Stock Market: Week 1

Eric Gardner

December 3, 2019 @ 11:17 AM

The high school season is underway and we are looking to keep up on the happenings across the state, not just local teams. So, we will take a look at the state as a whole and figure out who is trending up and who is trending down. Here is the Stock Market Report. Stock Down: Andrean Right now, the season isn’t going all that great for Andrean with two losses to open the year. However, the two losses don’t look all that bad between Lake Central’s hot start and Chesterton just being good in general. The missing piece in Nick Flesher really hurts but that should be corrected this week and with Hammond Morton tonight, they should be able to get into the win column. Long term, this shouldn’t be a thing and they will be strong by the end of the year but after watch the Lake Central game, you can see that it isn’t the talent but more so the combination of things at the moment. Stock Up: Elijah Malone After dropping 31 points and 11 rebounds against Garrett and 19 points, 5 assists, and 5 rebounds against Concord, Elijah solidified with some his ability. He was a name that popped on the radar over the summer but not many have been able to scout him yet. A big post with some mobility and a little bit of proven scoring presence, don’t be shocked if he starts to become a hot name. Bigs in general are always coveted and with his location up in the deep northeastern corner of the state where there are a ton of small school programs, it won’t be hard for them to go and take a look. Stock Down: Jalen Washington What looked like a breakout season for Jalen Washington among those in the state is delayed a year as the standout sophomore will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. He missed a little time last year with a shoulder injury so the top player in the state is starting to rack up a ton of missed time. This doesn’t take away from his high-end ability but it is cause for concern about his development as he was already a little bit of a project. A great one, but a project nonetheless. So for now, he will be put on the back burner and maybe come this summer, if all goes well, we might be able to see him back in action. Stock Up: Warren Central While is was just one game, Warren Central caught the attention of those around the state. Arsenal Tech is a great team this year but they still one by 14 points and their lone returner from last year’s roster, Malik Stanley, went off. He had 39 points, 4 rebounds, and 5 steals. He had yet to really show that he could be that type of player but it was a pleasant surprise. You don’t just run into 39 points unless you have the skill and the mindset to do it all the time so this will be interesting the rest of this year to see if he can tap into it. Add in the fact that they had a pair of sophomores in Aaron Humphrey, a 6’5 post, and Chandler Jackson, a 6’3 wing, score into double-digits in their first varsity game should really ease some concerns about overall scoring. Their schedule isn’t easy though and it isn’t as if we are thinking this team will be a Top 5 team but they might be a bit further in on their rebuild this season. Stock Down: Central Noble After winning their opening game against Fort Wayne Canterbury, Central Noble found out that senior guard Lucas Deck tore his ACL and will miss his final season. This is a tough hit as Central Noble was looked at as a likely school on the rise. They had a lot of pieces and had quite a bit of upside but the loss of a veteran scorer with some size, for a 2A team that isn’t easy to overcome. This won’t torpedo their season but I think it brings up more questions of depth that they will have to solve. Their schedule is fairly decent mixed with good and bad teams but Dec. 14th will be the one to watch against Westview to see if they can compete against another top 2A team. Stock Up: Lake Central No team had a better week that Lake Central. They haven’t been a team that is exactly strong in recent memory the first week of the season or even the first couple games so going 2-0 to start is a big deal. That and doing it against 2A State Champion Andrean and South Bend Washington who should be pretty good this year is a great sign that this could be a really interesting year. While both teams are not 4A programs, these are not weak opponents. And in this run, we have seen senior guard Nick Anderson start putting up huge numbers, 35 and 31 in the victories. They have a mixed bag in their next three games with Lighthouse (should be a win), Gary West (will be toughest team to date), and then Warsaw (always a difficult team to play based on style), we should know what they have before the Christmas Break.