10 Storylines From the First Month of the Season, Part One

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Merry Christmas from us here at Prep Hoops Indiana! Even though we have a couple of days off from being in the gym it doesn't mean that we will stop bringing you content every single day. That is what makes basketball in our state special after. After all, in 49 states it is just basketball, but this is Indiana! Let's take a big picture view here on Christmas Day of 10 of the biggest storylines from the first month of the Indiana High School Basketball season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Fishers is Still the Team to Beat</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Heading into the 2023-2024 season, the Tigers lost a five-star national prospect to La Lumiere but still rattled off a 29-1 season that culminated in a Class 4A State Championship. Now in 2024-2025, after graduating a couple of key pieces including Indiana All-Star Keenan Garner, Fishers is 7-0 and still ranked #1 in the Class 4A Poll. They are a very well balanced team led by superstar sophomore guards [player_tooltip player_id='2267046' first='Jason' last='Gardner Jr.'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2140345' first='Cooper' last='Zachary'] along with Miami (OH) signee [player_tooltip player_id='1297069' first='Justin' last='Kirby'], Taylor bound [player_tooltip player_id='1297097' first='Nathan' last='Baker'], senior MIllen McCartney, and a host of others. This team has a real chance to win back-to-back state championships.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Two Top Teams Playing Without Star Forwards</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Any high school team would be in a tough spot without a 6'8"-6'9" forward. When you consider the fact that these two guys are future high-major college players it is impressive to see how well their teams have gotten along with out them. Of course, we are talking about Crispus Attucks playing without recent Iowa commit [player_tooltip player_id='1297019' first='Dezmon' last='Briscoe'] and Jeffersonville playing without Northwestern signee [player_tooltip player_id='1388408' first='Tre' last='Singleton']. Both teams have remained Top 10 teams in Class 3A and Class 4A respectively despite missing their superstars which is a credit to their coaches and the overall strength of each team. Attucks is currently 7-4 while the Red Devils are 4-3. Both teams will enjoy a boost when those two guys return which will hopefully happen soon.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mr. Basketball Race</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Going into this season we proclaimed that Greenfield-Central's [player_tooltip player_id='1296984' first='Braylon' last='Mullins'] was the front-runner for Mr. Basketball. It was his award to lose, especially after Trent Sisley transferred to Montverde Academy, and the UConn signee has certainly not done anything to lose it thus far. The Cougars are 6-1 and Mullins is averaging an incredible 34.3 points, 9.1 rebounds, 4.4 assists, and 3.3 steals per game. Butler signee [player_tooltip player_id='1296979' first='Azavier' last='Robinson'] is probably the closest competition to Mullins at this point in the season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Class 3A is a Gauntlet</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We knew this class was going to be fun to follow, but it has maybe even been better than expected. East Chicago Central, Gary West Side, and New Palestine all moved down to Class 3A after winning 4A Sectionals last season. Additionally, Class 2A State Champion Brownstown Central moved up as did perennial powerhouse Blackhawk Christian. Class 3A runner-up South Bend St. Joseph returned the bulk of their production while adding [player_tooltip player_id='1560973' first='Ethan' last='Roseman'] to their talented group. Cathedral and Crispus Attucks dropped down as well and arguably Top 5 teams regardless of class. Whether it is [player_tooltip player_id='1297020' first='Dominique' last='Murphy Jr'], [player_tooltip player_id='1297068' first='Julius' last='Gizzi'], [player_tooltip player_id='1297002' first='Chase' last='Konieczny'], [player_tooltip player_id='1525663' first='Brady' last='Koehler'], or [player_tooltip player_id='1297019' first='Dezmon' last='Briscoe'], Class 3A features some of the best individual players and teams in the state.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading --> <h2 class="wp-block-heading">Undefeated Teams</h2> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>By our unofficial count there are 25 remaining undefeated teams in the state...</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Class 1A: Carroll (Flora) (6-0), Orleans (5-0)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Class 2A: Bishop Luers (4-0), Gary 21st Century (6-0), Linton (5-0), Northeastern (6-0), Paoli (4-0), Parke Heritage (6-0), Providence (4-0), South Ripley (8-0), Taylor (5-0), Wapahani (7-0)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Class 3A: Brownstown Central (6-0), Evansville Harrison (5-0), Northview (6-0), NorthWood (7-0), Roncalli (7-0), Silver Creek (8-0), South Bend St. Joseph (6-0), Southridge (6-0)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Class 4A: Crown Point (4-0), Evansville Reitz (5-0), Fishers (7-0), Northridge (7-0), Warsaw (6-0)</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->