Preseason Team Rankings: #34

Eric Gardner

October 21, 2019 @ 10:14 AM

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. 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 #34. 1A #34: Orleans Orleans is one of the more consistent program you are going to find and Tom Bradley knows how to coach. He is 316-169 in 21 years at Orelans. So, expecations are for more of the same. He is in a four year stretch of rougher seasons but their schedule is more reminencent of a 2A or 3A team than a 1A. Look for the Bulldogs to right the ship a bit here and get back on track. 2A #34: Alexandria Alexandria is coming off a great 19-8 season under new head coach Marty Carroll. They are setup here with their schedule to be nearing that again. While they did lose a key senior in Avery Paddock but he was only able to play 8 games before an injury took him out. Brennan Morehead returns as their leading scorer and look for guys like Rylan Metz and Nick Williams to impact type players this season. Having a Nick Williams-type, a 6'7 bruiser who can knock down triples, for a 2A team is a boon as a senior. 3A #34: Indianapolis Manual Indianapolis Manual is typically a team that has a new player or two every year. This year, they have a guy in Jacques Brandon who was pretty impressive late in the year as a 6'6 forward that could do a lot of things. While they lose a ton of seniors from last year's group, they do bring in guys like Aaron Clark, a 5'11 junior guard, Antoine Hurns, a 6'6 forward, and Mark Grady, a 6'6 forward. That is a lot of size and skill for a team that looks like they might have paired down their schedule a bit. 4A #34: Penn Penn is coming off one of their best seasons in a while going 24-4 after a senior class of Drew Lutz, Noah Applegate, and others brought their best last year. Now, they are in a rebuild but with Al Rhodes and Penn, they just don't have bad seasons. They still have a good core of talent with varsity experience in Carter Hickey and Caleb Applegate. Add in the Derda brothers, Derek and Dylan and you have some size to play with as well. Rhodes tends to get the best out of his players and can develop. Look for this team to compete at the end of the year.