Sectional Preview – Seymour Regional

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It is officially almost time for Indiana High School Basketball to enter into the most exciting time of year. We have made it through over three months of regular season action and now culminate with a win-or-go-home state tournament. Here at Prep Hoops Indiana our staff will be previewing all 64 sectionals around the state over the next several days. Let's dive on in beginning with Sectionals 13-16 which feed into the Seymour Regional.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Sectional 13: Center Grove</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Teams:</strong> Bloomington North, Bloomington South, Center Grove, Greenwood, Martinsville, Mooresville</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Contenders:</strong> Center Grove (18-2), Bloomington North (14-5), Bloomington South (15-7)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1272949' first='Marcus' last='Ankney'] (Center Grove H.S. 2023 - Indiana Wesleyan), [player_tooltip player_id='868224' first='JaQualon' last='Roberts'] (Bloomington H.S. North 2023 - Vanderbilt)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction:</strong> Center Grove has spent most of the season ranked in the Top 10 of Class 4A and likely deserves to be considered as the Sectional 13 favorite, especially with getting to play on their home floor. However, you should never count out the schools coming up from Bloomington. North features Vanderbilt signee [player_tooltip player_id='868224' first='JaQualon' last='Roberts'] who will give the Cougars a chance to win any game they play. He is averaging 19.8 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. As for South, 6'8" stretch 4-man [player_tooltip player_id='1295381' first='Gavin' last='Wisley'] leads a balanced crew. Coach J.R. Holmes is never easy to beat this time of year. However, the Trojans have the depth and guard play to cut down the nets. <strong>Center Grove</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Sectional 14: Columbus North</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Teams:</strong> Columbus East, Columbus North, East Central, Franklin, Shelbyville, Whiteland</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Contenders:</strong> Columbus North (14-7), Franklin (10-12)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1275780' first='Micah' last='Davis'] (Franklin H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='935735' first='Cooper' last='Horn'] (Columbus North H.S. 2023), [player_tooltip player_id='1393266' first='Ollie' last='Sandman'] (Shelbyville H.S. 2023 - DePauw)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction:</strong> On paper, it looks like Columbus North is the clear favorite in the sectional that they host. They are the only team above .500 and already defeated Franklin this season, albeit in double overtime. However, Franklin entered the postseason with a similar record last season and ended up making it to the regional championship game. Junior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1275780' first='Micah' last='Davis'] averages 17.2 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game. He will likely be the best player on the floor in every game which always gives you a chance to win. Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='935735' first='Cooper' last='Horn'] is a great player in his own right for Columbus North and the home court advantage should be enough to push them over the edge. <strong>Columbus North</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Sectional 15: Seymour</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Teams:</strong> Bedford North Lawrence, Floyd Central, Jeffersonville, Jennings County, New Albany, Seymour</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>The Contenders:</strong> Bedford North Lawrence (15-6), Jeffersonville (11-8), Jennings County (18-2)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Players to Watch:</strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1297093' first='Michael' last='Cooper'] (Jeffersonville H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='1272966' first='Keegan' last='Manowitz'] (Jennings County H.S. 2023), [player_tooltip player_id='1388408' first='Tre' last='Singleton'] (Jeffersonville H.S. 2025)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Prediction:</strong> This southern Indiana sectional appears to be pretty wide open. Jennings County has the impressive 18-2 record, led by unsigned senior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1272966' first='Keegan' last='Manowitz'] averaging 15.3 points and 6.6 assists per game, but they were just defeated by Jeffersonville. The Red Devils have a lot of talent featuring a very strong sophomore class, but are they ready to fully rely on those young guys to win a sectional? Bedford North Lawrence will have something to say as well after defeating Jeffersonville earlier in the year. Unfortunately, all three of those teams are on the same side of the bracket. Jeff got the bye and will await the winner of BNL and Jennings County. That bye could make a big difference. It is hard to deny the talent of Jeffersonville even if they are just sophomores. <strong>Jeffersonville</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2>Sectional 16: Evansville North</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Teams: Castle, Evansville Central, Evansville Harrison, Evansville North, Evansville Reitz, Jasper</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Contenders: Castle (14-7), Evansville Harrison (15-6), Evansville Reitz (15-5)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Players to Watch: [player_tooltip player_id='1388528' first='Weston' last='Aigner'] (Castle H.S. 2023), [player_tooltip player_id='868263' first='Isaac' last='Higgs'] (Evansville Reitz H.S. 2023 - Carnegie Mellon), [player_tooltip player_id='1578468' first='Shane' last='Sims'] (Evansville Harrison H.S. 2025)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Prediction: Sectional 16 is wide open. Evansville Harrison certainly won the luck of the draw by avoiding Castle and Retiz who open up with each other on the top half of the bracket. Harrison plays Jasper and then would face Evansville North who received the bye. The Warriors have certainly been playing their best basketball of late having won seven straight games and 12 of their last 13. Sophomore guard [player_tooltip player_id='1578468' first='Shane' last='Sims'] leads the way with 15.3 points per game while junior big man [player_tooltip player_id='1761697' first='Malachi' last='McNair'] averages 13.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. They are also 5-0 in games against sectional opponents, though wins over Castle and Reitz came by a combined five points. [player_tooltip player_id='1388528' first='Weston' last='Aigner'] and his 23.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game gives Castle a shot in any game just as [player_tooltip player_id='868263' first='Isaac' last='Higgs'] and his 18 points per game does for Reitz. In the end, the Panthers have a veteran core plus an X-Factor in 6'6" talented freshman [player_tooltip player_id='1561108' first='Braylen' last='Langley']. It'll be a tough road to the title, but they are the most trustworthy team. <strong>Evansville Reitz</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->