Prep Hoops Indiana High School Preview – Class 1A (North)

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Indiana High School Basketball season is just around the corner and we at Prep Hoops Indiana will be pumping out a ton of previews right up until the opening tip. We have individually spotlighted 100+ schools across the state, gave out watch lists for each class, and will have several other previews in the coming days. This week, while Brandon Ramsey will be will be handling the big picture previews, I will be breaking down each class in both the north and south regions by highlighting the best Sectional, top players in the area, state title contenders, and other quick hitters you need to know within the class. For this one, we will breaking down the Class 1A (North).</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Best Sectional: Sectional 49</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Teams: </strong>Covenant Christian (DeMotte), Hammond Academy of Science &amp; Technology, Kouts, Morgan Township, Tri-Township, Washington Township</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Reason: </strong>The Class 1A (North) is admittedly wide open and you could make at least a semi-intelligent case for almost any Sectional being the toughest. However, Sectional 49 features the most returning talent in the North. DeMotte features a core of three returning seniors and a talented sophomore in [player_tooltip player_id='2272861' first='Tony' last='Bos'] who averaged 5.1 points per game as a freshman. Six of their eight primary rotation players are back from a 14-10 team. Kouts will have a bit more to replace, but they are an always tough program that advanced to the Semi-State last season and played for a state championship in 2021. Meanwhile, Morgan Township will enter this season as the favorite. They return arguably one of the best players in the class in senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1879419' first='Keagen' last='Holder'] who averaged 18.5 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 4.1 assists per game as a junior. The Cherokees return their top four scorers and only graduate one players (3.3 points per game) from last season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Class 1A (North) State Title Contenders</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fort Wayne Canterbury</strong> - Canterbury came on strong late in the season last year making it to the Sectional championship game before bowing out to eventual state runner-up Southwood. Senior guard [player_tooltip player_id='1761696' first='Devon' last='Lewis'] and senior big man [player_tooltip player_id='1158215' first='Tucker' last='Day'] will give the Cavaliers the best one-two punch in the class. They have a handful of other transfers that will provide depth as well.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Fountain Central</strong> - Returning a do-it-all player like [player_tooltip player_id='1158185' first='Will' last='Harmon'] from a team that won 23 games and reached the Semi-State is a good place to start.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Liberty Christian</strong> - It is probably premature to put the Lions in the "contenders" category, but that incoming freshman class has a lot of expectations. They are talented enough to surprise some people.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Morgan Township</strong> - If you had to pick a favorite in mid-November to represent the Class 1A (North) at Gainbridge Fieldhouse you'd probably pick Morgan Township. [player_tooltip player_id='1879419' first='Keagen' last='Holder'] is one of the best guards in northern Indiana and they return an excellent core from a 20-win team.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Top Players: </h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1158215' first='Tucker' last='Day'] (Canterbury 2024)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1275811' first='Cole' last='Duncan'] (Cowan H.S. 2024)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1158185' first='Will' last='Harmon'] (Fountain Central H.S. 2024)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1578439' first='Mason' last='Harvey'] (Seton Catholic 2024)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1879419' first='Keagen' last='Holder'] (Morgan Township H.S. 2024)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1761696' first='Devon' last='Lewis'] (Canterbury 2024)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Quick Hitters:</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Southwood was last season's Class 1A (North) representative at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Knights graduated their top three scorers but will factor into the conversation once again.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Three teams from the north in Class 1A were ranked in the final AP Top 10 rankings last season.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list --> <!-- wp:list --> <ul><!-- wp:list-item --> <li>Fort Wayne Blackhawk won it all as a Class 1A school in 2019, but Liberty Christian in 2016 is the last "current" team from the North to cut down the state championship nets. Going back further, Marquette Catholic in 2014 is the only other team from the north to win the Class 1A state title since 2010.</li> <!-- /wp:list-item --></ul> <!-- /wp:list -->