IHSAA boys basketball What we learned: Sleeper teams, Washington's big man slims down, more
Five things we learned from the week in high school boys basketball:
Sleeper teams
While it is still a little early to make definitive statements due to small sample size and differing schedules, here are five teams worth keeping an eye on that were a bit off the radar going into the season:
∎ Richmond: Coach Billy Wright’s team has not played a great schedule yet but 6-0 is 6-0 and this team is legitimately talented, led by juniors Cedric Horton (19.5 ppg) and Mason Carpenter (14.2 ppg) and senior Ryder Cate (12.7 ppg). This was a 16-win team last year that should contend in Class 4A Sectional 9 with teams like Greenfield-Central, Mt. Vernon, New Palestine and Anderson. Big test upcoming: the 16-team Bob Wettig Tournament on Dec. 28-29 in Richmond will be interesting. The hosts should be the favorite.
∎ Fort Wayne North Side: The Legends, also a 16-win team last year, are ranked No. 7 in Class 4A and 6-0. Seniors Jaxson Fugate (18.7 ppg, 5.7 rebounds) and Eugene Young Jr. (14.7 ppg, 10.0 rebounds) are top players for North Side. Big test upcoming: The Legends also play in the Bob Wettig Tournament, opening against Shortridge. North Side could see Richmond in the championship.
∎ Indian Creek: The Class 3A Braves were a bit of a surprise sectional champion last year in a 14-9 season and have picked up where they left off. Coach Drew Glentzer’s team is 6-1, its only blemish a nine-point season-opening loss to Franklin. Indian Creek is led by juniors Landon Sichting (16.2 ppg, 8.6 rebounds), Adam Crouch (14.8 ppg, 4.2 assists) and Landon Martin (13.0 ppg, 5.6 rebounds). Big test upcoming: The Johnson County tournament Jan. 9-13 will be a big opportunity for the Braves.
∎ Purdue Poly: Are the 6-0 Techies for real? Coach Aaron Story’s team was 17-7 last year but lost to Washington in the first round of the 3A sectional. This is a balanced team led by seniors Antwan Dorsett (13.7 ppg), Kaleb Tate (9.3 ppg) and Derrick Johnson (9.3 ppg) and junior Damion Green (10.8 ppg). Big test upcoming: vs. Brebeuf Jesuit on Friday.
∎ Morgan Township: The Class A Cherokees (5-2) have lost only to 4A Kankakee Valley and 3A Tippecanoe Valley by a combined five points. This was a 20-win team a year ago that lost in the sectional championship to Kouts but brought back a lot, including seniors Keagan Holder (19.7 ppg, 5.0 rebounds), Jack Wheeler (10.7 ppg), Hayden Grieger (9.2 ppg, 3.8 rebounds) and Jaiden Spratley (8.7 ppg, 4.3 rebounds). Big test upcoming: The eight-team Highland Holiday Hoopfest from Dec. 26-28 includes teams like Lafayette Jeff, Kankakee Valley and Andrean.
IHSAA boys basketball: No. 1 Fishers beats rival HSE to remain undefeated
Washington’s big man improving
Clem Butler stands out in a crowd. Check that, he stands a head above a crowd.
The 6-11 Butler is far from a finished product. But he is also far from where he was when he entered high school at Washington. “I was like two pounds shy of 300,” Butler said.
Through an improved diet and conditioning, Butler is down about 60 pounds to a playing weight of 240. It makes a remarkable difference.
“When I was younger, I was very, very big,” Butler said. “I learned how to balance my diet and pick up my feet when I run. It helps a lot. It really, really does. It’s about diet, being a student of the game and learning how to balance your school life and athletics.”
Butler is still a work in progress as a player, but has been coached all four seasons by Aaron Hogg. That consistency has helped Butler, who averaged 7.0 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.2 blocked shots as a junior on a 6-18 team. The Continentals split two games this week, losing 52-46 at Bishop Chatard on Wednesday before bouncing back with a big 59-57 win over Tech on Friday as Butler went for 10 points, 10 rebounds, five blocked shots and three assists.
“He gets better every day,” Hogg said of Butler. “He was a 6-5, 300-pound freshman. He lost all that weight and worked his butt off, worked on his post moves and his conditioning. I think by the time March comes, he’ll be an even different player than he is now.”
The Continentals are part of a six-team Class 3A Sectional 28 that looks wide open. Purdue Poly (6-0) and Christel House Manual (5-0) are undefeated but relatively unproven. Cardinal Ritter (1-6) has played a tough schedule and will contend, while Speedway (2-3) and Beech Grove (1-5) are gaining experience.
Butler, who was averaging 6.8 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 blocked shots through four games, is not expected to be the Continentals' top scorer night in and night out. Against Tech, senior Dave Leye had a team-high 17 points on 3-for-4 shooting from 3 and senior Malique Starks went for 16 points on 6-for-6 shooting with five rebounds and three assists.
Though Butler gives Hogg credit for helping him get his body into playing condition, his coach said the senior put in the work.
“We can put stuff on the board and give him workouts all day but it’s up to him,” Hogg said. “He took advantage of the time and put in the effort himself. So, I give him credit. He did that himself.”
