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2015 Boys Basketball"Magnificent 7," Week-9 PollA USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith02-11-2015 |
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2015 Boys Basketball"Magnificent 7," Week-9 PollA USA-365.com Special Report by Mark Smith02-11-2015 |
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| Every team got a break this
basketball season when the biggest snowstorm of the year hit on
Sunday, Feb. 1 when no one is allowed to play and was largely
cleaned up on a Monday when no game was scheduled. The sun came back out Tuesday and very few teams have any makeup games as we head into the final three weeks of play. (Photo by Mark Smith) |
EAST
CHICAGO
(02-10-2015)
Hopefully the fight that broke out at the Griffith-Hammond game last Saturday
fight was an isolated incident. I wasn't there so I don't know why what happened
occurred, but it might be a moment to drop any sensitivity concerns and speak to
fights at high school events.
Not everybody appreciates that high school event security is an illusion. If 500 people come to a basketball game, 20 or 30 teachers won't be able to stop a fight from starting and escalating. We're all on somewhat of an honor system to behave. That's why athletic directors shied away from scheduling some of the Gary schools in other eras after there were some disturbances there.
You can't risk an incident like the kind they
had at Griffith Saturday. School officials can't risk that occurring at your
school with a gym full of somebody else's children. The school is responsible
for what ever happens no matter whose at fault.
Basketball incidents, in my opinion, are caused by the players and coaches, not
the referees or fans. If the game is cleanly played or at least, respectful to
authority, the fans will be loud and proud, but they will accept the outcome and
go home. Refs make mistakes but that's part of the game and players and coaches
accept bad calls or no calls.
If players and coaches whine on every call or
act out agendas against the other side, violence could break out. A hard foul
like the one that apparently started the brawl at Griffith, only leads to a
fight if coaches and players have not been schooled not to 'get up in the face'
of opponents when they feel disrespected. There's no 'taking the law in their
own hands' when there's a hard foul. Never.
There also needs to be 'zero tolerance' afterwards. Anybody and everybody
involved in that fight at Griffith should be suspended for the rest of the year.
It's all on tape. No excuses and no exceptions. Fights at athletic events could
end up in permanent injury or deaths. You should get one time to fight about it
and the rest of the year to think about it.
Meanwhile, Valparaiso is 5-0 in Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) play and five
teams (Chesterton, Lake Central, Michigan City, Crown Point and Merrillville)
are 3-2 and tied for second place. Seven of the eight DAC teams have winning
records and will finish the season at .500 or above. So you better have a good
reason for why you rank who where.
1. (4A) East Chicago (13-3)
EAST CHICAGO: East Chicago is not a dominant No. 1, but no one else is close. Hyron Edwards and Damien Jefferson both scored 19 points in last Saturday's 68-58 win at Crown Point. But you got the impression that if CP center Nick Jeffirs hadn't been in foul trouble, the Bulldogs might have won. EC is not strong in the post and that will eventually trip them up unless 6-foot-10 sophomore Johnnie Jones becomes more of a factor. Edwards passed the 1,500-point mark for his four-year career. If EC wins at Lake Central on Feb. 10, they almost certainly will win all their remaining games and finish 18-3. EC is the most talented teams in NW Indiana and they have high expectations. A 20-win season and a sectional title do not seem to be a major focus. They sound like they want to be playing on the last day of the state tournament.
VALPO: There's a stereotype that says that all-black teams (EC) are so talented and all white teams (Valpo) are so well coached. But it's hard to get around the notion that a few teams have better individuals than Valparaiso, but the Vikings keep winning. Munster (one of those teams) topped Valpo 48-47 on Jan. 31, but the Vikings stayed undefeated in the Duneland Athletic Conference (DAC) with a 57-37 win over LaPorte. Playing with pace and precision, not to mention 6-foot-7 junior center Conner TenHove (12.7 ppg.), 6-3 junior forward Drew Paul (12.4 ppg.) and 6-foot junior guard Scott Helm (10.2 ppg.) The Vikings can clinch the DAC title at Crown Point (another one of those teams) in a Thursday night special on Feb. 12.
3. (4A) Chesterton (13-5)
2014 (12-10), 2013 (13-9), 2012 (9-13)
CHESTERTON: Among the 3-2 DAC teams, I've got Chesterton here because they've got 6-foot-6 Chris Palombizio (23.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.1 assists per game) who can get a basket most any time he wants. The other four 3-2 teams don't have him. Palombizio has 62 three-point shots and is shooting 79% (109 of 138) from the foul line and nobody apparently can guard him. Chesterton, a 39% three-point shooting team (121 of 310) and a 76% (262 or 345) foul shooting team, has lost only to Merrillville (13-6), East Chicago (13-3), Noblesville (10-9) and Columbus East (10-8) and Michigan City (11-8). The Trojans are my choice among the 'best of the rest' in the DAC and there's still that matchup with undefeated (Mishawaka) Marian (13-0) on Feb. 13. It's always fun when you play No. 1!
