Open Gym Report: Connersville High School

<p>Here at Prep Hoops Indiana the fall means it is time to get out to high school open gyms. Indiana High School Basketball teams are now allowed two on court days a week and we take that opportunity to start previewing the upcoming season. That tour around the state began with trips to Fishers, North Central, and Avon a week ago. This week we kicked off with a trip to Connersville High School to check in on the Spartans and have several more planned for the days ahead. Connersville graduated their floor general Tobey Billups who is now at IU-East along with a few other primary rotation players. However, they return their top two scorers from a year ago which will give them a chance to have a little more offensive firepower than in previous seasons. Let's take a deeper look into what to expect from the Spartans this year.</p>   <h2>Roster Breakdown</h2>   <p>Regardless of what the Connersville roster looks like there are always going to be a few constants within the Spartans program. Head Coach Kerry Brown, who is 210-116 after 13 seasons at CHS, always has one of the best defensive teams in the state of Indiana. They will be prepared with a great scouting report and will make it hard for their opposition to score. Additionally, the historic Spartan Bowl will be rocking with 4000, 5000, or even more Connersville fans for every home game. It truly is one of the best places to watch a game in the Hoosier state.</p>   <p>The Spartans had several primary rotation players scattered among various fall sports so Monday's open gym was missing some key players. However, senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='1578435' first='Lucas' last='Barron'] was there and was Connersville's leading scorer as a junior. Averaging 10.3 points per game, Barron shot an extremely efficient 61% from the field. He is a great athlete, very strong, and can attack the rim off of the dribble. This season, it looks like he has worked hard on improving his three-point shooting which would make him even harder to guard. His top running mate will be senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1295370' first='Josh' last='Williams'] who is occupied in the fall as a member of the tennis team. Williams had an excellent summer with JH1 IndyElite and is poised to really breakout this high school season. The 6'3" athlete averaged 8.7 points per game and shot 38% from beyond the arc. Barron and Williams, who are both solid small college prospects, will be a big reason why the Spartans are likely to have their best offensive team of the last few seasons.</p>   <p>Two other known commodities return from last season's 18-7 Spartans squad that lost to Greensburg in the first round of sectional. 6'3" senior wing Braxton Myers averaged 5.3 points per game last year while athletic senior forward James Williams chipped in 3.1 points a game. There are a few other fall athletes who were not in attendance that Coach Brown expects to help his squad this year, but we will come back and touch on them at a later date when we are able to see them on the floor.</p>   <p>There were a couple of under-the-radar players at Monday's workout who will likely crack Connersville's rotation and play a role this season. 6'4" junior Blaine Hornsby is one to keep an eye on. The long, thin forward can stretch the floor a little bit as a shooter and has some solid all-around offensive skill. Another skilled piece that should play his way into some minutes is 5'9" sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='1297047' first='Jadan' last='Peterson']. He is one of the best pure shooters in the program and could be hard to keep off of the floor. Expect both of these guys to play their way into solid roles this season.</p>   <h2>Outlook</h2>   <p>After going 18-7 last season, Connersville stumbled in the first round of sectional falling to a solid Greensburg team 39-36. That undoubtedly left a bad taste in the Spartans mouth and they will have their sights set on a sectional championship and beyond this time around. As we discussed, you can always expect excellent defense from Kerry Brown coached teams. However, [player_tooltip player_id='1578435' first='Lucas' last='Barron'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1295370' first='Josh' last='Williams'] will provide a little more offensive firepower than a typical Connersville team. Going into this season I would pick the Spartans as the Sectional 29 favorite and they will have the opportunity to compete with anyone coming out of the south in Class 3A. </p>

Here at Prep Hoops Indiana the fall means it is time to get out to high school open gyms. Indiana High School Basketball teams are now allowed two on court days a week and we take that opportunity to start previewing the upcoming season. That tour around the state began with trips to Fishers, North Central, and Avon a week ago. This week we kicked off with a trip to Connersville High School to check in on the Spartans and have several more planned for the days ahead. Connersville graduated their floor general Tobey Billups who is now at IU-East along with a few other primary rotation players. However, they return their top two scorers from a year ago which will give them a chance to have a little more offensive firepower than in previous seasons. Let's take a deeper look into what to expect from the Spartans this year.