Hogg said there are “a couple of Division I schools sniffing around” Butler’s recruitment. There are multiple Division II and Division III schools interested. “He’s a great student,” Hogg said. “About a 3.4 or 3.5 GPA.”
Hogg believes the best is still to come for Butler, who has a nice shooting touch.
“Last year he wasn’t really ready to play,” Hogg said. “But we had to force him to play. This year, he’s coming along a lot better. I couldn’t be happier with where he’s at.”
Bishop Chatard’s new-look team
Bishop Chatard is annually is one of the teams to get off to the latest starts due to the success of the football program. It was no different this year after the Trojans extended their state record with a 17th state football championship, defeating Heritage Hills 35-7 in the 3A title game.
Coach Kenny Roseman’s team bounced back from a season-opening loss to Heritage Christian last week with wins this week over Washington (52-46) and Covenant Christian (57-52). Sophomore guard Ethan Roseman, the coach’s son, had 19 points, four steals, three rebounds and two assists in the win over Washington and went for 20 points, 10 rebounds, eight rebounds and six steals in the win over Covenant Christian.
“We’re very young from a varsity experience standpoint,” Kenny Roseman said. “This group, every game, will learn something. You teach them through the steps and eventually we will find some leadership. That’s kind of where we’re at right now. We’ve got some football guys that know how to win and obviously that is the tradition here, but we’ve had some winning seasons, too. With those guys coming in, we’re expecting them to kind of get our younger guys going and help maintain that culture that’s already been established.”
Chatard’s 16-10 team a year ago was led by seven seniors, including Anderson University freshman Robert Davidson, along with then-freshman Ethan Roseman, who averaged 14.2 points and 3.4 assists last season. Seniors with key roles on this team include Colin Guy (4.0 ppg last season) and Scotty Semler (3.8 ppg, 2.2 rebounds). A junior expected to have a bigger role this year as an offensive threat is guard Cash Moore.
“He was our top JV scorer from last year and when he gets in a rhythm, he can score points in a bunch,” coach Roseman said. “He’s a great 3-point shooter, a high-percentage type of kid.”
Chatard plays at Shortridge on Monday, then plays Sheridan and Greenfield-Central in the Morristown Holiday Showcase on Dec. 28 to close out the calendar year.
“Everybody is going to have opportunities to get in there and show us what they can do,” Roseman said.
Sheridan’s growing pains
Sheridan went 0-2 this weekend with losses to Eastern (Greentown) (64-57) on Friday night and Frankfort (65-49) on Saturday night. The Blackhawks were just 4-for-20 from the 3-point line against Frankfort with freshman Trey Page, the grandson of 1968 Mr. Basketball Billy Shepherd of Carmel, making all four of those 3s.
“We made way too many errors in the first half,” said Sheridan coach Bill Bowen, a 1971 Sheridan grad in his second season coaching at his alma mater after a long tenure at Hamilton Heights (1991 to 2007) and six seasons at Tri-Central (2016 to 2022). “We were careless handling the basketball, which is hard to explain to be honest with you.”
Sheridan (3-3) brought back a lot of experience from last year’s 10-13 team, including senior guard Trent DeCraene, junior guard Caleb Wright and senior guard Tyler Garner. The addition of Page, who set the school’s single-game 3-point record with nine in a 39-point performance in a 72-43 win over Anderson Prep earlier this season. Damon Winston, a 6-3 junior, adds some length and size on a team that does not have a lot.
“It’s early,” Bowen said. “That’s just game six for us. It’s a little bit puzzling that we took a step backwards this weekend. That’s definitely concerning.”
Bowen said he has been happy with Page’s play so far.
“We have to keep in mind he’s a freshman so there is a steep learning curve for any freshman playing at the varsity level,” he said. “He has to stay diligent and so do we. We have to get back to work on Monday. We have no games this week so we have to get back to the basics. We’ll get back and start all over again.”
News and notes
∎ Hamilton Heights coach Chad Ballenger recorded his 300th career win Saturday night as Hamilton Heights edged West Lafayette 75-72. Ballenger has 224 of those victories at Hamilton Heights in 17 seasons. The Huskies are 3-4 this season.
∎ Bloomington South coach JR Holmes, the state’s all-time wins leader, notched No. 900 of his career when the Panthers knocked off Terre Haute North 60-56 in overtime. Holmes is in his 42nd season at Bloomington South and his 54th year overall. The Panthers lost 64-58 at Floyd Central on Saturday.
∎ Attica ended a 53-game losing streak on Saturday night in the consolation game of the Westville Winter Wonderland Shootout in Illinois with a 48-20 win over Deland-Weldon (Ill.). It is the first win for third-year coach Derrick Milenkoff and first for Attica since a 51-34 home win over Manual on Feb. 20, 2021.
∎ Westfield’s game Friday at Noblesville was postponed due to multiple sicknesses on the Shamrocks’ team. The game will be made up Jan. 17 at Noblesville.
∎ Brownstown Central senior and Purdue recruit Jack Benter scored 28 points in Saturday night’s 75-36 win over Mitchell. Benter reached 2,000 points for his career and now sits at 2,020, which is tied for 69th on the all-time list with Eugene German of Gary 21st Century, a 2016 Indiana All-Star.
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indiana high school basketball: Sleeper teams to watch, more
