3 For 3: Week 2 Preview

The high school boys’ basketball season is underway and even though we could face some challenges throughout the year, 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 [player_tooltip player_id="569321" first="Kooper" last="Jacobi"] – 6’6 2021 PF – Silver Creek: Last week I took a look at [player_tooltip player_id="529572" first="Trey" last="Kaufman"], who ended up not playing. This week, however, I am going to take a look at Kaufman’s teammate [player_tooltip player_id="569321" first="Kooper" last="Jacobi"], who is coming off a monster performance last week. Jacobi is coming into this week off a 44 point game in a dominate victory over Columbus East. Jacobi is one of the top power forwards in the state and recently committed to Toledo earlier this year. He is one of my favorite players to watch because of how easy the game comes to him. It is unknown whether Kaufman will play this week, but ether way Kooper will likely continue his great senior season against Charleston (12/1) and Clarksville (12/4). [player_tooltip player_id="963914" first="Cole" last="Wireman"] – 5’11 2021 PG – Kouts: Wireman had arguably the best performance in the entire state last week in Kouts’ game against Hebron when he dropped 50 points. Wireman is one of the more underrated senior guards in the state but plays so tough. Not only can he score at a high level but is also a great defender with a good motor. This week Kouts takes on Covenant Christian DeMotte (12/4) and Kankakee Valley (12/5) so I am very interested to see if Wireman can keep this momentum up. [player_tooltip player_id="769662" first="Peter" last="Suder"] – 6’4 2022 SG – Carmel: Suder is one the top players in the 2022 class and it showed when he dropped 22 points in close win versus Columbus North last week. The reason I have Suder as a player to watch is because Carmel has two tough games this week and I want to see how Suder handles both of them. Suder and Carmel host Lawrence Central on Friday and Zionsville on Saturday. I firmly believe that Suder is going to have the same type of game as he did against Columbus North or perhaps an even better game(s). Suder is not only a player to watch this week but one you need to watch the rest of the season and beyond. Dude is a high level prospect. 3 Teams Fort Wayne Blackhawk (2A): The preseason #1 team will make their season debut this week when they host both Fort Wayne North (12/1) and New Haven (12/4). Not exactly an easy way to start off the season with two 4A schools but the Braves have a Indiana Mr. Basketball contender still on their squad with [player_tooltip player_id="529561" first="Caleb" last="Furst"]. Furst (Purdue Commit) is currently the top player in the 2021 class but also has a good group of teammates to back him up with studs like [player_tooltip player_id="569345" first="Zane" last="Burke"] and [player_tooltip player_id="874187" first="Marcus" last="Davidson"]. I actually expect them to be 2-0 at the end of this week and start to carve their path to a State championship. Bloomington South (4A): South is coming off a shocking blowout loss to New Albany, 61-36. South came into this season as one of the top teams in 4A but did not look like one last week. However, they are basically a brand new team with not having 4 of 5 starters from last season (3 graduated, 1 out for the year). [player_tooltip player_id="647209" first="Connor" last="Hickman"] (Bradley commit) was going to be one their top players this year before having season ending surgery so it is really up to senior SF [player_tooltip player_id="783201" first="Joseph" last="Bomba"] to carry this team. They may have a "down year" on paper but we have to remember that they are still Bloomington South and are coached extremely well. They should beat Milan on Tuesday before facing a tricky Bedford North Lawrence team on Friday. Zionsville (4A): The Eagles are coming off a big win over Ben Davis, 49-36. They are in for a huge week as they play two very good teams in Westfield (12/4) and Carmel (12/5). This is a big test for Zionsville because there were a lot of changes and questions in the offseason and people were questioning if this team is legit or not. From what I saw last Saturday, this team is very good, especially if their offense is clicking. I can see them escaping with at least one win this week. If you can, try to watch one of or both of these games cause there is about to be some good basketball played. 3 Matchups Warren Central (4A) vs Crispus Attucks (4A) – Dec. 5th, 3:00 pm: Brownsburg will be hosting a showcase on Saturday and this is one of the top games at that event. Warren Central was lead by senior [player_tooltip player_id="874117" first="Malik" last="Stanley"] (19 points, 10 rebounds) in their win against Indianapolis Tech last week. Attucks, however, has yet to play this season but that will change as they will play two games before this game on Saturday. One player to really watch this game is 2023 prospect [player_tooltip player_id="868218" first="Jalen" last="Hooks"] (CA), who is one of the top players in the entire state. This should be a really good, back-and-forth battle. Going to give the slight edge to Attucks here just because of the amount of talent on thus squad. Gary 21st Century (1A) at Bowman Academy (2A) – Dec. 4th, 7:00 pm: This is one of the top games for 1A/2A basketball this week. Gary 21st is coming off a tough loss to Victory Christian and Bowman Academy was able to split their games last week so they are 1-1. It is an interesting matchup because I feel like both teams are still trying figure it out a bit. It will be a tall task for Bowman’s [player_tooltip player_id="1077014" first="Koron" last="Davis"] to carry his team past the stud duo of [player_tooltip player_id="1063962" first="Eric" last="Price Jr."] and [player_tooltip player_id="1042493" first="D.J." last="Moss"]. I think Gary 21st gets a big win here. South Bend St. Joseph (3A) at South Bend Adams (4A) – Dec. 4th, 7:00 pm: This will be the first time we get to see one of 3A’s top teams in South Bend St. Joseph as they make the short trip to South Bend Adams. Senior SF [player_tooltip player_id="647193" first="Douglas" last="Konieczny"] (Notre Dame commit) will be looking to kickoff his senior campaign the right way. His fellow seniors such as [player_tooltip player_id="783233" first="Jack" last="Futa"], [player_tooltip player_id="783186" first="Adam" last="O’Dell"], [player_tooltip player_id="963219" first="Will" last="Terry"], and [player_tooltip player_id="963908" first="Connor" last="Litka"] will be looking for the same thing as well. [player_tooltip player_id="1077020" first="Sidney" last="Jefferies"] and South Bend Adams on the other hand will be looking to avoid the upset and protect home court. I think this is going to be a closer battle than people expect here but I am going to predict St. Joseph comes out with the 3A over a 4A victory here. They are just too loaded in my opinion.