2023 Raymond James Hall of Fame Classic Announcement

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The 2023 Raymond James Hall of Fame Classic field was announced this week featuring four outstanding teams with plenty of individual talent. This will be the 47th boys game played at the historic New Castle Fieldhouse on Saturday, December 30th. Class 4A state runner-up Kokomo will take on Crispus Attucks at 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time followed by a matchup between a pair of Class of 2024 Purdue commits as Brownsburg goes up against Brownstown Central. The evening session will begin at 6:00 p.m. Eastern Time with a consolation game between the losers from the morning while the championship game will pit the winners against each other to follow. Below you'll find a quick breakdown of the four teams and their star players that will be on display at the 2023 Raymond James Hall of Fame Classic.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Kokomo Wildkats</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Fresh off of a 24-5 season, back-to-back Regional titles, and a Class 4A state runner-up finish, the Wildkats are likely to be a force once again next season. Despite graduating a handful of seniors, Kokomo will return their primary draw in 6'10" five-star center [player_tooltip player_id='1363488' first='Flory' last='Bidunga']. The Gatorade Player of the Year in Indiana finished the season averaging 20.2 points, 13.8 rebounds, and 4.5 blocks per game while shooting an incredible 80.7% from the field. [player_tooltip player_id='2282357' first='Karson' last='Rogers'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2282348' first='Reis' last='Beard'] will be seniors alongside Bidunga while [player_tooltip player_id='1381461' first='Zion' last='Bellamy'] will be a junior point guard next season after averaging 6.8 points per game this year as a sophomore. Kokomo might not have the depth that they had this season, but [player_tooltip player_id='1363488' first='Flory' last='Bidunga'] is worth the price of admission all by himself. You'll want to get out to New Castle and see one of the best Indiana High School Basketball Players of this generation on December 30th.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Crispus Attucks Tigers</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Crispus Attucks brings back almost all of their production from their Indianapolis City championship team that finished the season 18-8. Junior guard Ron Rutland will be the Tigers leading returning scorer after averaging 18 points per game and knocking in an impressive 75 three-pointers. Rutland was named Underclassman Large School All-State. Meanwhile, 6'8" sophomore forward [player_tooltip player_id='1297019' first='Dezmon' last='Briscoe'] contributed 15.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 4.0 blocks per game on his way to being named to the Underclassman Supreme 15 team. Briscoe was recently offered by the Iowa Hawkeyes. Watching Indiana's top 2025 big man battle it out against Indiana's (and arguably the nation's) top 2024 big man will be the obvious draw in the first semifinal game between Kokomo and Attucks.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Brownsburg Bulldogs</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The graduation of [player_tooltip player_id='1391626' first='Elhadj' last='Diallo'] will be a significant blow, but bringing back 17.5 points per game from Purdue commit [player_tooltip player_id='1275779' first='Kanon' last='Catchings'] will immediately make them a contender once again. Junior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1295337' first='Grant' last='Porath'] also will bring back 10.3 points per game. This will be a talented, well-coached team coming off of a Regional championship and likely a preseason Top 5 team in Class 4A next year. Getting to watch the 6'7" Catchings, who has played his way into 5-star status by some national scouting services, will be fun as he goes against his future teammate [player_tooltip player_id='1158245' first='Jack' last='Benter'].</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Brownstown Central Braves</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>One of the top scorers in the state of Indiana, [player_tooltip player_id='1158245' first='Jack' last='Benter'], will bring his 28.7 points per game to The Largest and Finest High School Fieldhouse in the World this December. The Class of 2024 Purdue commit also averaged 7.0 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game as one of the most skilled players you'll find in the state. [player_tooltip player_id='1297005' first='Colby' last='Hall'] and Chance Coomer were sophomores this season who averaged just under 10 points per game while [player_tooltip player_id='1547584' first='Parker' last='Hehman'] will be back as the leader and do-it-all guard next to Benter. The Braves went 24-5 this season and advanced to the Semi-State championship game where they fell to Linton-Stockton. The matchup to watch here will obviously be future Boilermakers Benter and Catchings going head-to-head.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->