Central Indiana’s Key Players to Watch

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>These basketball players are looking to take a jump this year on their teams school. Whether the jump is statistical or in the roles they play within their teams, these are the five players that you should keep and eye on coming into the the 2025-2026 season.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2813517"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68715b7e35741"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">After starting last season on junior varsity, [player_tooltip player_id='2813517' first='Tony' last='Barnes'] found a key role in Franklin's varsity rotation with a consistent 25 minutes per game. Expect Barnes to be one of the main ball handlers this season and you could see his 11 points per game increase. With only an everage of 1 assist per game last year, we should see an increase in that as well with his teammates getting open more due to the defense focusing on him.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2625235"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68715b7e357b3"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='2625235' first='JaShawn' last='Ladd'] is a player who took a huge jump last season. This jump earned him multiple offers to play at the next level. This season should be no different. Over the summer basketball season, Ladd has dropped 20+ points in nearly every game they have played in. This includes a 27 point performance in a 62-57 win vs Gary 21st. Ladd should be the number one option for his senior season with the Ben Davis Giants and we could see him getting multiple offers to close out his high school career.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1561435"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-68715b7e35806"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">[player_tooltip player_id='1561435' first='Julien' last='Smith'] had a very solid season in his junior year for the Cathedral Irish. While playing about 19 minutes per game, he was able to put up 13 points per every outing. This would be on 48% shooting from the field and 42% from three point range. I expect Smith to shoot the ball way more in the game as his minutes increase in his senior year and he is found as one of the first few options on the team. He was also very careful with the ball turning it over only 17 times in 25 games going along with stealing the ball 15 times.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":["not_in_db"],"_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_selected_featured_image":"field_62cca28ffa4e7","player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"[player_tooltip player_id='2140324' first='Bles'sed' last='Thomas']","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_player_name":"field_62aba4c9ecf2f","player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"2026","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_graduating_class":"field_62aba4ddecf30","player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"6'0u0022","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_height":"field_62aba4e8ecf31","player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"77246","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_position":"field_62aba4f0ecf32","player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"Indianapolis Arsenal Technical High School","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_school":"field_62aba4fdecf33","player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details_club_team":"field_62d20e723441a","player_evaluations_0_player_details":"","_player_evaluations_0_player_details":"field_62aba4afecf2e","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6871671e9a8b3"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">As only a sophomore at Arsenal Tech, [player_tooltip player_id='2140324' first='Bles'sed' last='Thomas'] led his team in scoring with 13.6 points per game and assists with 1.6. Thomas is looking to become the number one option on Arsenal Tech this season as a junior so his numbers should jump significantly along with his minutes per game. His game should excel in the midrange as he shot 47% from the field in his sophomore year. If he gets his three point shot to hit more than his 38% from last year, he will be one of the best scoring threats in central Indiana.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["2267046"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations":1,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"preview","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-6871671e9a913"} --> <!-- wp:paragraph {"placeholder":"Add evaluation here...","className":"text-gray-700"} --> <p class="text-gray-700">As a sophomore playing on an already stacked Fishers Tigers team, [player_tooltip player_id='2267046' first='Jason' last='Gardner Jr.'] found a way to improve tremendously. He made a 12 points per game increase and I don't see a reason he will slow down. Along with scoring the ball, Gardner loves to find open teammates. Last year, he averaged 5.3 assists per game and going into the most important year for his high school career, he could make a gigantic leap. He was great on defense as well gathering 70 defensive rebounds and stealing the ball 29 times in 31 games played.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- /wp:acf/evaluation-block --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Check out my other article <em><a href="https://prephoops.com/2025/05/myt-super-regionals-top-5-hustle-players/">MYT Super Regionals: Top 5 Hustle Players</a></em>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->