Sectional 21: Previewing The Upcoming Season
The coming high school season is almost upon us. With that, we are taking a look at each Sectional in the state. Starting with 64 and ending with 1. Today, we are previewing Sectional 21 at NorthWood. Teams: NorthWood, Tippecanoe Valley, Fairfield,…
Access all of Prep Hoops
Continue reading this article and more.
Continue ReadingThe coming high school season is almost upon us. With that, we are taking a look at each Sectional in the state. Starting with 64 and ending with 1. Today, we are previewing Sectional 21 at NorthWood.
Teams: NorthWood, Tippecanoe Valley, Fairfield, Lakeland, Wawasee, West Noble
Last Season: Last year was just another strong season for host NorthWood as they continued their dominance of Sectional 21 as they won their third straight Sectional and fourth in the last five years. They made it all the way to the Regional Championship where they ultimately lost to eventually 3A State Champion Marion Giants. This wasn’t the strongest season for the Sectional as only NorthWood and Fairfield were over .500.
Contenders For 2016-17: This season is likely to be about the same. Tippecanoe Valley brings back their standout junior in Alec Craig but lose a ton of offense from four outgoing seniors combining for 24.2 points per game from a small offensive team. Fairfield loses their best player in Brock Goeglein but have their junior duo of Luke Stephens and Shandon Miller back. If they get any help this season, Fairfield could jump right back into the top. Lakeland, Wawasee, and West Noble should improve their overall records from last season as the majority of their teams stay in tact and they have talent that spans beyond their senior class. However, NorthWood will be the team to beat. Losing D.K. Fox and Braxton Linvolle will hurt but Luke Zurcher and Trey Bilinski should be set to step into bigger roles easily and Vincent Miranda will be back after scoring 16.2 points per game last season.
Players to Watch: Almost went with the duo from Fairfield but this is a special circumstance in that Vincent Miranda isn’t a guy that many know in the state because of his multisport background. Now, he’s only focused on basketball and this is his team in a year where expectations will be high once again. Miranda has the mindset and skill to have a spectacular season. Look for him to be the popular name if NorthWood makes a run into and past Regionals.