Bundy’s Week 2 Mid-Week Player Evals: 2022’s

<p>After missing the first week of games due to family Thanksgiving, it was good to get back on the grind with two streams to start the week. The first, a battle of small, private schools in Indianapolis who had disappointing endings to their seasons last year with losses in the first game in Sectional as Greenwood Christian hosted Park Tudor. The second game, on Wednesday, saw the defending state runners-up, Leo, traveling to Fort Wayne Wayne for the third game of their season as they look to return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to get the job done this year. Let’s take a look at some of the top seniors from the start of the week.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p style="text-align: center;"><strong>Player Evaluations</strong></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="870232" first="Caedmon" last="Bontrager"] (Leo) – 6’7" 2022 PF: </strong>Bontrager is a big post who had possibly the best game of his career on Wednesday night. Bontrager ended with 38 points and 8 rebounds on 16-18 shooting. His only two misses were a missed dunk late in the game and a missed layup that he got the offensive rebound and finished again. He has great touch around the rim and knows how to get position both in the post and on the offensive glass. He also has enough strength to finish through contact and get to the line. Bontrager holds several NAIA offers, and he should excel at this level in the coming years. College coaches need to get on this kid in a major way.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="870266" first="Jordan" last="Bowles"] (Park Tudor) – 5’11" 2022 PG: </strong>Bowles is a strong, physical guard who looked very impressive on Tuesday night. He has a really nice stop and pop jumper and a smooth shooting stroke which led to his 22 point outing. He also showed off very impressive court vision and passing ability as he tallied 8 assists in the game. Bowles is a solid point guard who can do it all, and he has NAIA potential, so there should be coaches at all levels jumping on this kid very soon.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="870300" first="Brody" last="Hiteshew"] (Leo) – 6’3" 2022 PG: </strong>Hiteshew is another bigger guard who really sees the floor very well and likes to keep it moving quickly. He had some passes that I did not think had a shot to find its target, and several of these were no-looks to fool the defense. He can also score it by getting to the rim and finishing strong or pulling up for a floater, but he is most definitely a pass-first guard. Hiteshew has the potential to be a solid D3 point guard in the coming season.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="870237" first="Luke" last="LaGrange"] (Leo) – 6’5" 2022 SF: </strong>LaGrange is a wing with good size and length, and it is quite possible that he is one of the best sixth men in the entire 3A class or even the state. Lagrange has a solid three-point stroke and is great off of the catch and shoot. He also attacked the glass with authority, grabbing 6 boards in the win. Lagrange can do a little bit of everything, and he should be a key off the bench to help Leo repeat their magical run to Indianapolis last season. Lagrange has been on a couple of D3 visits, but he has yet to receive an offer. Look for this to change throughout the high school season.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Xavier Middleton (Leo) – 6’3" 2022 SF: </strong>Middleton is a big guard who is definitely one of the best spot up shooters in the Fort Wayne area. When he has the chance to set his feet and take his time on the catch and shoot, he will not miss. He was 3-4 from behind the arc and 3-3 on catch and shoot. In addition to shooting, Middleton attacked the glass hard on both ends to grab 5 boards, and he was active getting into the lane and finding the open man for 4 assists. This was no doubt Middleton’s best game of the year, and it will be interesting to see his development throughout the season.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="870252" first="Ayden" last="Ruble"] (Leo) – 6’2" 2022 PG: </strong>Ruble is a big, physical point guard who can pretty much do it all. He has great ball-handling skills and sees the floor incredibly well. He tallied 7 assists in this one with several really nice dishes for open layups in which there was not much of an angle at all. Ruble also was able to knock shots down from the outside and finish drives in the lane. He is a very solid point guard who could make a major impact at the NAIA level in the future.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><strong>Aden Sloan (Greenwood Christian) – 5’11" 2022 SG: </strong><span style="font-weight: 400;">Sloan is a smaller guard who had an under-the-radar performance in this one. He drives the ball well and can hit the stop and pop jumpers which led to 11 points. He also seemed to always make the right decision with the ball in his hands. Should be a good senior leader for GCA this season.</span></p>