3 For 3: Week 13 Preview

The high school boys’ basketball season is underway and we at PrepHoops Indiana want to give you the absolute best coverage in the whole state. Indiana is full of great teams and talented players thus giving the fans incredible matchups every week. Join me, Kyler Staley, every Monday during the season as I preview the 3 Players, 3 Teams, and 3 Matchups to watch for that coming week. Are you ready? Let’s get started! 3 Players <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/elijah-malone/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/elijah-malone/">Elijah Malone</a></a> – 6’7 2020 PF – Prairie Heights: Though his team, Prairie Heights, may have lost to Westview on Friday, Malone had himself a really solid performance with a 19 point, 11 rebound, double-double. This senior can be an absolute beast sometimes in the post. Him and his team have a few chances to add a couple of more wins on their already great 14-4 record. Malone might be the best PF still available. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/foster-mefford/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/foster-mefford/">Foster Mefford</a></a> – 5’11 2021 PG – Southwestern (Hanover): Mefford is coming off a tremendous weekend. In a great win over 2A #4 South Decatur, Mefford dropped 40 points, 23 of the them came in the second half. Currently, Mefford is leading Southwestern to a 14-7 record and they have a good possibility to win their last two games. The PG with great court vision should have another big week. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/qualen-pettus/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/qualen-pettus/">Qualen Pettus</a></a> – 6’4 2020 SG – Fort Wayne Northrop: Qualen is a tough, physical guard who has had a pretty good season. He is also a big scoring wing that can drive, shoot, pull-up, and is one of the more aggressive guards in the state. Still one of the top uncommitted SGs, Pettus is trying to prove he belongs in the conversation of some of the best in the state. He has D1 potential and he has a chance to show that when him and squad take on Fort Wayne Dwenger on Friday. 3 Teams Greenwood Christian (1A): Still undefeated and still playing well, Greenwood Christian is the best team in 1A right now. Led by a great senior in <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/champ-mccorkle/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/champ-mccorkle/">Champ McCorkle</a></a>, the Cougars have won 20 straight and for the most have beaten teams with ease. Some critics will say their schedule is not hard but the thing is they are taking care of business. They play their final 3 games of the regular season this week and unless they get shocked, they are heading into the Sectionals without a loss. North Central (Indianapolis) (4A): Even though they have an alright record, I personally feel North Central is one of the more underrated teams in 4A. Their trio of <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/charlie-peterson/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/charlie-peterson/">Charlie Peterson</a></a>, <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jalen-clark/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/jalen-clark/">Jalen Clark</a></a>, and <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/leland-walker/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/leland-walker/">Leland Walker</a></a> in my eyes is one of the best combinations on any high school team in the state. They take on a very underwhelming Center Grove team on Friday and I believe they will snag the road win. In Sectional 10, North Central would be the team I would not want to draw. Northwood (3A): Northwood has a had a weird season of having times where they are a long streak of winning and then times where they lose back-to-back. They have lost their last 2 games but this week they should get back on track. They do not really have any "stars" on their team but they play really good as a collective squad. Look for the Panthers to win their two games this week. 3 Matchups Columbus North (4A) at Bloomington North (4A) – Feb 21, 7:30 pm: Bloomington North has kind of been forgotten when it comes to talk about the good teams in 4A. I can probably tell you that <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/blake-barker/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/blake-barker/">Blake Barker</a></a> and Columbus North have not forgotten about them. I am excited for this game because I believe these two squads are at about the same talent level. I think the deciding factor will come down to who has a better game between 2 shooters, <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/nicholas-schiavello/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/nicholas-schiavello/">Nicholas Schiavello</a></a> and <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/isaac-vencel/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/isaac-vencel/">Isaac Vencel</a></a>. I give Bloomington North the slight home-court edge here. Gary 21st Century (1A) at Kouts (1A) – Feb 18, 7:00 pm: Finally we are getting this game after rescheduling the original Jan 28th tip-off.Two of 1A’s top teams will face off in this huge clash. Both teams have a combined 4 losses on the season. Coach Kevin Duzan (Kouts) does not have a team full of stars but has a squad that buys into his system. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/johnell-davis/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/johnell-davis/">Johnell Davis</a></a> has got Gary being a potential State Championship contender. This game will truly test Kouts. Paoli (2A) at Scottsburg (3A) – Feb 18, 7:30 pm: Could potentially be the best 2A-3A game of the week. <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/brett-bosley/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/brett-bosley/">Brett Bosley</a></a> and the Paoli Rams are on a current 6-game winning streak at the moment and <a href="https://prephoops.com/player/nick-sebastiao/"><a href="https://prephoops.com/player/nick-sebastiao/">Nick Sebastiao</a></a> and the Scottsburg Warriors will be looking to stop that. I expect this one to be pretty physical because both squads can be very aggressive at times. Scottsburg may have not won as many games as they would have hoped for this year, but I think they pull out the hard-fought win tomorrow.