If you’re a basketball enthusiast or a high school kid that just wants to play ball, today’s your day.
Yogi Ferrell hopes to lead his Park Tudor team to their second straight state title.
High school basketball teams around the state of Indiana begin tryouts today. It’s a special day for the players that work their butt off each week to play the sport they love. Now more than ever, basketball is a year-round sport where players compete with AAU teams in the offseason.
The favorite in the state has to be North Central, the 2010 Class 4A champion. Despite losing their best player, D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, the Panthers have a strong returning core. Smith-Rivera opted to head east to Oak Hill Academy for his senior season. Doug Mitchell’s team will feature one of the state’s best point guard in Purdue commit Ronnie Johnson , and a big body Darius Latham. He’s a physical yet athletic post who may be better off playing football in college. Johnson and Latham combined with Patrick Ingram and Perry Poindexter will be a tough line-up for teams to contend with. SI/Five-Star basketball ranks North Central has the 18th-best team in the country.
Hamilton Southeastern won’t make things easy for North Central, led by Gary Harris, Zak Irvin and Jacobby Bledsoe. That trio is extremely athletic and will certainly bring problems to opposing teams.
Park Tudor is another group that will be fun to watch. These Panthers won the Class 2A state championship last year and feature IU commit Yogi Ferrell, Trevon Bluiett, and New Mexico commit Troy Spears.
As for the coveted 2012 Mr. Basketball award, I think it’s a dead-heat between Yogi Ferrell and Gary Harris. According to rivals.com, Ferrell is the 17th best player in the country. Harris checks in a 25th. I’m not a big fan of ratings and put a bigger emphasis on the players’ production on the court and team records.
Three other players on the outside looking in are Ronnie Johnson, Lawrence Central’s Jeremy Hollowell (Indiana commit) and Kellen Dunham (Butler) of Pendleton Heights.
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We’ve sat through the exhibition games but Nov. 7th is also the start of the college basketball regular season games. One of the first games includes Valparaiso traveling to Arizona.
Butler is coming off two straight NCAA championship game appearances but are now with Matt Howard and Shelvin Mack. Brad Stevens is one of the best coaches in the country and will coach his team up. Losing six players doesn’t help. It will take time for the six new guys learn the system the culture that is Butler basketball.
Indiana is at a turning point after three poor seasons. Freshman Cody Zeller immediately makes everyone better and will forced a double-team. Will Sheehey has improved the most since last season. They have a stellar class coming in next year but progress is important. Crean and IU hope to make their first postseason tournament since 2008.
Notre Dame has underachieved the last few years but is poised for another run. Tim Abromaitis and Eric Atkins will be the leaders in South Bend.
Purdue was atop the Big Ten last season thanks to E’twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson but they are both gone now. The health and effectiveness of Robby Hummel will be an indicator of how far this team can go. Terone Johnson, Anthony Johnson and D.J. Byrd will all play pivotal roles this season for the Boilers who should be a top-five team in the conference.
Rivals.com projected the NCAA tournament which is a long ways away. All four teams were in the 68-team field. They have Purdue as a no. 6, Butler and Notre Dame each 10-seeds and Indiana at 11. Very reasonable but a lot can change.
College basketball brings excitement to sports fans around the country thanks to the upsets, rowdy atmospheres, and daily games. Plus hoops fans can get their fix with NBA yet to solve their labor disputes.