Eric’s 4A State Preview
The high school season begins next week and we are looking at a little bit of everything as we begin. There are teams, players, and so much more to consider and in 4A this year, there are a ton of challenges that await. We breakdown, top to bottom, everything you need to know in 4A this season. Let’s begin.
Romeo’s Gone, Now What?
The last four years we have been in Romeo Langford’s world but now, everything is changing. Now, we have to see what the new norm is going to be and while we can guess and make some assumptions, the only thing we know for sure is that things are going to be different.
The dominance isn’t there this year and you don’t have New Albany or Warren Central at the very top again as both of those two teams have considerably been decimated by graduations. That isn’t to say those teams aren’t going to compete but they are new looks. But who is going to be at the top. Well, you have to start with a foursome of Lawrence Central, Cathedral, and Center Grove. Those teams are littered with upperclassmen and have that top end talent to push a team into a new level.
Mr. Basketball Resides In 4A
This year, more so than the past couple will see all Mr. Basketball contenders come from 4A. With Trayce Jackson-Davis, Brandon Newman, and Armaan Franklin, those three make up the front-runners for the award and it could come down to the last game of the season, the 4A State Championship.
It is no coincidence that those three come from 4A teams and they are all ranked in the top four teams in the state. There are a couple guys on the outskirts that could be in line for some votes but not many. These are the guys to watch. However, the teams with a Mr. Basketball contender aren’t necessarily the only teams that can compete for a 4A State Title. This year is, ironically more balanced at the top of 4A than it has been in a while and any of the teams we have in our Top 10 are capable of competing. So, the race for Mr. Basketball could be who keeps their team in the race the longest.
Transfers Changed Landscape Of Season
One other of the big storylines is the amount and quality of transfers this year, not only from high school to prep school but high school to high school. The biggest is the move of all of the Fort Wayne North (IN) kids. Keion Brooks Jr. has moved on to La Lumiere and that is a massive loss and he could have been the front runner for the Mr. Basketball award. But also Andrew and Lucas Kroft have moved to Richmond (IN). They are joined by Jalen Hillard who came over from Northeastern (IN) to help give new Richmond head coach Shabazz Khaliq a solid core in his first year there.
Then you have Avon (IN) who had some movement with Wendell DeMyers and J.P. Carroll moving into the program and Jaylen Jennings moving on to Ben Davis (IN). For Avon, they add two athletic and skilled guards that should give that team a boost. Lawrence North (IN) actually took a hit as they essentially swapped out Rickie Wedlow who came over from Richmond (IN) for Michael Saunders Jr. who left to go to Watasch Academy in Utah. Warren Central added a pair of guards in Manuel Brown and Isiah Moore from Scecina and Park Tudor, respectively.
These moves really help Richmond move into a spot where they went from unknown to potential Regional competitor. Lawrence North takes a hit as they lose their backcourt duo from last year with J.P. Carroll and Michael Saunders Jr. moving out. Warren Central gains two much needed guards but they are different than what Criss Byers has had in the past. Avon got a big boost and put them in a spot where they could potentially compete for a Sectional Championship.
Prep Hoops Indiana’s Top 20 In 4A
- Lawrence Central
- Cathedral
- Center Grove
- Valparaiso
- Zionsville
- Brownsburg
- Lawrence North
- Warren Central
- Carmel
- Floyd Central
- Jeffersonville
- Hamilton Southeastern
- East Noble
- Castle
- Bloomington South
- Ben Davis
- Fort Wayne Carroll
- Penn
- Homestead
- Lafayette Jeff
4A All-Class Teams
First Team All-Class 4A
Brandon Newman (Sr., Valparaiso)
Trayce Jackson-Davis (Sr., Center Grove)
Armaan Franklin (Sr., Cathedral)
Isaiah Thompson (Sr., Zionsville)
Alex Hemenway (Sr., Castle)
Second Team All-Class 4A
Cobie Barnes (Sr., Floyd Central)
Dawand Jones (Sr., Ben Davis)
Andrew Owens (Sr., Carmel)
Anthony Leal (Jr., Bloomington South)
Aaron Etherington (Sr., Hamilton Southeastern)
Third Team All-Class 4A
Tre Coleman (Jr., Jeffersonville)
D’Andre Davis (Jr., Lawrence Central)
Chris Grubbs (Jr., Hamilton Southeastern)
Drew Lutz (Sr., Penn)
Jared Hankins (Sr., Lawrence North)
Honorable Mention
Noah Applegate (Sr., Penn)
Zach Kuhn (Sr., Shelbyville)
Jalen Windham (Sr., Ben Davis)
Cameron Alford (Sr., Brownsburg)
D.J. Hughes Jr. (So., Lawrence North)
Tony Perkins (Jr., Lawrence North)
Ali Ali (Sr., East Noble)
Sydney Curry (Sr., Fort Wayne Northrop)
Dan McKeeman (Sr., Fort Wayne Carroll)
David Ejah (Sr., Fort Wayne Carroll)
Brooks Barnhizer (So., Lafayette Jeff)
Michael Eley (So., Fort Wayne Snider)
Luke Goode (So., Homestead)
Jake Wadding (Jr., Chesterton)
Jalen Jennings (Sr., South Bend Riley)
State Predictions
I spent some time researching and looking into the teams in 4A this season. This is my personal, unbiased predictions for those winners of each Sectional, Regional, Semistate, and State game.
Sectional Predictions
Sectional 1: Lowell
Sectional 2: Valparaiso
Sectional 3: Penn
Sectional 4: Warsaw
Sectional 5: Fort Wayne Carroll
Sectional 6: Homestead
Sectional 7: Zionsville
Sectional 8: Carmel
Sectional 9: Richmond
Sectional 10: Lawrence Central
Sectional 11: Ben Davis
Sectional 12: Brownsburg
Sectional 13: Center Grove
Sectional 14: Bloomington South
Sectional 15: Floyd Central
Sectional 16: Castle
Regional Predictions:
Regional 1: Valparaiso
Regional 2: Carmel
Regional 3: Lawrence Central
Regional 4: Center Grove
State Predictions:
Semistate North: Carmel
Semistate South: Lawrence Central
State Champion: Lawrence Central