Class 2A Regional Preview: Breakdown
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Sectional play is over but we are still locked in for the State Playoffs. It is that time of year where we start looking ahead and previewing each and every Regional. Time to take a look at the pairings that…
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Continue ReadingSectional play is over but we are still locked in for the State Playoffs. It is that time of year where we start looking ahead and previewing each and every Regional. Time to take a look at the pairings that make up the Class 2A Regionals.
Regional 9: North Judson
The Teams: North Judson, Fort Wayne Blackhawk, Hammond Noll, Central Noble
Our Contenders: North Judson, Fort Wayne Blackhawk, Central Noble
Player To Watch: Connor Essegian Connor Essegian 6'4" | SG Central Noble | 2022 State #170 Nation IN (2022) – Central Noble
Prediction: Besides Hammond Noll, really any of the other three teams I could see making it to semi-state. Just going to get this out of the way here, Central Noble should get through Hammond Noll easily. The other game between North Judson and Blackhawk is a little tougher to call. It really comes down to if North Judson has a guy that can matchup to Josh Furst Josh Furst 6'6" | C Blackhawk Christian | 2023 State IN , which they really don’t. Kelson Jordan Kelson Jordan 6'4" | SF North Judson | 2023 State IN and Ty Schumacher Ty Schumacher 6'1" | PG North Judson | 2023 IN are great players but Furst will be the guy to worry about with them. In the finals, expect Blackhawk and Central Noble to meet there Saturday night. This will be the first time these two teams meet this season and it should be a barnburner. Gage Sefton Gage Sefton 6'4" | SG Blackhawk Christian | 2023 State IN and Essegian will put up high numbers and the post matchup of Furst and Logan Gard Logan Gard 6'6" | PF Central Noble | 2022 State IN will be awesome. Give me Central Noble in a very close one.
Regional 10: Lapel
The Teams: Tipton, Monroe Central, Rensselaer Central, Carroll (Flora)
Our Contenders: Tipton, Monroe Central, Carroll (Flora)
Player To Watch: Nolan Swan Nolan Swan 5'10" | PG Tipton | 2024 State IN (2024) – University
Prediction: Right off the bat here, we have a game that could feature a major upset with Samuel Ridgeway Samuel Ridgeway 6'8" | PF Tipton | 2022 State IN and Tipton vs Jackson Ullom Jackson Ullom 5'11" | PG Monroe Central | 2022 State IN and undefeated Monroe Central. Somehow, someway Monroe Central has just found ways to arguably be the most consistent team in the state all season. They do run into one of the better teams they will play this postseason with Swan, Ridgeway, and Conner Hussong leading this Tipton squad. It is just one of those cases where I wont believe it until I see it so I am going to go with Monroe Central to move on here. With Carroll (Flora) and Rensselaer Central, I really don’t see Rensselaer Central getting past Owen Duff Owen Duff 6'2" | SG Carroll (Flora) | 2023 State IN and the Cougars. And again, until I actually see it happen, Monroe Central is the pick here.
Regional 11: Greenfield-Central
The Teams: Southmont, Eastern Hancock, Triton Central, University
Our Contenders: Southmont, Eastern Hancock, University
Player To Watch: Larry Pierce Larry Pierce 6'5" | SF University | 2022 State IN (2022) – University
Prediction: In all honesty, this Regional is a toss up. Two of our contenders will square off first with Southmont and Eastern Hancock. Like most matchups when it comes to Regionals, this a fresh game where the two teams did not see each other in the regular season. Southmont has a reliable wing in Carson Chadd Carson Chadd 6'4" | SF Southmont | 2023 IN whereas Eastern Hancock has one in Landon O’Neal Landon O’Neal 6'1" | SG Eastern Hancock | 2022 State IN . Going to go with the senior leadership of O’Neal being the one that pushes Eastern Hancock to the finals here. As far as the University and Triton Central game, I feel like Triton Central will have a tough time containing the elite athleticism of Pierce so I like University to advance here. I think Eastern Hancock is the slightly better team overall so I like to come out of the Greenfield-Central Regional.
Regional 12: Southridge
The Teams: Forest Park, Paoli, Providence, Linton-Stockton
Our Contenders: Linton-Stockton
Player To Watch: Joey Hart Joey Hart 6'5" | SG Linton-Stockton | 2023 State #214 Nation IN (2023) – Linton-Stockton
Prediction: We can dance around this all we want to but the conclusion we are always going to come to is that Linton-Stockton is the only logical pick here to win the Southridge Regional. Casey Kaelin Casey Kaelin 6'2" | SG Providence | 2023 State IN and Providence is a real tough team in their own right but they will not be able to get past the unit of Hart, Logan Webb Logan Webb 6'3" | SG Linton-Stockton | 2023 State IN , and Braden Walters Braden Walters 6'6" | PF Terre Haute North | 2024 State IN . On the other side, Forest Park and Paoli are evenly matched but this Forest Park is a dangerous team so I like them to meet up with Linton in the finals. Again, it will be a tough one for Linton, but the talent almost always prevails and the Miners have the best unit of talent here. Linton is well on their way to a state championship.