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<p>Covering Indiana High School Basketball has become a nearly 365 day a year job. The season obviously starts up around Thanksgiving and runs until the beginning of spring. Then, the grassroots schedule picks up almost immediately and runs through the end of July. August is a bit of a quieter month, but once school gets back in session there will be fall leagues and preseason workouts all across the state. Getting out and spending time with our state's great coaching staffs and getting a more intimate, behind-the-scenes look at specific programs is one of our favorite parts of the coverage calendar. Our travels across the state started as the calendar turned to September and have continued on throughout. Here are some notes on a couple schools we hit early this week.</p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Pendleton Heights Arabians</h2>
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<p>Coach Jared Rhodes helped lead Pendleton Heights to a surprising 17-6 season in his first year at the helm. The Arabians lost their top two scorers from last season's team, but there is enough returning talent for them to sneak up on some people once again.</p>
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<p>Pendleton Heights' strength will be in their size in 2026-2027. There top two returning players from last year are good athletes who stand 6'4" and 6'6" respectively. Brandt Gray, who is also a very talented starting quarterback for the football team, brings back 7.7 points per game. Then there is 6'6" senior center Clark Emly who has caught the attention of some small college programs. He averaged 7.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Those two provide a solid returning core inside, but there is even more size to go around. 6'5" junior [player_tooltip player_id='3407172' first='Ryder' last='Garner'], 6'6" junior Braxton Young, and 6'4" senior [player_tooltip player_id='3655792' first='Bennett' last='Long'] are all expected to step into larger roles.</p>
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<p>It will be hard to replicate the season from last year without some guards really stepping up in the backcourt, but look for the size of Pendleton Heights to make it hard on some opponents. Sectional 9 will be competitive as always.</p>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Mt. Vernon (Fortville) Marauders</h2>
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<p>Living in a post-Luke Ertel world will not be easy. The defending Class 4A State Champions graduated Ertel, who won Indiana's Mr. Basketball award, and a couple of other pieces from last year's team. However, there is a good deal of talent returning as well. Coach Bradburn should still have a borderline Top 10 team in Class 4A.</p>
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<p>Bellarmine commit [player_tooltip player_id='2140419' first='Max' last='Vise'] earned "Core" Indiana Junior All-Star honors last season while playing alongside Ertel. The 6'8" forward averaged 14.1 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He provides some obvious size and length, but Vise is also incredibly skilled. He could arguably be the Marauders best ball-handler and passer which will allow Coach Bradburn to use him in a variety of ways. Senior guards Owen Daughtery and Ben Schaeffer bring back 5.6 points and 3.6 points per game respectively. Daughtery is an excellent three-point shooter.</p>
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<p>Aside from those returning players Mt. Vernon will rely heavily on two very talented sophomores guards to step into primary backcourt roles and a 6'5" transfer. The guards are [player_tooltip player_id='2719712' first='Keagan' last='Battles'] and [player_tooltip player_id='3033290' first='Amari' last='Smith'] who are both ranked as Top 50 prospects in the Class of 2029 by Prep Hoops Indiana. They are talented enough to take over the primary playmaking roles in the backcourt. Mt. Vernon also added 6'5" senior forward [player_tooltip player_id='2882251' first='Dominic' last='Mulenga'] who transferred in from Fishers. His strength and physicality in the front court will pair nicely next to Vise.</p>
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Covering Indiana High School Basketball has become a nearly 365 day a year job. The season obviously starts up around Thanksgiving and runs until the beginning of spring. Then, the grassroots schedule picks up almost immediately and runs through the end of July. August is a bit of a quieter month, but once school gets back in session there will be fall leagues and preseason workouts all across the state. Getting out and spending time with our state's great coaching staffs and getting a more intimate, behind-the-scenes look at specific programs is one of our favorite parts of the coverage calendar. Our travels across the state started as the calendar turned to September and have continued on throughout. Here are some notes on a couple schools we hit early this week.
Pendleton Heights Arabians Coach Jared Rhodes helped lead Pendleton Heights to a surprising 17-6 season in his first year at the helm. The Arabians lost their top two scorers from last season's team, but there is enough returning talent for them to sneak up on some people once again. Pendleton Heights' strength will be in their size in 2026-2027. There top two returning players from last year are good athletes who stand 6'4" and 6'6" respectively. Brandt Gray, who is also a very talented starting quarterback for the football team, brings back 7.7 points per game. Then there is 6'6" senior center Clark Emly who has caught the attention of some small college programs. He averaged 7.0 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Those two provide a solid returning core…
