Preseason Team Rankings: #49

<p>It’s now creeping up on the start of the high school season and we are looking to start our series of previews on some of the best teams in the state. Today, Eric Gardner and Kyler Staley join up to start our deep dive into some of these teams.</p> <p>Our series will take a look at the best teams in the state for each class with our rankings. Starting at #50 and going to #1, we will look at each class ranking across all classes starting now with #49.</p> <p><strong>1A #49: Daleville</strong><br /> Daleville is coming off an 8-15 record and while they lost their top scorers, those are the only players leaving. They bring back most of their overall offense including Connor Fleming who average 10.2 points per contest.<span class="Apple-converted-space">  </span>They don’t have a ton of size so they will have to find a way to overcome that but the two standout sophomores in Camden Leisure and Tim Arnold could help to provide some perimeter shooting to make up for the outgoing seniors.</p> <p><strong>2A #49: North Putnam</strong><br /> Last year wasn’t ideal for North Putnam but things could be looking up real soon for the program.<span class="Apple-converted-space">  </span>Built around youth, they should be looking to sophomore Aaron Pickel to help lead the way. He’s coming off a freshman season where he posted 8.0 points and 2.2 rebounds as the second-leading scorer. Also, with a new head coach in Vince Brooks, he brings his son Mason Brooks who will bring some shooting and size to the team as a transfer from Westfield. With their schedule being quite down, only a couple major matchups, this is a team that could surprise and win a few games here.</p> <p><strong>3A #49: Indian Creek</strong><br /> Indian Creek has won more than 14 games each season for the past 5 years.<span class="Apple-converted-space">  </span>Now, they are graduating four players from last year’s team but a good chunk of the size and talent is returning. Look for Ethan Williams as a potential standout this year as a long, lean scoring wing.<span class="Apple-converted-space">  </span>If Junior Christan Wiseman can really step up his game as a 6’8 post, that could go a long way for this team.<span class="Apple-converted-space">  </span>Their Sectional is quite a bit easier this year with only really Beech Grove and Ritter set to be good, they could sneak through into the next round.</p> <p><strong>4A #49: Mt. Vernon-Fortville</strong><br /> The Marauders are coming off a slightly below .500 record last season at 11-12. For this upcoming season they will be without their top three scorers, who were outgoing seniors. They will now be looking for their sharpshooting guard Brandon Bell (7.0 ppg) and athletic wing Ryan Morris (5.2 ppg) to help lead them this season. Look for big man Jacob Frank (2.0 ppg) to step up and improve his post play as well and help take some scoring pressure off their top two returning scorers. In order for Mt. Vernon-Fortville to have a great season and dethrone the highly skilled New Palestine squad in sectionals, their key players will need to breakout. If The Marauders can make the necessary improvements, this team has the skill to have a successful season.</p>