Prep Hoops Indiana Super Poll - Unofficial Preseason Poll (1-10)

<p>At the end of August we released our "Way Too Early" version of the Prep Hoops Indiana Super Poll highlighting the Top 20 teams in the state regardless of class. That obviously took into account everything we learned from the summer after the dust had settled on the grassroots season. Now, less than a week away from the start of official practice, it felt like the right time to dust off this exercise once again. Putting "unofficial" in the title is admittedly a way to allow us to still change our mind a bit before the final and "official" preseason Super Poll gets released on Monday, November 20th. However, at this point, there isn't likely to be any drastic changes. Let's dive on in and take a look at our "unofficial" Top 20 rankings regardless of class heading into the 2023-2024 Indiana High School Basketball season.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#1 Lawrence North Wildcats</h2>   <p>There is nothing not to like about this team. They have the best backcourt in the state of Indiana led by dynamic playmakers [player_tooltip player_id='1296979' first='Azavier' last='Robinson'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1158213' first='Kobi' last='Bowles']. They have talent in the front court featuring sophomores forward [player_tooltip player_id='1729136' first='Brennan' last='Miller'] and 6'8" move-in [player_tooltip player_id='2252564' first='Kai' last='McGrew']. Additionally, they have plenty of depth including senior sharpshooters [player_tooltip player_id='1158217' first='Miles' last='Good'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1275769' first='Myles' last='Baker'] along with breakout candidates such as [player_tooltip player_id='1381525' first='Davion' last='Hampton'], [player_tooltip player_id='1561109' first='Jamar' last='Thomas'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1561031' first='Cameron' last='Webster']. Lawerence North is more than deserving of the preseason number one spot after an outstanding summer.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#2 Kokomo Wildkats</h2>   <p>Simply having [player_tooltip player_id='1363488' first='Flory' last='Bidunga'] on your team means a lot. As a sophomore, Bidunga stepped in at Kokomo and immediately led them to a Semi-State appearance. Then, as a junior, he got them to Gainbridge Fieldhouse before falling to undefeated Ben Davis. Will his senior season be when the Wildkats get over the hump? An influx of talent including [player_tooltip player_id='1561074' first='Baris' last='Moore'], [player_tooltip player_id='1561440' first='Korbyn' last='Hammel'], and [player_tooltip player_id='1277565' first='Abdul' last='Mitchell'] will certainly help. Returning pieces such as [player_tooltip player_id='1381461' first='Zion' last='Bellamy'], [player_tooltip player_id='2282348' first='Reis' last='Beard'], and [player_tooltip player_id='2282357' first='Karson' last='Rogers'] help provide some stability as well.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#3 Ben Davis Giants</h2>   <p>It is reload, not rebuild for the defending 33-0 Class 4A state champions. Some could reasonably argue they deserve to be number one until someone knocks them off and we won't argue if that is your view. However, no matter how you cut it, this team is going to be very difficult to beat once again. With Northwestern commit [player_tooltip player_id='1158204' first='K.J.' last='Windham'] leading the way throughout the summer, the Giants proved they have their sights set on a repeat.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#4 Noblesville Millers</h2>   <p>How much do you want to take summer results into account? On one had, relying too much on outcomes from the month of June can absolutely be a fool's errand. However, at the same time, it is also one of the few data points we have to go off of this time of year. Noblesville had an excellent summer. They defeated both Fort Wayne Wayne and Crispus Attucks, two other highly ranked teams in the preseason, at the Charlie Hughes Showcase. The senior duo of [player_tooltip player_id='1158209' first='Aaron' last='Fine'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1275012' first='Hunter' last='Walston'] will be excellent this season and we are ready for a big time sophomore year from [player_tooltip player_id='1534261' first='Justin' last='Curry II']. Look for his classmate [player_tooltip player_id='1561054' first='Baron' last='Walker'] to have a breakout year as well.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#5 Fort Wayne Wayne Generals</h2>   <p>Fort Wayne Wayne went from 4-18 to 22-5 with a trip to Semi-State in just one year's time. Now, they will look to break through and go even further while bringing back a large portion of their production. The Generals top two scorers, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158193' first='Jevon' last='Lewis']<a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jevon-lewis-2/"></a> </strong>(16.6 points, 6.4 assists) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1297001' first='Chase' last='Barnes']<a href="https://prephoops.com/player/chase-barnes/"></a> <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/chase-barnes/"></a> </strong>(13.9 points) are both back. 6'5″ forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1297032' first='Trey' last='Dillard']<a href="https://prephoops.com/player/trey-dillard/"></a> <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/trey-dillard/"></a> </strong>returns 9.2 points and 9.0 rebounds per game as well. Elsewhere, look for <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1297102' first='Preston' last='Comer']<a href="https://prephoops.com/player/preston-comer/"></a> <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/preston-comer/"></a> </strong>to make a leap going into his junior season. This is an athletic team with a lot of talent that is now familiar with winning basketball games. They will likely be the best team outside of the greater Indianapolis area this season.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#6 Crispus Attucks Tigers</h2>   <p>There is no shortage of talent to go around for the defending Indianapolis City Champions. University of Indianapolis commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1275771' first='Ron' last='Rutland III']<a href="https://prephoops.com/player/ron-rutland-iii/"></a> </strong>is back for his senior season after averaging 18.0 points per game and making 75 three-pointers on the season. 