Top Players from Basketball Day Indiana: Afternoon Session

With the numerous high school, college, and professional games on Saturday, the state of Indiana deemed it to be Basketball Day Indiana. One of the main events of Basketball Day Indiana included four top-level games at Memorial Gymnasium in Kokomo, Indiana. The afternoon games at Memorial Gymnasium featured the Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian Braves taking on the Indianapolis Crispus Attucks Tigers in game 3. The final game pitted the Fishers Tigers against the Westfield Shamrocks. The third game of the day featured the best two teams on the slate for Saturday with Attucks as the #4 team in the state and Blackhawk the #10 team. The game lived up to the hype. It was a back and forth game for the first three quarters of action with neither team leading by more than 6 points. However, in the final quarter of action, Blackhawk went ice-cold and the Tigers heated up. The Tigers shot 10-15 from the floor while the Braves were held to 2-11 and Attucks rolled to a 71-57 win over the Braves. In the final game of the day, the Fishers Tigers took on the Westfield Shamrocks as they renewed their Indianapolis rivalry. The game was tight throughout as neither team could seem to pull ahead. Fishers took the largest lead of the game at 8, but Westfield was able to make a run back to tie it up. However, late in the fourth quarter, the Shamrocks’ three-point shooting fell short, and the Tigers were able to get a couple of buckets inside to pull away late. Now, let’s look ahead at the top performers from the morning session of Basketball Day Indiana.   <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/caleb-furst/">Caleb Furst</a>, Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, 2021 PF <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/caleb-furst/">Caleb Furst</a> is the top-rated player in the state for the 2021 class, and he showed why he is going to have his choice of school next year. In the game, he earned another double-double on the season with 23 points and 11 boards along the way. However, none of these were easy as the Tigers’ defense forced him to work from the tip to the final horn. Despite getting doubled on every touch, he still put up a 20 point performance, and this just shows that any team in the state would have a hard time stopping this kid. This team definitely has the potential to win the state championship, and if opponents cannot figure out a way to stop Furst, the Braves might not lose from here on out.   <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/zane-burke/">Zane Burke</a>, Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, 2021 SG <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/zane-burke/">Zane Burke</a> is the perfect complement to <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/caleb-furst/">Caleb Furst</a> down low. This junior guard has the ability to knock down threes at a high mark, and he is also able to get to the rim and finish over taller defenders. He was able to take over Saturday’s game with 24 points to lead the way for the Braves. He showed his touch around the rim without a couple of nifty drives to the hole, and he was able to knock down four threes as well. If Burke can score consistently, it only improves Blackhawk’s chances to win the 2A state championship.   <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/sincere-mcmahon/">Sincere McMahon</a>, Indianapolis Crispus Attucks, 2020 SG The future Western Illinois Leatherneck put on a show in Saturday’s tough-fought victory over the #2 team in 2A. McMahon finished with a stat-stuffing day of 21 points, 7 rebounds, and 6 assists to lead the Tigers in all three categories. He was able to dip and duck through the lane to finish through contact at the rim while also pulling up and hitting a couple of big threes. He was also hustling non-stop in all parts of the game whether it was getting out and running on the break or getting back on defense to stop the fastbreak, he was there. He is going to be a key player at Western Illinois in the future, and if he continues to play at this level, who knows what the top of the mountain is for this Crispus Attucks team this season.   <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/justin-long/">Justin Long</a>, Fishers, 2020 SG <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/justin-long/">Justin Long</a> took to the big stage in the final game of the day on Fox Sports Indiana as he was able to tally his best game of the season to this point. Long was the spark early for the Tigers as he exploded for 10 points in the first quarter as the Westfield defense seemed content to let him shoot from the outside. Long made them pay. However, he did not get much going for him during the middle of the game. In the fourth quarter though, Long exploded once again for 10 more points. He finished the game with 20 points, with all of these coming when Fishers needed him the most. If <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/justin-long/">Justin Long</a> can continue to put up this scoring ability, Fishers may be able to make a run at the tightly-contested, Sectional 8.   Charlie Smith, Fishers, 2022 PG Charlie Smith is just a sophomore for this Fishers’ ball club, but he still has full control of the offense. He quietly put up a stellar day in Saturday’s game with 7 points and 8 rebounds, but he was able to come up with a couple of big buckets during Westfield runs. Also, his play on the defensive end was top notch. He was able to hold the Shamrocks’ second-leading scorer, Nic DePasquale, to just 7 points and helped propel the Tigers to the top. Smith is a player to watch in the future as he continues to control this Fishers’ offense.   <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/braden-smith/">Braden Smith</a>, Westfield, 2022 PG <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/braden-smith/">Braden Smith</a> is going to be one of the best players in Indiana during his senior year. He showed everything in his arsenal during this game. He has a great looking shot despite them not falling for him in this one. Despite that, he continued to score at a great clip. He was able to slice and dice to the rim and find his own paths around the defense. The finishing ability was impressive for the undersized guard. He was also a very aggressive rebounder that was not afraid to go inside and battle with the big guys. He is Westfield’s top player at the moment, and this team could be scary in a year or two as Smith continues to improve.