3 For 3: Week 9 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="783155" first="Owen" last="Dease"] – 6’7 2021 SF – Evansville Reitz: Dease is coming off of a huge weekend. He dropped 38 points and with 7 threes against Evansville North and had a double-double (18 pts, 15 rbs) when he faced Webster County (KY) plus a couple other huge games. He is one of the best players in the 2021 class that has yet to sign anywhere but when he does, that team is getting a stud of a player. When his teammate [player_tooltip player_id="529565" first="Khristian" last="Lander"] decided to go ahead and play college ball, all the hype was that Reitz was going to be Dease’s team and he has proved that to be true so far. The Panthers are currently 7-0 and but will have a tough challenge this weekend when they take on both Evansville Mater Dei (1/22) and New Albany (1/23) this weekend. Expect to have two great games while he tried to keep Reitz away from the the losing column. [player_tooltip player_id="783180" first="Shamar" last="Avance"] – 6’1 2021 PG – Lawrence North: Avance is the unsung hero of this Lawrence North team. He is a very creative and quick lead guard that has been a clutch player for the Wildcats all season long. This past week he led Lawrence North past Warren Central to win Marion County Tourney with his 24 points. He brings the energy night-in and night-out and really is the heartbeat for his team. He has a few D1 offers so it will be interesting to see where he winds up at. He and the Wildcats will look to keep their undefeated streak alive when they host both North Central (Indianapolis) (1/22) and also undefeated Homestead (1/23). [player_tooltip player_id="774740" first="Isaiah" last="Davis"] – 6’7 2022 PF – Greenwood Christian: Davis has been a monster this season. Transferring from Zionsville might have been the best decision for him because he has been the guy for Greenwood Christian Academy. Here are just a few of his stats from games so far this season: Double-double (20 pts, 12 rbs) vs Indian Creek, double-double (16 pts, 15 rbs) vs North Putnam, and 25 pts, 9 rbs, and 7 blocks vs Indianapolis Shortage. Just a strong, highly skilled big man that can be a difference maker in a game. He has racked up a good amount of D2/NAIA offers and will continue to get more in. He and the Cougars will take on Providence Cristo Rey on Friday and Oldenburg Academy on Saturday. 3 Teams Center Grove (4A): The Trojans have been on a roll as of late. 7-3 record and have won their last 4 games including the Johnson County Tournament this past weekend. A ton of the credit for the Trojan’s success this season has been because of the great play from senior guard [player_tooltip player_id="874190" first="Landin" last="Hacker"] and junior [player_tooltip player_id="769658" first="Tayven" last="Jackson"]. This week has a couple of winnable games for them when they travel to Ben Davis on Friday and then host Indianapolis Roncalli on Saturday. If they can win these games like they should, Center Grove might have a legit case for being the hottest team in 4A right now. Peru (3A): The Tigers just continues to win and climb the ranks of 3A. Currently 1 of 4 teams that are undefeated in 3A (11-0) and have had only had one game that they scored bellow 56 points. Peru’s stud SF [player_tooltip player_id="958403" first="Matthew" last="Ross"] has been having a great junior year and has been the anchor for them on the offense. Should continue their winning streak this weekend when they travel to both Frankfort (1/22) and Northwestern (1/13). This week is probably the last stop before their hardest stretch of the season with teams like Homestead, Twin Lakes, and other great squads on tap. Kouts (1A): Other than two losses, the Mustangs have been absolutely dominate this season. They have a very experienced team with seniors [player_tooltip player_id="963914" first="Cole" last="Wireman"], [player_tooltip player_id="963930" first="Cale" last="Wireman"], [player_tooltip player_id="963911" first="Hunter" last="Kneifel"], and [player_tooltip player_id="963928" first="Parker" last="Kneifel"] leading them. Starting Tuesday, they will compete in the Porter County Conference Tournament when they face Westville in the first round. I see them winning this mid-season tourney pretty easily before they go onto face some tougher challenges on the remaining part of their schedule. Kouts is going to be a tough team come Sectional time. 3 Matchups Eastern Hancock (2A) at Shenandoah (2A) – Jan. 23rd, 7:30 pm: This game really intrigues me. Eastern Hancock is currently undefeated and will face the number 2 ranked team in 2A, Shenandoah. As good as season as the Royals have had, they have not faced a team as good as [player_tooltip player_id="783204" first="Andrew" last="Bennett"] and the Raiders. Shenandoah has lost 3 games so far this season but that has been against very good teams. If Eastern Hancock can get the underdog win, it will be huge and it might start to be serious about them being a contender in 2A. However, I think players like [player_tooltip player_id="874171" first="Kaden" last="McCollough"] and [player_tooltip player_id="874191" first="Jake" last="Kinsey"] step up for Shenandoah here and give the Royals their first loss of the season. Homestead (4A) at Lawrence North (4A) – Jan. 23rd, 5:30 pm: For the second week in a row, Homestead is a part of one of my games to watch and it is not hard to see why. Both teams are undefeated and are two of the top 3 teams in 4A. Also there is a ton of D1 level talent like [player_tooltip player_id="529568" first="Luke" last="Goode"], [player_tooltip player_id="1063961" first="Fletcher" last="Loyer"], Chis Gunn, [player_tooltip player_id="830575" first="DJ" last="Hughes"], [player_tooltip player_id="783180" first="Shamar" last="Avance"], and other elite prospects playing in this one. Honestly, this could very well be a preview of the 4A State Finals here. Can Homestead knock off their second undefeated team in 2 weeks? It will be slightly tougher challenge but it should not come as a shock if they do. With as good as both teams are playing this season, this game is almost impossible to predict. Going with Lawrence North in a very, very close one. Battle At Memorial – Jan. 23rd, 2:00 pm: Kind of like I did with the Hall of Fame Tournament in December, I am cheating with this matchup to watch. Reason being is because this is the best event in Southern Indiana this weekend. Here is the lineup in order: Evansville Day vs Crawford County, [player_tooltip player_id="963906" first="Lane" last="Lauderbaugh"] and South Decatur vs [player_tooltip player_id="783147" first="Lincoln" last="Hale"] and Linton-Stockton, [player_tooltip player_id="958407" first="Carter" last="Whitehead"] and Southridge vs [player_tooltip player_id="874113" first="Lane" last="Sparks"] and Greensburg, and the final game being [player_tooltip player_id="874112" first="Blake" last="Sisley"] and Heritage Hills vs [player_tooltip player_id="783158" first="Curt" last="Hopf"] and Barr-Reeve. Four really great games at this event with the Heritage Hills-Bar-Reeve game being the best one on paper. If you have the time, I would highly recommend you stream these games if you can. Going to go with Evansville Day, Linton-Stockton, Greensburg, and Barr-Reeve all to win their respective games here.