Indiana All-Stars Preview/Prediction

<p>Outside of winning Mr. Basketball, there is no honor greater than being named an Indiana All-Star. Young Hoosiers from around the state dream of growing up to wear that jersey and go compete against our brothers across the river in Kentucky in the annual All-Star series. The decision is always a tough one as there are typical 20-25 worthy candidates for the traditional 13 spots on the roster. The actual team should be announced in the next day or two. However, today we will take a stab at guessing what the team may look like. Let’s dive on in.</p> <h2>Locks</h2> <p>Right off the bat, seven of the 13 spots seem almost assured. These guys were all Junior All-Stars last year, with the exception of Essegian, and were named to the IBCA "Supreme 15" All-State team this season. It is safe to assume that all seven of these players will wear an Indiana All-Star jersey this summer.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="870212" first="Tayshawn" last="Comer"] (Cathedral H.S. - Eastern Kentucky)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="769654" first="D’Ante" last="Davis"] (Warren Central H.S.)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="769682" first="Connor" last="Essegian"] (Central Noble H.S. - Wisconsin)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="870213" first="Chris" last="Gunn"] (Lawerence North H.S. - Indiana)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1063961" first="Fletcher" last="Loyer"] (Homestead H.S. - Purdue)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="870222" first="Braden" last="Smith"] (Westfield H.S. - Purdue)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="769662" first="Peter" last="Suder"] (Carmel H.S. - Bellarmine)</p> <h2>Likely Selections</h2> <p>This next tier features a few guys who aren’t locks, but it is hard to imagine an Indiana All-Star team without them. Conwell averaged 22.6 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 3.0 steals per game for a 14-9 Pike squad. Meanwhile, Jackson was a Junior All-Star last season and averaged an insane 27.6 points and 9.6 rebounds per game for the Bruins of Northrop. Both were "Supreme 15" selections this year as well. As for Grayson, he might even be more of a lock after being named one of the five finalists for Mr. Basketball. He guided Chesterton to a 29-1 record, only losing to Cathedral in the state championship game.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="870226" first="Ryan" last="Conwell"] (Pike H.S. - South Florida)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="870243" first="Travis" last="Grayson"] (Chesterton H.S.)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="870219" first="Jalen" last="Jackson"] (Fort Wayne Northrop H.S. - Illinois Chicago)</p> <h2>Other Candidates</h2> <p>This is where the job gets hard. We have already handed out 10 of the 13 available spots. Let’s start by looking at the list of potential candidates before trying to cut it down to three names.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1006434" first="Reggie" last="Bass"] (Arsenal Tech H.S.)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="870232" first="Caedmon" last="Bontrager"] (Leo H.S. - Indiana Wesleyan)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1195605" first="Javan" last="Buchanan"] (Lafayette Jefferson H.S. - Indiana Wesleyan)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1063971" first="Jaxon" last="Edwards"] (Cathedral H.S. - Murray State)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="870220" first="Amhad" last="Jarrard"] (Mount Vernon Fortville H.S. - IUPUI)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="870268" first="Armon" last="Jarrard"] (Mount Vernon Fortville H.S. - IUPUI)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="870249" first="Karson" last="Jenkins"] (Fort Wayne Snider H.S. - Barry)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="769666" first="Jeffrey" last="Simmons"] (Fishers H.S. - Miami Ohio Football)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="870225" first="Billy" last="Smith"] (Brebeuf Jesuit - Miami Ohio)</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="769678" first="Charlie" last="Williams"] (Carmel H.S. - William &amp; Mary)</p> <p>You could name 5-10 more deserving candidates, but since we can only pick three names there is no sense in making the pool too big. One glaring thing that sticks out when looking at the 10 names that have been selected so far is a lack of size. Outside of the 6’7" Davis who could play a forward spot, everyone is a guard/wing. So, one of the remaining three spots almost assuredly goes to a forward. Williams was a Junior All-Star, but doesn’t have the raw numbers of guys like Simmons, Buchanan, or Bontrager. Both Buchanan and Bontrager will likely be hurt, whether it is right or wrong, by the fact that they just returned to the IHSAA for their senior seasons. If I was selecting I would choose [player_tooltip player_id="769666" first="Jeffrey" last="Simmons"].</p> <p>Now we have 11 names and have effectively eliminated three others with our forward selection. That leaves six guys fighting for two spots. [player_tooltip player_id="870249" first="Karson" last="Jenkins"] has the best numbers of anyone on the list while leading Snider to a sectional title. The 6’1" guard averaged 26.4 points per game and deserves to be on the Indiana All-Star team with his spectacular senior season.</p> <p>As we continue to fill out the roster we are left, in our exercise, with five names for the final spot. For the same reasons we eliminated Buchanan and Bontrager, we can cut Bass out for having just returned to the IHSAA for his senior season. I am not saying that SHOULD matter, but when splitting hairs you have to make tough decisions. That leaves Edwards, the Jarrard twins, and [player_tooltip player_id="870225" first="Billy" last="Smith"]. [player_tooltip player_id="1063971" first="Jaxon" last="Edwards"] and [player_tooltip player_id="870220" first="Amhad" last="Jarrard"] were left off the "Supreme 15" and don’t have the raw numbers that Smith put up for sectional champion Brebeuf. He averaged 18.2 points per game and would be my pick for the 13th and final roster spot.</p> <h2>The Team</h2> <p>Guards: [player_tooltip player_id="870212" first="Tayshawn" last="Comer"], [player_tooltip player_id="870226" first="Ryan" last="Conwell"], [player_tooltip player_id="870243" first="Travis" last="Grayson"], [player_tooltip player_id="870219" first="Jalen" last="Jackson"], [player_tooltip player_id="870249" first="Karson" last="Jenkins"], [player_tooltip player_id="870222" first="Braden" last="Smith"]</p> <p>Wings: [player_tooltip player_id="769682" first="Connor" last="Essegian"], [player_tooltip player_id="870213" first="Chris" last="Gunn"], [player_tooltip player_id="1063961" first="Fletcher" last="Loyer"], [player_tooltip player_id="769662" first="Peter" last="Suder"]</p> <p>Forwards: [player_tooltip player_id="769654" first="D’Ante" last="Davis"], [player_tooltip player_id="769666" first="Jeffrey" last="Simmons"], [player_tooltip player_id="870225" first="Billy" last="Smith"]</p> <p>Honorary Member: [player_tooltip player_id="769653" first="Jalen" last="Washington"] (Gary West Side H.S. - North Carolina)</p>