Prep Hoops Indiana Sectional Preview – Class 4A North

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We are just a week away from the beginning of the 114th Annual IHSAA Boys Basketball State Tournament. On Sunday evening we received brackets for the Sectional round as teams learned how their path to Gainbridge Fieldhouse would begin. We will spend the week here at Prep Hoops Indiana going in-depth across the state touching on all 64 Sectionals. Let's take a look at the eight Sectionals that make up the Class 4A North.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/02/prep-hoops-indiana-sectional-preview-class-1a-north/">Class 1A North Preview</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/02/prep-hoops-indiana-sectional-preview-class-1a-south/">Class 1A South Preview</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/02/prep-hoops-indiana-sectional-preview-class-2a-north/">Class 2A North Preview</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/02/prep-hoops-indiana-sectional-preview-class-2a-south/">Class 2A South Preview</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/02/prep-hoops-indiana-sectional-preview-class-3a-north/">Class 3A North Preview</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/02/prep-hoops-indiana-sectional-preview-class-3a-south/">Class 3A South Preview</a></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:separator --> <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" /> <!-- /wp:separator --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">The Brackets</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 1 (East Chicago Central)</strong>: Hammond Morton vs. Munster, East Chicago Central vs. Merrillville, Gary West Side vs. Hammond Central, Lake Central vs. Winner Game 1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 2 (Chesterton)</strong>: Portage vs. Chesterton, Crown Point vs. Kankakee Valley, Valparaiso vs. Hobart, Lowell vs. Winner Game 1</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 3 (Mishawaka)</strong>: LaPorte vs. Mishawaka, Michigan City vs. Plymouth, South Bend Adams vs. Winner Game 1, South Bend Riley vs. Winner Game 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 4 (Elkhart)</strong>: Concord vs. Goshen, Penn vs. Northridge, Warsaw vs. Winner Game 1, Elkhart vs. Winner Game 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 5 (East Noble)</strong>: Fort Wayne Snider vs. East Noble, Carroll (Fort Wayne) vs. Fort Wayne North Side, Fort Wayne Northrop vs. Winner Game 1, DeKalb vs. Winner Game 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 6 (Homestead)</strong>: Fort Wayne Wayne vs. Fort Wayne Southside, Huntington North vs. Homestead, New Haven vs. Winner Game 1, Columbia City vs. Winner Game 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 7 (Lafayette Jefferson)</strong>: Kokomo vs. Harrison (West Lafayette), McCutcheon vs. Marion, Lafayette Jefferson vs. Winner Game 1, Logansport vs. Winner Game 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Sectional 8 (Noblesville)</strong>: Zionsville vs. Noblesville, Carmel vs. Fishers, Westfield vs. Winner Game 1, Hamilton Southeastern vs. Winner Game 2</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Toughest Sectional</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>This one is a no-brainer. Sectional 8 at Noblesville isn't just the toughest Sectional in the 4A North, but it is also the toughest Sectional in the entire state at any level. The #2, #3, and #4 teams from the most recent Prep Hoops Indiana Class 4A poll are in this Sectional and that doesn't even include Carmel who has won seven of their last eight games against excellent competition, Zionsville that features an excellent wing duo of [player_tooltip player_id='1525678' first='Maguire' last='Mitchell'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1525679' first='Drew' last='Snively'], and a Hamilton Southeastern squad that won 15 games. There is no such thing as a good draw in this Sectional. It is going to be an absolute gauntlet no matter what path you take.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Under-the-Radar Sectional</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>You could go a couple of different ways with this selection and it ultimately came down to Sectional 2 at Chesterton versus Sectional 5 at East Noble. Overall, the top end talent is likely a little higher at Chesterton so we will highlight Sectional 2. First off, we are treated to one of the more intriguing first round matchups featuring Portage and Chesterton. Crown Point and Valparaiso are both legitimate contenders to cut down the nets as well. There is a ton of college level talent, several veteran head coaches, and a bunch of teams having great seasons to watch in this field. Five of the seven participants have won at least 13 games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Players to Watch</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1297089' first='Mason' last='Bales'] (Northridge H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='1547394' first='Payton' last='Baird'] (South Bend Riley H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='1297001' first='Chase' last='Barnes'] (Fort Wayne Wayne H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='1363488' first='Flory' last='Bidunga'] (Kokomo H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='2079499' first='Nic' last='Book'] (Westfield H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='2050029' first='Luke' last='Bricker'] (Warsaw H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='1275749' first='Trey' last='Buchanan'] (Westfield H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='1275808' first='David' last='Cundiff'] (Munster H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='1158209' first='Aaron' last='Fine'] (Noblesville H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='1547392' first='Jaxson' last='Fugate'] (Fort Wayne North Side H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='2079500' first='Keenan' last='Garner'] (Fishers H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='1275826' first='Donovan' last='Hamilton'] (Hamilton Southeastern H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='1270990' first='Cannen' last='Houser'] (Fort Wayne Carroll H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='1158193' first='Jevon' last='Lewis'] (Fort Wayne Wayne H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='1525678' first='Maguire' last='Mitchell'] (Zionsville H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='1297020' first='Dominique' last='Murphy Jr'] (East Chicago Central H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='1158216' first='Jaxon' last='Pardon'] (Fort Wayne Carroll H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='1275807' first='Tyler' last='Parrish'] (Chesterton H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='2282357' first='Karson' last='Rogers'] (Kokomo H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='1297042' first='Jack' last='Smiley'] (Valparaiso H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='1547565' first='Jake' last='Smith'] (Lake Central H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='1525679' first='Drew' last='Snively'] (Zionsville H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='1158231' first='Justin' last='Sims'] (Chesterton H.S. 2024), [player_tooltip player_id='1297057' first='Jaymen' last='Townsend'] (Marion H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='1297094' first='Michael' last='Wellman'] (Portage H.S. 2025), [player_tooltip player_id='1578389' first='Eugene' last='Young Jr'] (Fort Wayne North Side H.S. 2024)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Predictions</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 1 - East Chicago Central</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 2 - Valparaiso</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 3 - South Bend Riley</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 4 - Warsaw</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 5 - Fort Wayne North Side</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 6 - Fort Wayne Wayne</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 7 - Kokomo</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sectional 8 - Fishers</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->