To some, Thanksgiving week means turkey and stuffing. To others, it means driving and dunking. If you’re reading this, chances are you’re more excited about the latter, at least after lunch.
Most of the Summit Athletic Conference boys basketball teams will tip off their seasons this week, including Carroll tonight and Concordia, Northrop and Homestead on Wednesday night.
If you thought the SAC football race was wide open, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet. The basketball race – after the overhaul of North Side with the departure of Keion Brooks & Co. – promises to be even more unpredictable.
Who’s the best team? Talks with SAC coaches did not reveal a consensus. In another month, maybe we’ll know. Maybe.
For now, let’s take 4 shots of 3s to get our appetites primed for some hoops:
3 TEAMS TO WATCH
Snider
Could the Panthers, winners of only six games last season, be a true contender for the SAC crown? They could. They return Dillon Duff (16.1 ppg) and Michael Eley (12.4 ppg) along with five other players in their Top 10 in minutes played last season and the addition of North Side transfer Jordan Moore. Eley is a sophomore, and the natural growth of players from freshman to sophomore – in size and maturity – helps lead to the major expectations. Jeremy Rauch enters his third season as coach and this is a group he has been eager to see develop.
Northrop
This is all about – or almost all about – how the addition of Sydney Curry plays out. If Curry brings his 15/15 game from Horizon Christian to the Bruins’ den and plays with a sense of team-first attitude, Northrop could be formidable. They return some other strong players in junior Qualen Pettus and sophomore Khamani Smith. Senior Isaac Anderson will also be a factor. How Curry adapts to his new team, and vice versa, is the pivotal factor.
Homestead
It’d be easy to count Homestead out after some graduation losses and the decisions of football players Trevin Taylor and Jake Archbold to forego basketball. But that would be underestimating the substantial skills of coach Chris Johnson. Johnson returns Luke Goode, who has the size and shot to become a centerpiece of the offensive attack. After that, it’s a roster full of uncertainty.
Homestead’s Luke Goode (Photo by Dan Vance)
Here’s the Homestead key, though: Johnson’s track record (he’s 10 wins away from 400 in his career) suggests he’s good for an extra few buckets just with his coaching savvy. Johnson won’t say that, however. “It comes down to players,” he said. “I’ve always said coaching is a little overrated. You need to have players who can put the ball in the basket.”
3 PLAYERS TO WATCH
David Ejah, Carroll
Ejah has the skills and size (6-foot-5) at the prep level to play anywhere on the court. Defenses have to be cognizant of his driving skills, and he also has a nice pull-up jump shot. He took the most shots on the team last season, and hit 52 percent of them while averaging 12.4 points per game. He also hit 48 percent from three-point range. He’s just a versatile player and a hard matchup for most opponents.
Dillon Duff, Snider
Duff’s initial experience as a varsity player came as a wide-eyed freshman and his game has continued to growth steadily. The 6-foot-6 junior learned to pick his spots, knowing when and where to attack the basket. The result was 16 points per game last season and he should match, if not top, that production this season.
Sydney Curry, Northrop
We don’t necessarily know what to expect from Curry, other than the fact he’s 6-foot-8 with power and a matchup issue for players who tend toward the lean frame in the post. At Horizon Christian he averaged a double-double (15.4 points, 15.7 rebounds). He wasn’t playing an SAC schedule, obviously, so that’s a mystery about to be solved. He’s surrounded by talented guards at Northrop who will feed him the ball. He’ll also be expected to clog the middle on defense and generally be a beast.
3 STORYLINES TO WATCH
Can Gary Andrews work his magic?
Andrews has been a success everywhere he’s coached and is known in Fort Wayne for producing big winners with the Bishop Luers girls program and the University of Saint Francis women’s program. North Side is a blank slate, and blank with returning talent after the departure of coach Shabaz Khaliq and big-time players such as Brooks, Lucas Kroft and more. Andrews hopes to surprise with untapped talent such as Tray Shoals. “The biggest challenge for me has been fundamentally,” Andrews said. “Everybody’s got a chance to play, so I’ve seen some excitement from the kids in that respect. They’re working hard. They’re hungry. Maybe we’ve got a chance to surprise some people.”
Does South Side have the talent to surprise?
Second-year South Side coach J.J. Foster might not have a deep, experienced roster, but he has some starting pieces in 6-foot-7 JT Langston and guard Austin Jordan. Those two, along with 6-8 Amari Hall could bring some fireworks to the court. “If the light goes on, they can be superstars and people are going to be in trouble,” Foster said. “They have potential.”
Can the Dwenger football success rub off on hoops?
Veteran Dwenger coach Matt Kostoff will be missing some experienced players inside and his roster as a whole leans young outside of returnees Hayden Smithey and Matt Kochanski. But football quarterback Brenden Lytle wll be on the court – eventually – to lead the crew at point guard. “He has that moxie about him,” Kostoff said. “As a quarterback in football and an infielder in baseball, he sees things real well.”
3 FIRST-HALF DATES TO MARK ON THE CALENDAR
Carroll at Wayne, Dec. 14
This ought to be a nice matchup between teams with plenty of individual talent. The Chargers, who are more than capable of winning the SAC, have Dan McKeeman and Ejah back to lead the way while the Generals expect to be bolstered by the return of Craig Young, the Ohio State football recruit some thought would pass up basketball in his senior season. Another football-oriented player, Darius Alexander, brings strength that will be difficult to match.
SAC Tourney, Dec. 26-29
This is a fail-safe bet for some thrilling basketball, the closest thing to Hoosier Hysteria before the IHSAA tourney. The games are intense, an upset or two usually happens and some player explodes for a highlight-reel performance. Who will be the breakout star?
Bishop Luers at Concordia, Jan. 4
Luers has a new coach in Fonso White, new players such as North Side transfer Jalen Causey, and a team that hopes to surprise in the SAC race. That’d be a considerable jump after a 1-21 season last year. Concordia, which shouldn’t be overlooked, also has a new coach in Phil Brackmann and a lineup that includes talented players Adam Gottschalk (11 ppg, 5.3 rpg), Jadon Dance (9.8 ppg) and Brayden Pearson (10.7 ppg).
Feature photo of Dillon Duff by Dan Vance
