Spring Preview: 2019 Northeast’s Best
Something new we are looking at this year is looking at different regions or quadrants in the state. There are many areas and hotbeds of talent in the state and we want to take a little bit more of a…
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Continue ReadingSomething new we are looking at this year is looking at different regions or quadrants in the state. There are many areas and hotbeds of talent in the state and we want to take a little bit more of a microscope to them to see what the nuances of the state will produce in each class. This is our look at Region 2 in Northeast Indiana.
# | Prospect | HT | POS | High School |
1 | Keion Brooks | 6’8 | SF | Fort Wayne North |
2 | Mason Gillis | 6’7 | PF | New Castle |
3 | Sydney Curry | 6’8 | PF | Horizon Christian (FW) |
4 | Luke Bumbalough | 6’0 | PG | New Castle |
5 | Lucas Kroft | 6’5 | SF | Fort Wayne North |
6 | Frank Davidson | 6’5 | SF | Blackhawk Christian |
7 | Craig Young | 6’6 | SF | Fort Wayne Wayne |
8 | Sawyer Stoltz | 6’8 | PF | Huntington North |
9 | Eli Pancol | 6’3 | SF | Pendleton Heights |
10 | Elijah Hales | 6’3 | SG | Westview |
11 | Hayden Smithey | 6’5 | SF | Bishop Dwenger |
12 | Ali Ali | 6’6 | SF | East Noble |
13 | David Ejah | 6’4 | SF | Fort Wayne Carroll |
14 | Ozzie Johnson | 6’5 | SF | Horizon Christian (FW) |
15 | Luke Richardson | 6’6 | PF | Lapel |
16 | Hank Pulver | 6’6 | SF | Huntington North |
17 | Rylan Detling | 6’7 | PF | Frankton |
18 | Demarea Dial | 6’2 | SG | Fort Wayne Wayne |
19 | Dan McKeeman | 5’10 | PG | Fort Wayne Carroll |
20 | Kayden Key | 6’0 | PG | Frankton |
21 | Dallas Holmes | 6’4 | SF | Southwood |
22 | Spencer Sroufe | 6’7 | PF | Whitko |
23 | Avery Paddock | 6’3 | SG | Alexandria |
24 | Damieon Warrum | 6’7 | C | Pendleton Heights |
25 | Diquan Merriwether | 6’0 | PG | Fort Wayne North |
26 | Colton Randolph | 6’3 | SF | Marion |
27 | Jalen Hillard | 5’8 | PG | Northeastern |
28 | Will Whatley | 6’5 | C | Frankton |
Breakdown: The Fort Wayne area always tends to be pretty consistent with their level of top end talent and in the 2019 class, they really bring it home. There are a bunch of top end guys in the class in the Northeast Region with names like Keion Brooks, Mason Gillis, Sydney Curry, Luke Bumbalough, and followed by three guys that could jump into that fray as soon as two weeks from now.
As for the depth at each level, here is our breakdown: Tier 1 (HM-MM): #1-3, Tier 2 (LM-DII): #4-14, Tier 3 (DII-NAIA): #15-22, Tier 4 (NAIA-DIII): #23-28
What we have found with this group is that there are more higher end players with not a lot of bottom end options. For our small school colleges in the area, this is huge because there are going to be plenty of options above their level they will fight for early on. Having 11 players in Tier 2 is a ton for this area.
As far as depth at positions, I think there is quite a bit of size across the board and the 2/3/4 spots on the floor will be fine. Now, the issues become more about the true post spots. More of those are in Central and Southern Indiana so that might cause problems for small colleges.
As for players we will be watching this summer and those we think could take steps forward, look at Frank Davidson, Sawyer Stoltz, Ali Ali, and Spencer Sroufe. Davidson is my big breakout guy. Fell in love and think his ceiling is very high. Stoltz is a big that can step out and shoot and has fluidity to his game. Ali’s body has grown but the skill has gotten better each step of the way. Can he put it all together? Sroufe could be a steal for a small school with his length and agility.