3 For 3: Week 9 Preview

<p>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! </p> <p><strong>3 Players</strong></p> <p><strong>Jake Heidbreder</strong><b> – 6’3 2021 SG – Floyd Central: </b>This junior is coming off his best game of his playing career with dropping 33 points in the win over North Harrison, 63-58. This is a lengthy, athletic guard to keep an eye on. His jumper is still a work-in-progress but he can make plays that will allow him to score. He and the highlanders take on Jennings County and Madison this weekend.              <strong> </strong>  </p> <p><b>Joseph Bomba – 6’4 2021 SF –</b> <strong>Boomington South</strong><strong>:</strong> This may be one of the best SF shooters in the 2021 class. He is a really good piece of an undefeated Bloomington South team. He is coming off an 11 point game where he showed that he can not only shoot it from deep but he can use his big body to score in the post. He and the Panthers will travel to Castle on Friday.                      </p> <p><strong>Keon Thompson – 6’0 2021 PG – Merrillville:</strong> Thompson is coming off a beaat of game dropping 34 points in a win versus Crown Point, 54-48. Though Merrillville has not had the best of season, Thompson has been a bright spot for the Pirates. The best part of Thompson’s game is his ability to break a defender down off the bounce. Thompson will look to get the Merrillville Pirates back on track when they face a not so great  Portage team on Friday.                           </p> <p><strong>3 Teams</strong></p> <p><b>Barr-Reeve</b><strong> (1A):</strong> The Vikings were stunned by Loogootee this past weekend when they were beat for the first time this season. I put Barr-Reeve as one of my teams to watch for this week because I am curious to see how they will bounce back from being defeated. In my honest opinion, I feel like they will bounce back with no problems. They face a 3-9 Wood Memorial team and a solid North Daviess. Expect <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/keegan-oneill/">Keegan O’Neill</a> and the Vikings to win both.                       <br /> <b></b></p> <p><b>Blackford (2A):</b> In the last 6 games, Blackford has went 2-4. In what was such a promising season for Blackford, They recently have not lived up to the hype. They play a Frankfort team that realistically could beat them if the Bruins do not show up. This is a crucial game for <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/luke-brown/">Luke Brown</a> and the Bruins.                         </p> <p><strong>Edgewood (3A): </strong>Edgewood came into the season as a team that could make a deep run in the post-season. However they have been without their best player the first half of the season, 2021 SG <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/trevor-taylor/">Trevor Taylor</a>. They currently stand at an ok 9-6 record but will have a tough game against a Bedford North Lawrence team that is craving for a big win this year. It will be interesting to see if this Edgewood team can breakout the last part of the year.             </p> <p><strong>3 Matchups </strong></p> <p><strong>Loogootee (1A) vs Bloomfield (1A) – Jan 25, 7:30 pm: </strong>The Lions of Loogootee are coming off their best win of the year having beat Barr-Reeve this past weekend. Loogootee has been hot with winning their last 3 game but will have another tough matchup as they face Bloomfield on Saturday. Bloomfield has had a good season so far with a 9-3 record. I expect <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/silas-bauer/">Silas Bauer</a> and the Lions to keep their momentum going and beat <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/turner-royal/">Turner Royal</a> and the Cardinals.                      <br /> <b></b></p> <p><b>South Decatur (2A) at Greensburg (3A) – Jan 25, 7:30 pm: </b>South Decatur is one of the few unbeaten teams in the state right now. They are team that just plays really good team ball. They will have a tough game on Saturday, however, as they travel to face a 12-2 Greensburg team. Can <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/andrew-welage/">Andrew Welage</a> and squad upset this South Decatur team? They certainly have the potential to.               </p> <p><b>Warren Central (4A) at Zionsville (4A) – </b><strong>Jan 21</strong><b>, 7:30 pm:</b> Since surprising the whole entire state of Indiana and starting off the season with winning their first 8 games, <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/malik-stanley/">Malik Stanley</a> and the Warriors have seen to have fallen back down to earth. They have lost 3 straight that, for the most part, have been pretty close contests. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/anthony-scales/">Anthony Scales</a> and Zionsville will be looking to take advantage of this losing streak when they face off on Tuesday. Zionsville has all the potential to win this game.   </p>