3 For 3: Week 1 Preview

The high school boys’ basketball season is officially 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! 3 Players [player_tooltip player_id="1063961" first="Fletcher" last="Loyer"] – 6’4 2022 SG – Homestead: It is only fitting that we start this series off in a big way and there is arguably no better way than having one of our top overall players in the 2022 class as a player to watch for in week 1. Loyer, Purdue University commit and arguably the favorite to win Mr. Basketball, comes into this season as the main man for a Homestead team that went 25-1 last season where they went undefeated during the regular season but lost a tough one to Carmel during Regionals. The Spartans Bring back most of their roster from last season and Loyer’s role will slightly increase as he will be relied on a little more this year which should will make him one of the most dominant backcourt players in the entire state. Homestead starts off with a tough road game against 4A Huntington North (11/24) and then travels to a neutral site game in Ohio vs Alter (11/27). [player_tooltip player_id="1042491" first="Sam" last="Orme"] – 6’8 2023 SF – Carmel: Orme made one of the biggest leaps out of any player in the state from last year to this year. If you don’t know this by now, Orme is a 6’8 wing that can absolutely light it up and has the size and skillset that high major coaches love to see. His role for this year’s Carmel team will increase a ton as he should be the primary perimeter shooter for them. Already has a host of offers and visits in his pocket, Orme is a player not only to watch this week but for the entire season. Carmel starts the season on the road in a must see matchup vs Zionsville (11/23) followed by a neutral site game in Ohio vs Elder (11/27). [player_tooltip player_id="870215" first="Nick" last="Klaiber"] – 6’1 2022 PG – Bloomington North: Klaiber will be coming into this season coming off of a right wrist/arm injury that caused him to miss the entire summer. Even though his summer was missed, he arguably had his best high school season yet last year as he averaged 14.8 ppg, 4.6 apg, and 3.6 rpg as a junior. Sometimes gets a little overlooked at times due to the fact he has a top 5 player in the 2023 class as a teammate, however Klaiber is one of the most reliable and tough lead guards we have in the entire state right now. Mark my words, Klaiber is going to have a monster year and it should start this week against a Bedford North Lawrence (11/23) team that has a ton of questions heading into this season. 3 Teams Cathedral (4A): Without question, Cathedral will most certainly be at the top of 4A for most of, if not the entire season. I mean look at the amount of talent this team has on it: [player_tooltip player_id="870212" first="Tayshawn" last="Comer"] (Eastern Kentucky), [player_tooltip player_id="1063971" first="Jaxon" last="Edwards"] (Murray State), [player_tooltip player_id="1176168" first="Jaiden" last="Malichi"], [player_tooltip player_id="868219" first="Xavier" last="Booker"] (#1 in 2023), [player_tooltip player_id="868251" first="Jake" last="Davis"], [player_tooltip player_id="868252" first="Jaron" last="Tibbs"], [player_tooltip player_id="868260" first="Sincere" last="Germany"], [player_tooltip player_id="1158226" first="Dhani" last="Flannigan"], and others that could step up and play important roles. Very few teams at that 4A level can matchup to them skill/talent wise and that is a scary thought because their are some very good teams in that class. They start off this week with 2 very winnable games first traveling to Bowman Academy (11/23) and a neutral site visit in Ohio vs St. Ignatius (11/27). Preseason state final favorites, and they should not have any problem living up to the hype. Silver Creek (3A): Silver Creek has been one of the most discussed teams in 3A the entire offseason. Sure, they are coming off a Class 3A State Championship, but that was with one of the best 1-2 punches we have seen in the last few years, Kooper Jacobi and Trey Kaufman, both who are long gone and playing at the college level now. The good news, they return on the best lead guards in the entire 2022 class in [player_tooltip player_id="769684" first="Branden" last="Northern"]. The next question is, who steps up and fills the voids? One player that for sure is going to bring in some scoring is 2024 SG [player_tooltip player_id="1275752" first="Kyle" last="Roberts"], who along with Northern could make a case as being the best backcourt in Southern Indiana. Another name to watch out for is Jacob Mattingly (2023 C), who could provide that post presence. Silver Creek has a chance to build some early chemistry when they host 4A Columbus East on Nov. 24th. Central Noble (2A): The Cougars come into this season coming off a 24-2 record last year which ended in defeat to eventual Sectional 35 winners Churubusco. They return their core group of players from last season which includes seniors [player_tooltip player_id="870256" first="Logan" last="Gard"], [player_tooltip player_id="1269905" first="Ryan" last="Schroeder"], and their stud SG [player_tooltip player_id="769682" first="Connor" last="Essegian"], who recently committed to play college ball at Wisconsin. Besides the 3 upperclassmen, they also have 2 very tough sophomores in [player_tooltip player_id="1158220" first="Jackson" last="Andrews"] and [player_tooltip player_id="1158228" first="Sam" last="Essegian"]. With the addition of Andrews and the younger Essegian, there is a strong chance that this year’s team is even better than last year’s thus making them one of the favorites to take home that 2A State Championship. They start off the season with what should be an easy road win vs Fort Wayne Canterbury (11/27). 3 Matchups Loogootee (1A) at North Daviess (1A) – Nov. 23, 7:30 pm: This quite possibly might be the most anticipated 1A battle that we have here in week 1. Both teams finished in the top 4 last year and both each return a stud 2023 prospect. Starting with Loogootee, they may have lost a beast in the frontcourt with Silas Bauer gone, but they do return sharp shooter [player_tooltip player_id="868254" first="Peyton" last="Bledsoe"], who was one of my 2023 SFs to watch this season. On the North Daviess side, they bring back the guy that has been running their offense so well the last couple years with tough lead guard [player_tooltip player_id="935727" first="Jaylen" last="Mullen"] back as the main man for them. By the time Sectional comes around, both of these teams should be right in the mix as potential winners of Sectional 63. For this meeting however, I am taking North Daviess here because they seem to have a better team on paper at the moment. Seton Catholic (1A) at Northeastern (2A) – Nov. 24th, 7:30 pm: I love a big man battle, and this game is certainly that. This might not be the most attractive game we have week 1, but it is one that features two very skilled, versatile big men with both [player_tooltip player_id="1275728" first="Mason" last="Harvey"] (Seton Catholic) and [player_tooltip player_id="1063964" first="Raedhyn" last="Foust"] (Northeastern) duking it out here. The bigs aren’t the only two that should get the spotlight here as both have a great sidekick in a pair of 2024 guards in [player_tooltip player_id="1275899" first="Braiden" last="Hogg"] (Seton Catholic) and [player_tooltip player_id="1275900" first="Wes" last="Hunt"] (Northeastern). As far as a winner here, I think Northeastern has the advantage in this one due to Foust having more experience than the younger Harvey. However, this should be a back and fourth battle and one of the highest scoring games on Wednesday. Lawrence North (4A) at Noblesville (4A) – Nov. 24th, 7:30 pm: At first glance, this is honestly one of the more intriguing games on paper. As most already know, Lawrence North lost a ton of players due to graduation. However, they got their main man back with Indiana commit, and possible Mr. Basketball, [player_tooltip player_id="870213" first="Chris" last="Gunn"] to run the show. Besides Gunn, there are quite a few players that will need to step up this season like fellow senior [player_tooltip player_id="1174032" first="AJ" last="Branigan"], junior [player_tooltip player_id="935741" first="Ty" last="Cunningham"], and a host of others that could fill roles that are currently left empty. Now with Noblesville, they have a chance to be one the sleeper teams this year to watch for. They bring in a new coach in Scott McClelland, who just came off an excellent 6 year run with Morristown, and great core of returning players with experience players such as [player_tooltip player_id="870251" first="E.J." last="Smith"], [player_tooltip player_id="1202103" first="Cameron" last="Karns"], [player_tooltip player_id="868230" first="Preston" last="Roberts"], [player_tooltip player_id="1042494" first="Luke" last="Almodovar"], and a bunch of others. Call me crazy here, but I think Noblesville gets the win here. I think it will take a little bit for Lawrence North to nail down that floor chemistry and Noblesville has the talent there to take advantage of that and make a deep run here this season.