4. (4A) Crown Point (12-7)
2014 (12-9), 2013 (5-16), 2012 (11-10)
CROWN POINT: The Bulldogs did lose to East Chicago 68-58 Saturday (Feb. 7), but CP had played Friday night on the road while EC rested. Nick Jeffirs scored 35 in an 82-77 double-overtime win at Portage, which extended a CP win streak to four. Grant Gelon has 71 three point baskets in 19 games. Over 60 percent of CP's shots from the field are either three-point shots or two-point attempted shots by Jeffirs, the 6-foot-6 center. Does it matter that CP has won two double-overtime games? Not unless they go to OT in the post-season. The Bulldogs, who are 4-1 at home and 8-6 on the road, have two big games in a row, hosting Valparaiso (15-4, 5-0 DAC) on Thursday, Feb. 12 and taking the short ride to Lake Central (12-6) on Feb. 20. CP has an offensive scheme that is difficult to stop, but they like to play at a pace that Valpo won't let them play at.
5. (4A) Lake Central
(12-6)
2014 (22-4), 2013 (15-8), 2012 (21-3)
ST. JOHN: Lake Central nipped Merrillville 48-46 in a DAC battle after a 55-42 victory over Clay. LC is 5-5 in games decided by 10 points or less and the takeaway there is that they've played 10 games decided by 10 or less. The Indians can beat anybody good and they can lose to any body. LC losses are to Munster (12-8), Hamilton Southeastern (7-12), Columbia City (13-5), Merrillville (13-6) and Valparaiso (15-4) and that HSE loss drags their resume down. Junior Skyler Smith (17.2 ppg.) has 55 three-point goals. Lake Central still has Crown Point (12-7), East Chicago (13-3) and Michigan City (11-8) left to play and that EC game is an almost certain playoff preview. If LC can't beat East Chicago at LC, they would have to doubt their ability to beat them in the 4A Sectional 1 playoffs at EC.
6. (4A) Michigan City (11-8)
2014 (14-9), 2013 (10-12), 2012 (12-11)
MICHIGAN CITY: This may
seem high, but Michigan City has won seven of their last eight and four in a
row, including a 76-65 win over Chesterton last Friday. No one has been able to
slow the Wolves, who average 64 points a game, but have scored 60 or more 16
times. This is not a star-dominated team. Shanquin Hemphill (14.3 ppg.) a
6-foot-6 junior, is the leading scorer. But the Wolves' key is depth. They wore
down South Bend Adams Saturday 76-64 as Shayne Barron grabbed 14 rebounds and
Hemphill scored 17 points. Like Crown Point, MC seems to be vulnerable to a
slower-paced team like Valparaiso (15-4), but that's assuming they meet Valpo in
the post-season. MC, which was 4-7 on Dec. 20, has Lake Central and Merrillville
left on the schedule. They've shown they will be a major threat at the 4A
Sectional 2 at Merrillville.
7. (4A) Merrillville
(13-6)
2014 (4-16), 2013 (22-4), 2012
(16-8)
MERRILLVILLE: The Pirates lost four of five, including a 61-56 defeat at DAC leading Valparaiso last Friday. The Pirates aren't playing badly. They are just losing the close ones, including 48-46 to Lake Central and 51-50 to Munster last weekend. Merrillville has two one-point victories, one two-point victory and a 65-60 overtime win over Lake Central. Freshman Zion Young scored 19 against LC. Drew Hackett's two fouls shots with less than a second to go helped Munster top Merrillville Saturday. The Pirates were 8-of-24 on three point shots, which is probably too many attempts in a close game. Merrillville only went to the line nine times. The Feb. 24 trip to Morgan Township (16-2) and the Feb. 27 finale with Penn (18-2) will be good playoff prep for a team that needs a little boost right now.
8. (3A) Griffith (13-3)
2014 (16-7), 2013 (11-11), 2012 (3-18)
GRIFFITH: I'm making
Griffith the No. 8 team this week because they are in a special category. It's
called "limbo." The Panthers won a big one 62-53 over over Munster last Friday,
a great win for their program over the seven-time defending Northwest Crossroads
Conference (NCC) champs. But then they got involved in that fight against
Hammond. The game was cancelled and there will be suspensions. Add the Munster
victory to that win over Class 1A No. 1 Covington (17-1) at the Highland Holiday
Tournament and the Panthers deserve note. But some Panthers are going to serve
some time in the penalty box here. Too bad. This should have been a high point
in the recent history of Griffith basketball.
[Editor's Postscript: This "Magnificent 7, Week-9 Poll" was
written prior to the the IHSAA decision on Tuesday, Feb. 10.
Read the IHSAA News Release. Bottom line: The boys basketball season is over
for both Griffith and Hammond High Schools.]