Five Way Too Early Favorites in Class 3A

<p>August is by far the quietest month on the basketball calendar, but there still isn't a ton going on in September either. We have a few events that Prep Hoops Indiana will be hosting and high school teams begin their fall open gym schedules, but otherwise it is still the calm before the storm. Therefore, we have decided to take a “way too early” look at some of the favorites in each class. These lists will be fluid over the next couple of months, but we wanted to take an early September look at where the landscape of Indiana High School Basketball stands.</p>   <p>***Teams Listed Alphabetically***</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Cathedral</h2>   <p>Class 3A sure made a splash this offseason as some of the premier programs in the state of Indiana were moved down from Class 4A. Cathedral would certainly fit the mold as one of those teams. The Fighting Irish was the Class 4A State Championship in 2022, captured another Sectional title in 2023, and won 18 games a season ago. However, they now will compete at the 3A level. Four-star forward [player_tooltip player_id='1525663' first='Brady' last='Koehler'] will be the headliner after averaging 15.5 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 2.3 blocks per game as a junior. All of those were team-leading numbers. Junior wing [player_tooltip player_id='1561135' first='Keaton' last='Aldridge Jr']. also brings back 15.3 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game. In total, Cathedral returns their top five scorers from last year's team. [player_tooltip player_id='1297015' first='Deric' last='Cannady'], Aiden Hughes, and [player_tooltip player_id='1297083' first='Lebron' last='Gough'] will all be seniors this season and return 9.0, 8.3, and 8.2 points per game respectively. Meanwhile, the Irish also added [player_tooltip player_id='1561435' first='Julien' last='Smith'] and R'Mani Wells, a pair of juniors who transferred in from Mt. Vernon (Fortville). Smith will add an additional scoring punch from the backcourt while the 6'5" Wells adds versatility to the front court. This group has a chance to be one of the best in the state regardless of class.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Crispus Attucks</h2>   <p>Unfortunately, only one of Cathedral or Crispus Attucks will make it out of Sectional 26. Two of the best teams in the state will now meet in the Class 3A Sectional for what will be a postseason blood bath. The Tigers return 6'8" big man [player_tooltip player_id='1297019' first='Dezmon' last='Briscoe'] who has won back-to-back Indianapolis City Player of the Year awards. Briscoe returns 14.3 points, 10.8 rebounds, and 4.2 blocks per game. Senior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1297004' first='Chris' last='Hurt'] is the other top returner having averaged 9.9 points and 3.9 assists last season. Senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='2277734' first='Eric' last='Jackson'] chipped in 6.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per game a year ago. Elsewhere, Crispus Attucks will turn to several new faces to fill in the gaps. Missouri State commit [player_tooltip player_id='1534942' first='Melakih' last='Cunningham'], pending his eligibility, is the highest profile of the bunch. The 6'6" Cunningham averaged 14.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per game last season at Decatur Central and really blew up this spring and summer to become a Division I prospect. Other transfers such as [player_tooltip player_id='1534940' first='Kayden' last='English'] (Brownsburg), [player_tooltip player_id='2277732' first='Lamar' last='Jones'] (Christel House Manual), and [player_tooltip player_id='1728675' first='Elexander' last='Harris'] (Arsenal Tech) will make instant impacts for Coach Chris Hawkins as well.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">East Chicago Central</h2>   <p>Any team that won a Class 4A Sectional, returns an Indiana Junior All-Star, and then drops down to Class 3A has to be considered a favorite. That is the situation that East Chicago Central finds themselves in. They won 22 games a year ago and cut down the Sectional 1 nets, but now will compete in Sectional 17 with Gary West Side and others. Meanwhile, Indiana Junior All-Star [player_tooltip player_id='1297020' first='Dominique' last='Murphy Jr'] brings back a team-leading 20.9 points and 9.4 rebounds per game. The 6'5" wing now holds offers from Ball State and Central Michigan. Along with Murphy Jr., the Cardinals return fellow senior wing [player_tooltip player_id='2390221' first='Yamauree' last='Wallace']. The super athletic 6'4" Wallace added 11.8 points and 6.8 rebounds per game last year. There is plenty of competition in Class 3A now, but East Chicago Central will have the talent and firepower to compete with anybody.</p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">New Palestine</h2>   <p>Stop me if you have heard this line before. Any team that won a Class 4A Sectional, returns an Indiana Junior All-Star, and then drops down to Class 3A has to be considered a favorite. Three of the four teams we have highlighted so far can say that. [player_tooltip player_id='1297068' first='Julius' last='Gizzi'], who recently committed to Indiana Wesleyan, is the Dragons star after averaging 28.9 points and 8.0 rebounds per game last season. However, this will be far from a one-man show. Senior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='1539484' first='Moses' last='Haynes'] brings back 11.4 points and 6.7 assists per game. [player_tooltip player_id='1539483' first='Ben' last='Slagley'], Austin McMahan, [player_tooltip player_id='2272810' first='Evan' last='Darrah'], and Keegan Harrison all return after playing major roles last season as well. In total, New Palestine returns their top six scorers and only loses 3.6 points per game from a team that won 22 games and a sectional championship. </p>   <h2 class="wp-block-heading">South Bend St. Joseph</h2>   <p>The only team on this list that actually competed in Class 3A last season, South Bend St. Joseph reached the state championship game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse before falling to Scottsburg. Similar to the other programs though, the Huskies also return an Indiana Junior All-Star. [player_tooltip player_id='1297002' first='Chase' last='Konieczny'] averaged 20.0 points and 9.3 rebounds per game last season for SBSJ. Sophomore [player_tooltip player_id='2140359' first='Elijah' last='King'] and junior sharpshooter [player_tooltip player_id='2024513' first='Nick' last='Shrewsberry'] bring back 8.5 and 7.2 points per game respectively while senior [player_tooltip player_id='2485799' first='Brashaun' last='Woods'] added 7.1 points per game. The Huskies bring back five of their top six scorers from their Class 3A state runner-up squad.</p>   <p><strong>Others:</strong> Blackhawk Christian, Brownstown Central, Gary West Side, Silver Creek, South Bend Washington</p>

August is by far the quietest month on the basketball calendar, but there still isn't a ton going on in September either. We have a few events that Prep Hoops Indiana will be hosting and high school teams begin their fall open gym schedules, but otherwise it is still the calm before the storm. Therefore, we have decided to take a “way too early” look at some of the favorites in each class. These lists will be fluid over the next couple of months, but we wanted to take an early September look at where the landscape of Indiana High School Basketball stands.