Preseason Team Rankings: #29

<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 #31.</p> <p><b>1A #31: Caston  </b><br /> The Comets are coming into this season off an extremely bad record of 3-18. The good news, however, is that they will return their top eight scorers from last year. They will be led by 6-5 forward Hunter Schanlaub (15.6 ppg, 8.0 rpg). This prospect averaged nearly a double-double and is great on both ends of the court. Caston will also be led by senior Mike Rans (9.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg), who will provide his senior leadership and great defense. Look for sharpshooting trio Cameron Kline (5.7 ppg), Kade Zeider (3.6 ppg), and Luke Lowe (3.0 ppg) to all have breakout seasons. This is a great defensive team that must find ways to score consistently on the offensive side. Come Sectional time, this team should have a much better record than last season. They bring back some good talent and have a chance to improve tremendously.      </p> <p><strong>2A #31: Tell City </strong><br /> The Marksmen are heading into this season off an amazing record of 21-6. They will also be coming into this season as one of the reigning Sectional Champions. However, they take a huge hit as they lose their top five scorers from last season do to graduation. Those outgoing seniors made-up a huge chunk of their talent so guys are going to need to step-up. Players like Devin Pruitt (1.2 ppg) and Kaden Chestnut (1.1 ppg) will have to make huge strides and fill important roles. Also look for a player like Dylan Mathena (1.5 ppg) to breakout and bring in some huge varsity minutes. Though they may have lots of roles and situations that need to be figured out, this is a well-coached team. This is a team that has a chance to find their identity quick and compete in a tough sectional. Tell City has a chance to repeat a Sectional Championship this season.     </p> <p><strong>3A #31: West Lafayette</strong><br /> Coming off capturing their 13th Sectional Title in school history, the Red Devils will be looking to repeat a great season. They have a really good chance to do so as they return an experienced roster. All eyes for West Lafayette will be on frontcourt duo Yanni Karlaftis (18.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg) and Rocco Muratori (12.0 ppg, 6.5 rpg). Karlaftis is a 6'4 power forward that is very physical and can flat-out get buckets. His frontcourt partner Muratori is a 6'9 center and is a beast down low, but we at Prephoops challenge him to grab more boards that we know he is capable of doing. In the backcourt, there is senior guard Tyler Boyle (7.9 ppg), who is a true combo guard that can score in multiple ways. Look for senior Harrison Truitt (7.6 ppg, 4.2 rpg) to have a breakout season as well. This squad has incredible talent coming back and one of the best frontcourts in Indiana. The Red Devils have a great opportunity to repeat as Sectional Champs.     </p> <p><b>4A #31: Hamilton Southeastern  </b><br /> The Royals are coming off a solid 16-9 record followed by a tough Sectional loss to Carmel heading into this season. They do, however, return one of their top scorers from last year. That scorer  is 7'0 senior center Mabor Majak (8.4 ppg, 5.7 rpg). Majak has great footwork, great shot blocking ability, and is a powerful big man when he wants to be. Also look for 6'3 guard Vinny Buccilla (6.3 ppg), who is a tough-minded scorer, to make big strides this season. Though the loss of Chris Grubbs and Landon Morris could be hard to overcome, the Royals return a team full of stud potential. They have a very good chance to make lots of noise and shock the state this season.    </p>