Prep Hoops Next Heartland Kickoff: Day Two Takeaways
FISHERS, IN– We have completed the final day of the first Heartland region tournament on the Prep Hoops Next Circuit. On a championship Sunday full of big games, we got to see the cream of the crop go head to head…
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Continue ReadingFISHERS, IN– We have completed the final day of the first Heartland region tournament on the Prep Hoops Next Circuit. On a championship Sunday full of big games, we got to see the cream of the crop go head to head to see who was taking home the bling at the first Heartland event. These were my five takeaways from day two in Fishers.
1) The Battle for Kentucky
Being a former Kentuckian myself, I loved to see the battle between Louisville’s Team Manimal 2026 and Bowling Green’s Vette City Thoroughbreds 2026 to start the morning off right. Team Manimal got the lead early, but then the game turned into a bucket by bucket battle by both programs. In the end, the club from Bowling Green would be victorious, closing the gap in the last five minutes in a comeback win against Team Manimal, who they lost to at another event here recently. You will learn this later this week on who some of the stars I liked from these teams were out of the Bluegrass State.
2) This Time, A Battle for Chicago
Of the entirety of my time at the Prep Hoops Next Heartland Kickoff, I don’t think I watched a better batch of two games in a row more than the game referenced above and the 9:10 ET battle between Illinois Flight 2027 and Chicago Demons 2027. This was another game that was led for a decent amount of time by the Flight, but in the end, the Demons had the longevity to hold for a 1-point victory 40-39. I continued to be impressed by Demons 5’0 guard, Ed Williams, who showed some sparks of his potential over the weekend. This won’t be the last time you hear about the Demons this week on PrepHoopsNext.com; stay tuned!
3) Fundamentals
If I had to name the most-fundamentally sound 12U team from this weekend in Fishers, I would take the hometown favorite, Indiana Elite 2027. The way this squad moved the basketball from point A to point B (the basket) was outstanding in their game against Chicago Demons EYL. They play hard-nosed, physical youth basketball, and don’t be surprised to see multiple members of Indiana Elite 2027 on our all-tournament team for 12U. Who are they? You’ll have to find out this week to see who made the list this week!
4) Play of the Day
Yesterday, we focused on defense for our play of the day; this time, we focus on the offensive side of the ball. The prospect making the top play I watched was Indiana Elite 5’7 forward Elijah Anderson, who used his bruising post presence to have the strength to get a physical and-one bucket in the paint.
5) Program Dominance
The 12U group was a battle of one grassroots program and two teams: Team Teague 2027 Evans (4-0) vs. Team Teague 2027 Johnson (4-0). I was chomping at the bit to watch this final game at 3:00 PM ET, but unfortunately, it didn’t end up happening due to the two teams’ conflict of interest. I got my glimpse of Team Teague 2027 Evans on Saturday, but I hope to see Team Teague 2027 Johnson at a future Heartland region event because they played like a juggernaut all weekend and were the only 2027 I couldn’t get my eyes on.