Charlie Hughes Showcase – Seven Takeaways

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The annual IBCA/IHSAA Charlie Hughes Showcase is now officially in the books and the next few days here at Prep Hoops Indiana will be spent recapping this great event. 159 teams from across the state of Indiana came to Carmel High School and Westfield High School to play four games across an approximately 48 hour period from early Friday evening to early Sunday evening. As always, we had boots on the ground from tip-off to the final buzzer and had plenty of content throughout the event. However, the work doesn't stop now. Let's empty out the notebook a bit and dive into some bigger picture takeaways from the weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Fishers Asserts Their Dominance</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Not to say we told you so, but back on June 15th we selected Fishers as the #1 team in our <a href="https://prephoops.com/2023/06/way-too-early-class-4a-rankings/">Way Too Early Class 4A Rankings</a>. If there were any doubters then, surely they are silenced by now. That isn't to say there weren't other very impressive teams, but you can't argue with what Fishers did at the Charlie Hughes Showcase. Not only did the Tigers go 4-0, but they did so in dominant fashion defeating Plainfield 79-48, Chesterton 76-41, Crown Point 77-58, and Jeffersonville 86-52. They already had the Prep Hoops Indiana seal of approval, but the Tigers likely earned some more preseason #1 votes over the weekend.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Lawrence North Makes a Statement</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Lawrence North was certainly on the radar as a top team going into the 2023-2024 season. The Wildcats earned an "honorable mention" nod in our Way Too Early Class 4A Rankings just outside the Top 5. At the Charlie Hughes Showcase, they came out with a chip on their shoulder and proved themselves as a team worthy of being considered a serious state title contender. The electric backcourt tandem of [player_tooltip player_id='1296979' first='Azavier' last='Robinson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1158213' first='Kobi' last='Bowles'] was only full display, but it was the hot shooting of [player_tooltip player_id='1275769' first='Myles' last='Baker'] that really brought Lawrence North another dimension. They went 4-0 on the weekend winning all four of their games against strong competition by at least 22 points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Don't Count Out the Defending Champions</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Until someone actually knocks the Giants off, they are still the reigning undefeated state champions. This weekend, they looked more than capable of competing to cut down the nets at Gainbridge Fieldhouse once again. They were thrust into Pool A and came away with a perfect 4-0 record at the Charlie Hughes Showcase. No stranger to winning, Ben Davis took down Chesterton 65-34, Noblesville 67-41, Brownsburg 55-53, and Carmel 61-48. It was another excellent showing for rising senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1158204' first='K.J.' last='Windham'] who continued to shoot the ball at a very high level. He currently holds 10+ mid-major offers but had some high-major coaches following him this weekend. Will the month of July bring another jump in his recruitment?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Brownstown Central Proves Themselves Versus Larger School Competition</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A lot of years the best Class 2A team may not even be a Top 20 program in the state as a whole. However, that will not be the case this season. Brownstown Central will enter the year #1 in Class 2A but they will have a chance to be a Top 10 team regardless of class as well. Purdue commit [player_tooltip player_id='1158245' first='Jack' last='Benter'] is the obvious star player for the Braves, but they have a well-rounded group including rising senior [player_tooltip player_id='1547584' first='Parker' last='Hehman'] and rising Junior Chance Coomer and [player_tooltip player_id='1297005' first='Colby' last='Hall']. They defeated Crown Point 65-41, Center Grove 60-39, Cathedral 64-57, and Westfield 65-56.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">[player_tooltip player_id='1578390' first='Evan' last='Haywood'] Breaks Through to Earn Division I Offers</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1578390' first='Evan' last='Haywood'] was one of the top stock-risers throughout the spring putting up massive scoring numbers with Progeny 2024. The 6'4" guard is a high-level shooter and can create his own off of the dribble. It probably took a little longer than it should have, but college programs finally started to pull the trigger over the weekend at the Charlie Hughes Showcase. Saint Francis was the first, but then Division I programs Le Moyne and Southern Indiana came in as well. There were several other Division I programs following him around that could join the fray during the month of July. There is still room to run for this Brebeuf Jesuit prospect.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Undefeated Teams from the Charlie Hughes Showcase</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here are the teams that went 4-0 on the weekend:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Ben Davis, Lawrence North, Fishers, Brownstown Central, Brebeuf Jesuit, Providence, Richmond, Park Tudor, Evansville North, Bloomfield, Gibson Southern, Gary West Side, Terre Haute North, Purdue Polytechnic Englewood, Indianapolis Metropolitan, Fort Wayne South Side, Eastern Hancock</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Stock-Risers</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Here were the prospects that came up in conversations with college coaches the most:</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1578475' first='Tillman' last='Etchison'] (Hamilton Heights H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='2079500' first='Keenan' last='Garner'] (Fishers H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='1158230' first='Cole' last='Hayworth'] (Concordia Lutheran 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='1297034' first='Hudson' last='Horvath'] (Park Tudor 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='1276470' first='Jack' last='Miller'] (Scottsburg H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='1578369' first='Collin' last='Schmidt'] (Plainfield H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='1578479' first='Tucker' last='Tornatta'] (Evansville Memorial H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='1275012' first='Hunter' last='Walston'] (Noblesville H.S. 2024)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->