Sectional Preview: 52
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 52.
Bethany Christian (4-17) – Lost 1st Rd. Sectional
Bethany Christian last year had a ton of players, only two of which were seniors. The only place they can go is up from here. I look for them to improve but not enough that they make noise in the sectional. They are still just too young and there isn’t enough talent there quite yet.
Fort Wayne Blackhawk (17-10) – Lost Sectional Finals
Blackhawk was really good last year, although their record doesn’t show it. They only lose two contributors on offense and they weren’t huge parts so they will be able to replace them this year. This is a team with multiple future college players. They also will have Drake Thompson the entire year, last year he played just eight games
Fort Wayne Smith Academy (8-12) – DNC
Fort Wayne Smith Academy played an easy schedule last year and really struggled. A few of their wins were over JV teams. This year they will play in their first ever sectional and due to the strength of this sectional anything could happen. No, they won’t win but they could knock off a few better teams.
Fremont (14-9) – Lost1st Rd. Sectional
Last year, Fremont had a pretty good year. They played a roster of mainly seniors and this year that lack of experience will hurt them a lot. In the Churubusco game last year, no player other than a senior played. This will be a totally different team than last year. We can expect a down season for Fremont.
Hamilton (1-20) – Lost 2nd Rd. Sectional
Hamilton struggled mightily last year. Their leading scorer averaged just 8.0 points a game and luckily he returns. The next three leading scorers from last year are gone though which is really going to hurt them. There will be a lot of sophomores play a lot of minutes. A good year for them may be 3-4 wins.
Lakeland Christian (8-16) – Lost 2nd Rd. Sectional
Lakeland Christian was better last year than their record suggests. They don’t lose anyone and will be a junior and senior laden team this year. Their best player, Josh McDaniel, can really fill up the stat sheet and he will be the one that looks to carry them to their first double-digit win season in nine years.
Lakewood Park (17-9) – Lost 1st Rd. Regionals
Lakewood Park made it furthest in the tournament last year but I don’t expect that to be the case this year. They lost their star, Keegan Fetters, and with him 21.5 points a game. They also lose two others who were in the top four of scoring so Lakewood will have to use this year to regain an identity. They could be pretty good again but I just don’t see it.
Contenders For 2017-18: Fort Wayne Blackhawk, Lakeland Christian
Prediction: Fort Wayne Blackhawk
Player to Watch: Drake Thompson (Fort Wayne Blackhawk)