3 For 3: Week 3 Preview

<p>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! </p> <p><strong>3 Players</strong></p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="783164" first="Isaiah" last="Swope"] – 5’10 2021 PG – Castle:</b> Swope is coming off his best game of his high school career. He dropped 33 points in a very tough loss to Floyd Central last week. Swope is often overlooked sometimes but man can this lead guard hoop. Can score at all three levels and distributes the ball so well. He has a few offers from Division 2 schools and could lock up some more offers as the season continues. Swope and the Knights will go on the road in back-to-back nights this weekend when they travel to Evansville Harrison (12/11) and Bloomington North (12/12). Expect a high level performance from Swope in both games.                              <strong> </strong>  </p> <p><b>[player_tooltip player_id="868218" first="Jalen" last="Hooks"] – 6’6 2023 SF –</b> <strong>Crispus Attucks:</strong> Hooks is one of, if not, the best prospects in the entire 2023 class. Stud wing that can play all over the floor in the offense. He is the type of player that just produces at almost every aspect of the game. He is coming off a solid performance from the Sneakers for Santa event as he dropped 10 points and grabbed 6 rebounds. He could honestly be on my "Players to Watch" list every week because he is so fun to watch play. He and Attucks have a real tough 3-game slate as they take on Brownsburg (12/9), Indianapolis Ritter (12/11) and West Lafayette (12/12).                                       </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="963180" first="Matt" last="Gauer"] – 6’5 2021 PF – Terre Haute North:</strong> Gauer may be a stud baseball commit (Indiana State), but this guy is also a stud on the hardwood. I was able to catch a little bit of the Terre Haute North and Bedford game last week and it felt like every time I looked up, Gauer was scoring. He dropped 23 points with 12 of those coming from behind the arc. He is a true stretch 4 that has the length and strength to matchup well with anybody. He and the Patriots will host Vincennes Lincoln on Friday and I expect to see another fantastic performance from him again.                                          </p> <p><strong>3 Teams</strong></p> <p><strong>Westfield</strong> <strong>(4A):</strong> The Shamrocks are coming off two pretty good wins over Zionsville and Kokomo this past weekend. The main reason for those huge wins are the stellar play from their top two sophomore players, [player_tooltip player_id="870222" first="Braden" last="Smith"] and [player_tooltip player_id="870245" first="Cameron" last="Haffner"]. Not only does this team have those two elite prospects, they also have two other sophomore teammates that help make up their core with stud’s [player_tooltip player_id="1063967" first="Nic" last="Depasquale"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1063972" first="Luke" last="Carroll"]. Right now this team is outside of the top 10 for the 4A teams but I think it will be sooner rather than later that they become a consistent top 10 squad. They take on a solid Fort Wayne Wayne team on Friday but I expect them to take care of business.                                              <br /> <b></b></p> <p><b>Heritage Hills</b> <strong>(3A):</strong> Even though they do not get talked enough as much as Silver Creek, the Patriots are one of the best teams in all of 3A. They have two dominant wins over North Harrison and Evansville Memorial and have two very winnable games against North Posey (12/11) and Evansville Bosse (12/12) this weekend. They have a great core of players lead by [player_tooltip player_id="874112" first="Blake" last="Sisley"] (Evansville commit), [player_tooltip player_id="874127" first="Cameron" last="Banks"], and [player_tooltip player_id="870294" first="Alex" last="Schaeffer"]. This team is playing at a high level right now and overall does not look to have really any team on their schedule that can slow them down.                                       </p> <p><strong>Argos (1A): </strong>The Dragons have quietly had a real solid season. Lost their first game to 2A Bremen in OT but have won back-to-back games against 3A Tippecanoe Valley and 4A Plymouth. This team is lead by <strong>Michael Richard </strong>and are being coached extremely well right now. They play 3A Jimtown this Friday but they should be able to defeat them fairly easily. Keep an eye on this Argos squad because they could sneak into the top 10 here soon if they continue to play well.                             </p> <p><strong>3 Matchups </strong></p> <p><strong>Fort Wayne Blackhawk (2A) vs Silver Creek (3A) – Dec. 12th, 6:30 pm:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id="529561" first="Caleb" last="Furst"] vs [player_tooltip player_id="529572" first="Trey" last="Kaufman"]. 2021 Purdue commit vs 2021 Purdue commit. Indiana Mr. Basketball contender vs Indiana Mr. Basketball contender. Need I say more? This is without a doubt the best matchup for the annual FORUM Tipoff Classic this Saturday. You have arguably the best team in 2A taking on arguably the best team in 3A. Oh and don’t forget elite players like [player_tooltip player_id="569321" first="Kooper" last="Jacobi"] and [player_tooltip player_id="569345" first="Zane" last="Burke"] playing in this one too. If you have the time, find the live stream for this one. It is going to be showdown like it was last year.                                             <br /> <b></b></p> <p><b>Lawrence Central (4A) at Lawrence North (4A) – Dec. 9th, 7:30 pm: </b>This is a matchup between 2 of the top 6 teams in 4A. Both of these teams have started off a little shaking since the season kicked off but both have at least one 1 so far this season. You have a load of incredible prospects like [player_tooltip player_id="830575" first="DJ" last="Hughes"] (Butler commit), [player_tooltip player_id="783180" first="Shamar" last="Avance"], [player_tooltip player_id="870264" first="James" last="Smith"], [player_tooltip player_id="868233" first="Joshua" last="Mickens"], and so many others in this game. Lawrence Central has had two tough losses so a win here would give them a huge boost that they need. However, Lawrence North is incredibly stacked so it is going to be a tough challenge. This could be the best game in the Indianapolis area this week.                                             </p> <p><b>Bloomington South (4A) at Barr-Reeve (1A) – Dec. 8th, 7:30 pm:</b> This is the best matchup on paper in Southern Indiana this week. Bloomington South started off this season with a lot of questions on if they will be as good as they usually are. Well, they have silenced a lot of doubters after absolutely dominating their past two opponents. However, [player_tooltip player_id="783158" first="Curt" last="Hopf"] and Barr-Reeve are a different beast. They are the best team in 1A and showed no signs of weakness in their victory over Vincennes Rivet. The key for South to come away with a win here is if [player_tooltip player_id="783201" first="Joseph" last="Bomba"] can continue his great play as of late and carry the team once again. Kind of a tough one to call here but if I have to flip a coin, I am going to go with Barr-Reeve to squeak by here.    </p>