cade East (7.5 ppg). Booher is a sharpshooting threat while East is a great defender and can steal the ball a moment’s notice. They will need for senior shooting guard Mason Naaman (5.5 ppg) to step-up and provide some more scoring this year. They will also need to quickly figure out who is going to provide the post needs this year. In order for them to compete in a very competitive Sectional bracket, they will need guys to take it to the next level and figure out their post issues.