Eric Gardner
Every season, the Indianapolis City Tournament never disappoints. At Arsenal Tech High School, we got a show on Monday night as Indianapolis Howe and Cathedral went into double overtime to decide the championship. While Howe led late in regulation, it was Cathedral that came out with the victory, 88-86.
Indianapolis Howe Proved They Have Enough To Win It All
Howe is the type of team that could get hot and make a run into the state finals. While they don’t have a ton of solid defense, they can pressure the ball a bit and create offense from their defense. In this game, they showed they can really get their offense going and guys like Jeff Sultzer can shoot the ball at a high clip. They won’t see many teams that will have as high powered of offense as they do, so if their defense can lock in just enough at the right time, they could still be playing in late March.
Armaan Franklin Worthy Of High Major Interest
Armaan Franklin was a hot name coming out of the summer. He was growing in size and the skill was starting to take hold. Now, at 6-5, Franklin is drawing the eye of schools like Purdue and Indiana. Purdue, Butler, and IUPUI were all in tonight to see him and he looked worthy of their time. For those that don’t know, this is what a breakout player looks like.
Cathedral Starting To Get Into A Groove, Still Recovering
Maybe the best thing to come out of the last two viewings I have had of Cathedral is that they are starting to get things going the way they want. Jarron Coleman has been really good and Armaan Franklin has broken out as a high level prospect. They have some big wins but they are doing all of this in spite of having a very short roster. Last night, they only had four dressed bench players. Getting Ross Welch back will go a long way as he will give them some much needed size inside. Outside of their top five players, guys like Haven Montefalco and Jacob Ball have really stepped into key roles. It’s been a test this season but they are heading in the right direction.
Jeff Sultzer A Name To Watch
Howe senior wing Jeff Sultzer has been a guy that we have been looking at for a while but it wasn’t until last night that we fully bought in. He’s a big wing that needed some definition to what his game is. Well, last night he went off for 26 points on 6/11 from three. Most of his work was off the catch but he did put it on the floor a bit. Where he also has some upside is with his defense. His length and athleticism is pretty solid and the big frame should allow him to defend multiple spots. Could be a late riser for a small school program to go in on.
Cathedral Should Be Best Again In City For 2018-19
Looking ahead towards the 2018-19 season, Cathedral should be stacked once again. Howe is an example of a complete rebuild as all of the best players, minus Kycia Washington, will graduate. Cathedral, however, bring back most of their group. They do lose Jarron Coleman, Jacob Ball, and Jayden Edwards but the majority of the core is back and some of these younger players could be in a position to step up. A core of James Franklin, Armaan Franklin, Grant Taueg, Justin Hensley, Ross Welch, and Haven Montefalco will be really good.