3 For 3: Week 6 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="769662" first="Peter" last="Suder"] – 6’5 2022 SG – Carmel: Suder is arguably the best player in the 2022 class that has yet to commit to anywhere. He missed all of summer due to a knee injury but when I watched him a few weeks ago, he looked like his physical, aggressive self. He is arguably the most important piece to the defending 4A state champs and when he is on, Carmel is one of the toughest teams to beat. Already has a good amount of offers but could see him get a few more before it is all set and done. He and Carmel will travel to Anderson on 12/29. [player_tooltip player_id="1063964" first="Raedhyn" last="Foust"] – 6’8 2022 PF – Northeastern: Foust is one of the more underrated stretch 4s we have in the state. He is a very skilled, talented power forward and has been on a role since the summer and has gotten great offers from schools such as IU-East, Wittenberg, Wabash, Franklin, Earlham, and more. He is the main reason why Northeastern is having such a great year so far in Class 2A. He and the Knights will host Lapel on 12/29. [player_tooltip player_id="868224" first="JaQualon" last="Roberts"] – 6’7 2023 PF – Bloomington North: No question, we can now consider Roberts as one of the best players in the state. He has just improved and improved since his freshman year and is starting to score at all three levels consistently. This year, his game is starting to look more complete and he is making a ton of highlight plays for the Cougars. High majors are very interested in this guy. He and Bloomington North will compete in the Bedford Holiday Tournament with a first round game vs Whiteland on 12/28. 3 Teams Crown Point (4A): The Bulldogs of Crown Point might be considered the most underrated team in 4A. Currently ranked #19 in 4A and with a 6-1 record, Crown Point has beaten some real solid teams this year so far such as Illiana Christian, Warsaw, and Munster. Their roster is one of my favorites as they have one of the better "Big 3s" in Northern Indiana with [player_tooltip player_id="870293" first="Drew" last="Adzia"] and [player_tooltip player_id="868237" first="A.J." last="Lux"] in the backcourt and skilled big man [player_tooltip player_id="868253" first="Keaton" last="Buuck"] holding down the frontcourt. Also throw in guys like [player_tooltip player_id="935739" first="Darrius" last="Roach"], [player_tooltip player_id="1159613" first="Matt" last="Zdanowicz"], and [player_tooltip player_id="1267800" first="Carter" last="Delich"], their roster is just beautifully put together. Come post-season time, this could be a team to watch out for cause they have some guys to make a deep run. This week, the Bulldogs will take part in the Noblesville Tournament on 12/28 as they face Columbus North in the first round. Mishawaka Marian (3A): The Knights can make a serious case as being the best team in 3A basketball right now, especially with Connersville losing to the 2A Monroe Central last week. They just suffered their first loss to 4A Westfield last week but before that they had won 7 straight in very dominant fashion. The guy that is leading them is athletic SF [player_tooltip player_id="870217" first="Kaleo" last="Kakalia"] who is having a great senior year and really stuffing the state sheets every game. Guys like [player_tooltip player_id="769703" first="Richard" last="Brooks"], [player_tooltip player_id="1049162" first="Deaglan" last="Sullivan"], and [player_tooltip player_id="1049174" first="Dareon" last="Thornton"] are also stepping up and are a big reason why they are currently 7-1. Mishawaka Marian will host Andrean on 12/29 this week. Barr-Reeve (1A): The Barr-Reeve Vikings overall have had a solid year so far. Even though they had 2 head-scratching losses, one by Terre Haute South and a beatdown by Central Noble, they have some really great wins as well against Orleans, Bloomington South and North Knox. [player_tooltip player_id="958397" first="Hagen" last="Knepp"] has been the guy for them this year like everyone expected him to be and he is continuing to gain interest from schools at the next level. There is still some more work to be done with this Barr-Reeve team but come post-season time, they should be a more complete and better squad than they are now. They will face South Knox in the first round of the North Daviess Tournament on 12/28. 3 Matchups North Daviess Tournament (Bobcat of Daviess County Classic) - Dec. 28th-30th: This without question is the best holiday tournament in Southern Indiana this week. The 8 team lineup is insanely stacked with teams like North Daviess, Barr-Reeve, Brownstown Central, Loogootee, and Fort Wayne Blackhawk making the trip down south, among others making up this field. As far as a breakdown prediction of this tournament, I think it will go like this: [player_tooltip player_id="958397" first="Hagen" last="Knepp"] and Barr-Reeve to defeat South Knox and then go onto face [player_tooltip player_id="935727" first="Jaylen" last="Mullen"] and North Daviess, who will barely get by [player_tooltip player_id="1042499" first="Josh" last="Furst"] and Blackhawk. On the other side of the bracket, I like [player_tooltip player_id="868254" first="Peyton" last="Bledsoe"] and Loogootee to beat Paoli and then face [player_tooltip player_id="1158245" first="Jack" last="Benter"] and Brownstown after they beat Rock Creek Academy. In the final 4, I like North Daviess and Brownstown to make it to the finals with North Daviess beating Brownstown in a barn-burner of a game. North Central Classic (Paul Loggan Memorial Invitational) - Dec. 28th-29th: Although this one is not really a tournament as it is more of a showcase, there are still 5 very talented teams in this classic with Park Tudor, Avon, North Central, Floyd Central, Pike, with a 6th team to be named with Jeffersonville having to drop out due to COVID issues. Lot of talent in this one as well with guys like [player_tooltip player_id="870226" first="Ryan" last="Conwell"], [player_tooltip player_id="1173731" first="Davis" last="Olson"], [player_tooltip player_id="870231" first="David" last="Lloyd"], [player_tooltip player_id="1269864" first="Wesley" last="Celichowski"], [player_tooltip player_id="1267668" first="Charles" last="Chanin"], [player_tooltip player_id="1063963" first="Tim" last="Pepper"], [player_tooltip player_id="868259" first="Joey" last="Brown"], [player_tooltip player_id="1049176" first="Devon" last="Woods"], [player_tooltip player_id="868231" first="Caleb" last="Washington"], [player_tooltip player_id="868228" first="Jermaine" last="Coleman"], [player_tooltip player_id="935733" first="Bryce" last="Petty"], [player_tooltip player_id="1172872" first="Jordan" last="Lomax"], [player_tooltip player_id="1158227" first="Mason" last="Lewis"], and so much more. Each team will play 1 game each day and here are my predictions: Day 1 we will see Park Tudor over Avon, Floyd Central over Pike, and on Day 2 we will see Floyd Central over Avon, and North Central over Park Tudor. We will have to wait and see who North Central plays on Day 1 and Pike plays on Day 2. Hall of Fame Tournament (Raymond James Hall of Fame Classic) - Dec 30th: This one may be small, but there is no bigger holiday tournament in the state than the Raymond James Hall of Fame Classic on 12/30. The first game you will see [player_tooltip player_id="1158186" first="Braden" last="Smith"] and Westfield vs [player_tooltip player_id="1063975" first="Tobey" last="Billups"] and Connersville and then following that you have [player_tooltip player_id="1063961" first="Fletcher" last="Loyer"] and Homestead vs [player_tooltip player_id="868219" first="Xavier" last="Booker"] and Cathedral. I like Westfield to finally get that big win that has eluded them this year so far over Connersville and then face Cathedral in the finals. There, I think Cathedral will just have way too much for [player_tooltip player_id="1158186" first="Braden" last="Smith"] and [player_tooltip player_id="870245" first="Cameron" last="Haffner"] to overcome. [player_tooltip player_id="870212" first="Tayshawn" last="Comer"] and Cathedral will win the 2021 Hall of Fame Tournament.