Notebook: Charlie Hughes Large School Pt. 2
This past weekend was the Charlie Hughes Shootout, one of the best June events all month. It was packed with 50 of the top Varsity teams from around the state of Indiana. Today, we are looking at some of the top teams from the Large School Division.
Cathedral – This is the last in a handful of times we have seen Cathedral this month and each time they have looked really impressive. They have a ton of talent and the addition of Armaan Franklin adds another high-end scoring athlete to the fold. This weekend, the trio of James Franklin, Armaan Franklin, and Jarron Coleman showed how dominant they could be as they won the entire event. Could be a bit of foreshadowing as Cathedral has looked like one of the best teams we have seen all summer.
Floyd Central – Floyd Central will be a team that should win a ton of games again this year. They won 19 games last season and they basically bring everyone back. With Evan Nichols, Luke Gohmann, and Cobie Barnes, you have three guys over 6’5 that are going to be able to really score the ball. Now, they don’t have a dominant guard and this team is going to play the slower style of offense which could be good and bad. They are going to be a solid team that could get lucky if things break the right way and they could make a run in the state tournament.
Fort Wayne North – Fort Wayne North looked great last season but ended up coming up short. Now, they lose a big senior class but Brandan Johnson, Keion Brooks, and Jordan Moore are back and they get transfers in Austin Boucher and Lucas Kroft. That could be their starting lineup. They didn’t have Brooks this weekend but the rest of the team was just okay. That just goes to show how good Brooks is but also, it shows how much this team will change from last year with the departure of at least four key guys.
Hamilton Southeastern – Hamilton Southeastern should be very good this season. They have a ton of pieces and is one of the deepest team in the state. However, they have yet to really make a postseason run in the past 6+ years. Also, this team is deeper and more balanced than any team they have had in those years. Mabor Majak, the 7’1 center will be playing a major role inside this season and he will be surrounded with a pretty good trio of wing forwards like Aaron Etherington, Chaz Birchfield, and Chris Grubbs. You will have varsity standout Noah Smith back running the point and joined in the backcourt by Nick Bowman, Jerron Bond, and Josh Fugate. This team has so much depth and is more balanced that they should be able to withstand a player or two going into a rough stretch. On paper, this team should be really good.
Lawrence Central – Lawrence Central didn’t have their full team but they showed they might be solid this year. Not great, but more competitive than last season. When we watched they were without Donyell Meredith and Wesley Jordan. Those two are maybe their best two players so they weren’t as good as they could be. However, really liked Nijel Pack running the point for them keeping that speedy creator they had in Daveon Bell last season for this year. D’Andre Davis was also playing well for this group. Not a ton of depth beyond that and that is the biggest question mark they will have. They have a solid group of four but need more pieces to compete in the area.
Mt. Vernon–Fortville – Well, Mt. Vernon is going to be different this year. They finally graduated their senior trio of Michael Ertel, James McCloud, and Eric Shepherd. Now, it is a completely new look and it did look like it will take time to figure it out. They have some talent in Logan Smith, Damari Gatewood, and Peyton Meadors. Smith and Gatewood are pretty good guards with some defensive ability and Meadors showed he can really shoot the ball off the catch. They should struggle this season but they do have some interesting pieces to watch.