6'8″ junior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1297019' first='Dezmon' last='Briscoe']<a href="https://prephoops.com/player/dezmon-briscoe/"></a> </strong>returns as well after putting up 15.6 points, 11.1 rebounds, and 4.0 blocks per game as a sophomore. North Central transfer <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158227' first='Mason' last='Lewis']<a href="https://prephoops.com/player/mason-lewis/"></a> </strong>will help the playmaking in the backcourt alongside junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1297004' first='Chris' last='Hurt']</strong>. It was an up-and-down summer for this group, but the Tigers have the talent to compete with anyone in the state of Indiana. There depth is an intriguing piece as well that I liked when going to watch them workout this fall.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#7 Westfield Shamrocks</h2>   <p>The Shamrocks went 16-8 the year after losing Indiana's Mr. Basketball and another Division I guard. Now, they will have to replace Alex Romack, but that got much easier with the addition of 6'8″ senior forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2079499' first='Nic' last='Book']</strong>. The talented lefty post player is going to be one of the better front court options in the greater Indianapolis area. On the perimeter, senior guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1275749' first='Trey' last='Buchanan']<a href="https://prephoops.com/player/trey-buchanan/"></a> </strong>brings back 14.3 points per game to combine with Book for a very good inside-outside punch. [player_tooltip player_id='1761729' first='Charles' last='Farrell'], <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1293394' first='Caleb' last='Wise']</strong>, and [player_tooltip player_id='2277790' first='Durante' last='Morton'] are among the other names to know.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#8 Brownstown Central Braves</h2>   <p>If you were basing the rankings strictly off of the summer you could argue Brownstown Central should be as high as number three due to beating a couple of these teams ahead of them. However, summer results simply don't always mean that much. That obviously is not to take anything away from this Class 2A program, but it will just mean more for them to prove it during the actual high school season. Purdue commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158245' first='Jack' last='Benter']<a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jack-benter/"></a> </strong>will once again be one of the top scorers in the state while his running mates <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1547584' first='Parker' last='Hehman']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1297005' first='Colby' last='Hall']</strong>, and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1296999' first='Chace' last='Coomer']</strong> help to make up one of the more talented starting lineups in the state regardless of class.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#9 Center Grove Trojans</h2>   <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1158238' first='Joey' last='Schmitz']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1547488' first='Will' last='Spellman']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1455666' first='Peyton' last='Byrd']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1547490' first='Jalen' last='Bundy']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1212044' first='Dylan' last='Meador']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2046160' first='Ben' last='Chestnut']</strong>, etc. Center Grove brings plenty back from a team that rattled off 22 wins last season. Admittedly, the also lose some important production, but there is an excellent core ready to take a step forward and continue winning basketball games. Spellman has been healthy this fall and looked excellent at the Metro Indy Fall League. Meanwhile, the Trojans added a 6'10" move-in from Miami, Florida in [player_tooltip player_id='2277727' first='Michael' last='Chigozie']. His two-way impact at the rim make Center Grove even more attractive heading into this season.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">#10 Fishers Tigers</h2>   <p>Up until about a few months ago Fishers was the clearcut number one team heading into next season. However, a back-breaking transfer from their 5-star point guard changed the ceiling of what this team can likely become. That doesn't mean they can't still be one of the better teams in the state of Indiana though. The Tigers still feature Huntington commit <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578471' first='Taden' last='Metzger']<a href="https://prephoops.com/player/taden-metzger-2/"></a> </strong>in the back court and versatile forward <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2079500' first='Keenan' last='Garner']<a href="https://prephoops.com/player/keenan-garner/"></a> </strong>in the front court. Those two seniors will create a one-two punch good enough to win plenty of games. Elsewhere, look for guys like junior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578426' first='Justin' last='Kirby']</strong>, senior <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1578452' first='Parker' last='Perdue']</strong>, and even freshmen Cooper Zackery and [player_tooltip player_id='2194415' first='Jason' last='Gardner'] Jr. to make names for themselves this season. Do not count this group out.</p>

At the end of August we released our "Way Too Early" version of the Prep Hoops Indiana Super Poll highlighting the Top 20 teams in the state regardless of class. That obviously took into account everything we learned from the summer after the dust had settled on the grassroots season. Now, less than a week away from the start of official practice, it felt like the right time to dust off this exercise once again. Putting "unofficial" in the title is admittedly a way to allow us to still change our mind a bit before the final and "official" preseason Super Poll gets released on Monday, November 20th. However, at this point, there isn't likely to be any drastic changes. Let's dive on in and take a look at our "unofficial" Top 20 rankings regardless of class heading into the 2023-2024 Indiana High School Basketball season.