Open Gym Report: Ben Davis Giants

Brandon Ramsey October 16, 2025 @ 01:00 PM

Getting to cover Indiana High School Basketball is an honor. There is no better feeling than walking into a packed gym, that often seats thousands of fans, in the middle of winter. Attending some of the biggest, most prestigious grassroots events throughout the summer is a perk of the job as well. However, there is nothing I enjoy as much as going to high school open gyms in the fall. By attending these preseason workouts I not only get a more intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the team, but it also provides a chance to spend time with our state's many great coaching staffs. In the month of September alone I attended 16 Indiana High School open gyms and have hit the ground running in October as well. Let's take a look back and go over some thoughts and notes from each of my stops this fall.   <hr class="wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity" />   The Ben Davis Giants are no stranger to success under head coach Don Carlisle. He led them to a Class 4A State Runner-Up finish in 2019, cut down the nets to finish an undefeated season in 2023, and the Giants were Runner-Up once again in 2024 under interim head coach Corey Taylor. Ben Davis went 17-9 last season but did not make it out of Sectional 11. That Sectional will be a juggernaut once again this year.   Indiana Junior All-Star [player_tooltip player_id='2625235' first='JaShawn' last='Ladd'] returns to lead the Giants this season. The 6'4" Akron commit averaged a team best 13.2 points to go along with 3.5 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game. He shot 41.4% from three-point range as well. Ladd is not only one of the best athletes in the state but will be one of the best players in the state this season.   [player_tooltip player_id='2471408' first='Sherman' last='Moss-Wright'], a University of Indianapolis commit, returns for his senior season as well. The versatile 6'3" wing averaged 7.0 points per game last year and is coming off of a big, breakout summer. Ben Davis will feature three more seniors in the front with 6'7" [player_tooltip player_id='2828525' first='Prince' last='Anga'], 6'8" [player_tooltip player_id='2046154' first='Lewis' last='Harvey'], and 6'6" Demarcus Holmes. Anga and Harvey are highly sought after small college prospects.   In the backcourt, seniors [player_tooltip player_id='2471407' first='TJ' last='Minor'] and [player_tooltip player_id='1561128' first='Taj' last='Long'] have valuable varsity experience and will provide some playmaking alongside Ladd and Moss-Wright. Robert Redick, a Duke Football commit, and Marcus Powe will bring over some major athleticism from the gridiron as well.   As usual, Ben Davis has a good mixture of top end talent, size, and depth. Expect to see the Giants compete among the Class 4A Top 10 for much of this year.

Getting to cover Indiana High School Basketball is an honor. There is no better feeling than walking into a packed gym, that often seats thousands of fans, in the middle of winter. Attending some of the biggest, most prestigious grassroots events throughout the summer is a perk of the job as well. However, there is nothing I enjoy as much as going to high school open gyms in the fall. By attending these preseason workouts I not only get a more intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the team, but it also provides a chance to spend time with our state's many great coaching staffs. In the month of September alone I attended 16 Indiana High School open gyms and have hit the ground running in October as well. Let's take a look back and go over some thoughts and notes from each of my stops this fall.