Preseason Team Rankings: #14

<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 #14.</p> <p><b>1A #14: Lanesville</b><br /> Last year was a little bit of a rollercoaster for Lanesville as they got started on a hot streak, lost 8 straight and then ended strong going 15-12 and winning another Sectional Championship before falling to Barr-Reeve in Regional Finals. They good news is they bring back their Top 2 scorers in Conor Nolot and Tripp Dillon who scored 16.1 and 15.2 ppg, respectively. They only lose 1 senior with significant playing time and production so expectations should be high. This is a potential Top 5 team in 1A this year. Look for January to be the real test with Christian Acdemy, Orleans, and North Harrison for 3 straight games. If they are going to make a run, they will have to win 2/3 there to prove themselves a bit.</p> <p><strong>2A #14: Central Noble</strong><br /> Look out for Central Noble in the coming years. They are loading up on talent and although losing Ridley Zolman is going to hurt, they have plenty left in the tank. Connor Essegian has emerged as a possible DI talent from the small, rural 2A program. Add in Lucas Deck who just committed to Indiana Tech, and junior Saywer Yoder and you have a trio that should put up some big production this year.Their Sectional won't be easy with Fairfield, Churubusco, Prairie Heights, and Westview but look for them to be in the mix all year long.</p> <p><strong>3A #14: Connersville</strong><br /> Connersville is one of the few teams that is going to benefit a ton from reclassification. Moving down to 3A and out of the toughest 4A Regional in the state is going to give them a legit shot to make a run. They bring back a ton of talent including 6'6 Jacob Brown, Clayton Garrison, and Garrett Wickes. Ethan Smith and Damon Huffman on the wing will provide great size. Losing Noah Belt and his 17.4 ppg hurts but they are not without veteran talent and give head coach Kerry Brown a team with leadership and talent and he is going to go to work. They are notorious for knocking off more talented teams and give them a much easier Sectional and Regional and lets just see how this goes.</p> <p><b>4A #14: Fishers</b><br /> Fishers has been getting better each of the last two years and this might be the year where they take off. They return a good amount of talent and have a move-in with Isaac Farah that could be a game changer. Their guard depth is down a bit but they have Alex Szilagyi and Justin Long back with Bryce Williams likely moving into a bigger role this year as a sophomore. Jeffery Simmons was stellar last year and now with Farah he can play more of a 4-man. This team will have size and some shooting ability with an incoming freshman to watch in Myles Stringer who cuold play a role from Day 1. They went 17-8 last year but this should be more of a dominant team and could be the best team in their Sectional if all goes right.</p>