Preseason Team Rankings: #25

<p>It’s now creeping up on the start of the high school season and we are looking to start our series of previews on some of the best teams in the state. Today, Eric Gardner and Kyler Staley join up to start our deep dive into some of these teams.</p> <p>Our series will take a look at the best teams in the state for each class with our rankings. Starting at #50 and going to #1, we will look at each class ranking across all classes starting now with #25.</p> <p><b>1A #25: South Central-Elizabeth</b><br /> The Rebels will be coming into this season off an impressive 16-9 record. They do lose a heavy senior class but they also return some really good talent. Leading that talent is 6'2 combo guard Lucas Stewart. Stewart is a "do-it-all" type guard that averaged 14.2 ppg and 4.5 rpg. Look for a player like wing Dylan Patterson (8.9 ppg. 6.1 rpg) to breakout and continue his physical rebounding. This team is shaping up to be one of the smaller teams in the state.They will need for their big men to step up in the post area. If every player on that roster can make a leap forward, look for the Rebels to give Christian Academy a tough match-up come Sectional.    </p> <p><strong>2A #25: Fairfield</strong><br /> The Falcons will heading into this season coming off a solid 15-8 record. They will already face some challenges as they will lose a loaded senior class that made-up most of their talent a season ago. They will be led by stud senior point guard Nolin Sharck (12.9 ppg, 3.3 apg, 3.7 rpg). Sharck is an outstanding prospect that is an extremely good shot creator. Look for players like guard Cade Gall (3.4 ppg) and forward Braedon Helms (1.1 ppg) to step up and make some improvements in their game. This should be a well-coached team with Coach Randy DeShone bringing in his expertise in his first year as Fairfield's new head coach. The talent they have back should be experienced enough to compete in a very competitive Sectional.    </p> <p><strong>3A #25: Bishop Luers</strong><br /> The Knights will be coming off a terrible 4-18 record and close Sectional loss to Heritage coming into this season. This team will looking to improve greatly and has a very good chance to do so with the amount of talent they have coming back. Players like Demarcus Hudson (17.0 ppg), Naylon Thompson (15.0 ppg) and Jalen Causey (11.3 ppg) will be the leaders of this squad. Look for big man John Peterson (6.1 ppg) to breakout and be a factor in the post area. This is a very complete team top-to-bottom. There should be no doubt that this year's team will be better than last year's team and should be one of the favorites to win their Sectional. This team has a great opportunity to make one of the biggest turnarounds in the state.       </p> <p><b>4A #25: Franklin Central </b><br /> Speaking of a team that will be looking for a major turnaround, the Flashers will be coming off a terrible record of 3-20. The good news for this team is that they return a solid group of talent. All eyes for Franklin Central will be on stud guard <span style="font-size: 1rem;">J</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">a</span><span style="font-size: 1rem;">von Smith (8.8 ppg), who is a great spot-up shooter. Lots of players will looking to breakout like Isiah Morgan (6.4 ppg), Mason Gonzales (6.3 ppg), Benny Ogayonne (5.3 ppg), and Sam Mettert (5.3 ppg). This year's squad has lots of breakout potential. Though it is always tough for a first year head coach like Criss Beyers to come in a put in his system, but coach Beyers is experienced enough to get his players to buy in. Look for this team to also have one of the biggest turnarounds this season and be one of the favorites, along with Center Grove, to walk out of Sectional with a championship.   </span></p>