3 For 3: Week 8 Preview

The high school boys’ basketball season is underway and we at PrepHoops Indiana want to give you the absolute best coverage in the whole state. Indiana is full of great teams and talented players thus giving the fans incredible matchups every week. Join me, Kyler Staley, every Monday during the season as I preview the 3 Players, 3 Teams, and 3 Matchups to watch for that coming week. Are you ready? Let’s get started! 3 Players Gus Etchison – 6’0 2021 PG – Hamilton Heights: Etchison is coming off one of his best games in his high school career. He dropped 41 points against Bishop Luers this past Saturday. His ability to get out and run makes him really stand out amongst other players. Other than his great ability to score, he passes the ball extremely well. Watch for Etchison to have a great game versus Lapel this Friday. Khristian Lander – 6’2 2021 PG – Evansville Reitz: If you do not know by now, Lander is one of the nation's top recruits in the 2021 class and he has showed it these past few games. He is coming off the heels of a few 20+ point games and has showed off his improved jumper as well. He is just an elite player and is so unselfish for being a top prospect. There will be multiple times to check out Lander this week as him and Reitz compete in the Southern Indiana Conference Tournament starting Wednesday. Kooper Staley – 6’0 2021 SG – Bedford North Lawrence: Staley is a prospect that is relatively unknown right now but should probably be getting more attention because this junior can be a sniper of shooter. On a <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/brayton-bailey/">Brayton Bailey</a> led squad, Staley was position to step-up and be the "shooter" of this year's team. He has had an up-and-down year so far as he has been adjusting to a new play style but shown great signs of what he is capable of. Staley and the Stars will face county rival Mitchell on Friday and I expect Staley to build off of his recent 10 point game and start making the leap forward that was expected. 3 Teams Hammond (3A): The Wildcats are currently one of the top teams in 3A right now and are on a 5-game winning streak at the moment. This team's prospects, like 2020 C <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/mike-anderson/">Mike Anderson</a> and 2021 SF <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/harold-woods/">Harold Woods</a>, are playing fantastically. This team is well-coached and plays great together. This week they have games facing Portage on Tuesday and Hammond Morton on Friday. Lafayette Central Catholic (1A): The Knights are one of the hottest teams right now in 1A. Currently 9-2 so far on the season and they have beaten some good teams such as Northwestern, Rossville, and Clinton Prairie. Senior SF <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/carson-barrett/">Carson Barrett</a> has had a great year and is showing how good of leader he is. Catholic travels to Benton Central on Friday followed by a home game against Andrean on Saturday. Wapahani (2A): The Raiders are a mature team and play like it as well. The are led by senior PG's <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/andrew-luce/">Andrew Luce</a> and <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/david-spence-iii/">David Spence III</a> and have done an excellent job in taking care of a fairly easy schedule. This Saturday they will compete in a 4 team Delaware County Tournament and one they should walk away as the victors. I like this Wapahani to stay on a winning path and make some noise come Sectional time. 3 Matchups Brownsburg (4A) at Fishers (4A) – Jan 17, 7:30 pm: This is going to be a matchup between two of 4A's top teams. Combined, these teams have a total of only 3 losses. Fishers has 2 of those losses and they have came from their last two games. Brownsburg, on the other hand, has won 7 straight. This will be a big test for <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/isaac-farah/">Isaac Farah</a> and the Tigers who are going to look to get back on track at the expense of <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/pierce-thomas/">Pierce Thomas</a> and the Bulldogs. Give the slight edge to Brownsburg here. Linton-Stockton (2A) at Bloomfield (1A) – Jan 17, 7:30 pm: The last time these two teams faced one another, Linton walked away with an overtime win 75-67. The thing is that was 2 days ago. This might be the most anticipated rematch of the year so far. Very rarely do you see two teams play each other in back-to-back games. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/turner-royal/">Turner Royal</a> and the Cardinals will be looking to get revenge on <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/lincoln-hale/">Lincoln Hale</a> and the Miners. I give the very slight edge to Bloomfield here just because they will have the homecourt advantage. Silver Creek (3A) at Bloomington North (4A) – Jan 18, 7:30 pm: If you have any knowledge of what both of these teams are about, just by looking at this game on paper, you know it has the chance to be special. North has lost 3 out of their last 5 so they will looking for a big win against the 11-1 Dragons. Creek is the best team in 3A and North has all the potential to be one of the best in 4A. Even though <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/isaac-vencel/">Isaac Vencel</a> and North are desperate for a big win, I still give the edge to <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/trey-kaufman/">Trey Kaufman</a> and Silver Creek. This should be a fun one however.