After enjoying a nice weekend of Thanksgiving food with family and friends, we are delightfully thankful to be talking about basketball. As we head into December, the hype will only intensify in each and every game. Conference play will soon be in full force across the state of Indiana. 

With that in mind, let’s take a look at some of the best games the 260 has to offer this week.  

Girls

Tuesday 

(5-1) DeKalb @ (1-6) Carroll

Series in the Last 20 Years: 19-8 Carroll 

These are two teams that have been on opposite ends so far this season.

DeKalb is looking to start a season 6-1 for the first time since the 2009-10 season. At that time, Nick David was still coaching there, US Olympian discus thrower Rachel Dincoff played basketball there averaging 8 rebounds per game, and Elmhurst and Harding were still around. 

Another streak going on right now is the historic slow start from Carroll. The Lady Chargers are off to their worst start since 2013-14. That season, Carroll got off to miserable 1-7 and 2-9 starts before winning 8 of their final 12 games to salvage a 10-13 campaign. On a promising note, Carroll’s last two losses have come by 4 points (42-46 at East Noble, and 68-72 in OT at Penn). 

If Carroll wants to turn this season around, it must start on offense where they have the greatest area of potential to get this ship rolling led by Lily George at center and Jersey Paul in the backcourt. The good news is, for the most part, George and Paul have led the ship. George is averaging a double-double per game (14.9 points and 10.1 boards per game).

The bad news has been the lack of consistent scoring from everyone else, and the turnover bug has been an issue. If Ava Myers, for instance, can have as efficient of a game as she had at Penn where she had 15 points and shot 5-9 from 3, Carroll will turn this season around sooner than you think. Keep in mind that Carroll LED Penn 34-28 at the half, so they’re starting to figure some things out. Now it’s getting some wins. 

DeKalb has lost 13 in a row to Carroll, with their last win over Carroll coming on Dec. 13, 2013 (54-49 at DeKalb), when both schools were NHC rivals. DeKalb has held opponents to 36 points per game and 28% shooting from the floor. HOWEVER, DeKalb has only shot 23% from the 3 and average 17.8 turnovers per game. They rely very heavily on Ashley Cox on both ends as she averages 23.3 points (leads the NE8), 8.7 boards, 2.3 assists, and 5 steals per game. 

While I think DeKalb will very much be in this game, I smell a SuperSam Upset Special in the works. 

Players to Watch

DeKalb: Sam Slavin Senior Power Forward

Carroll: Ava Myers Sophomore Shooting Guard 

Carroll by 6

(4-1) Woodlan @ (5-1) Eastside 

Series in the Last 20 Years: 13-9 Woodlan 

He is not one to brag about predictions, but SuperSam knows when he smells an upset brewing. It was far too predictable for what was likely to come Friday in Woodburn when Jay County defeated them 60-53. 

We have nothing against Woodlan at all, but this team has yet to show their true capabilities of contending for a ACAC or a postseason championship, and until we see that, there’ll be questions on paper. The Kneubuhler’s, specifically Taylor, have to be the best players on the floor to get everyone else to be at their best. Coach Randall has emphasized their importance, and I’m here to justify it. The team goes when they go. That’s not to say someone else like a Alyssa Anderson can’t have a nice game, but they’re not the same type of players right now that a player like Taylor can change the outcome of a ballgame. 

If Woodlan is going to be better tonight, you better take care of the basketball against Eastside and you better rebound. Or else, you will end up on the loss column. Eastside plays four quarters of basketball almost consistently well, they pressure you hard and often, and they have multiple players that can score points. 

Obviously a player like Paige Traxler who is averaging 13.8 points per game will obviously have that ability to knock down shots. Lily Kreischer and Sydnee Kessler combine for 19 points per game. Kreischer attacks the rim and adds her length to the post, while Kessler adds grit and speed to her shooting arsenal. Now adding that to two solid freshmen in Taylor Mack, who is slowly becoming a threat from distance, and Lucy Kitchen, opposing teams will have their hands full. 

My only concerns with Eastside have been their struggles with starting out quarters or finishing them. All season long, both situations have come up. But against Luers, it costed them an opportunity to win that game against a quality opponent. when they trailed 20-9 after the first quarter on their way to a 61-49 defeat. 

Eastside has to bounce back from their 26% shooting and 24 turnovers if they’re going to come away victorious tonight. If those two areas improve, this is a potential winnable game. 

Players to Watch

Woodlan: Taylor Kneubuhler Senior Combo Guard

Eastside: Lilly Kreischer Junior Combo Forward

Eastside by 10

Friday 

(2-4) Angola @ (4-4) Central Noble

Series in the Last 20 Years: 18-8 Angola 

On paper, this isn’t a spicy SuprSam Classic by all means, but it is the first half of the first NECC Doubleheader of the Week of the season at Around the Northeast Corner. 

From watching Angola in small portions, you can obviously tell that this is a team that’s clearly rebuilding the basketball fundamentals and the culture at Angola. It’s a team that still wants to improvise their speed and athleticism, but doing so with discipline and defense. That’s hard to do when the team, no disrespect, does not have the offensive engine to perform both tasks at the same time on a consistent basis. 

What I mean by that is while Angola has Macy Oberlin, Kylie Caswell, and Bailey Holman to lead the charge, none of these players are an all-star scorer or playmaker. And when you look at the rest of this roster, there’s a lot of holes on that team. Angola is shooting 17% from 3 and averaging 22 turnovers per game. You can’t win games on a nightly basis when you’re shooting below 30% from the floor, shooting 17% from 3, shooting 43% from the free throw line, AND committing 22 turnovers per game. 

The two things Angola has going for them in this matchup are size and rebounding (they’re averaging 29.7 boards per game). As for CN, while it’s been a long road back early in the season, it feels like that they, barring more injuries, are starting to understand their roles. While CN has spent the past 6 games and likely more without their center Grace Swank (foot injury), they’re making it up with depth and some shooting. 

4 players at CN average at least 7 points per game, but no player is having a hotter hand there than the sophomore Abby Pliett, who is averaging 13.1 points and shooting 32% from 3. What’s nice with CN is they’re still playing hard on defense, and even without Swank, they are still averaging 26.9 boards per game. 

There are two key areas to watch with CN. When the Cougars shoot 35% or better from the floor, they are 3-1 this season. And over their last 4 games, CN has only committed 15 or more turnovers ONCE. If they can shoot the ball decently well and take care of the basketball, they will probably win this game. I do worry about the significant size differential inside, but I think CN’s talent gets the edge. 

Players to Watch

Angola: Macy Oberlin Senior Forward (Thomas More Commit)

CN: Melissa McCoy Senior Combo Guard

CN by 8

(1-3) Huntington North @ (6-2) Norwell 

Series in the Last 20 Years: 11-2 Norwell

This is a series that has mostly been dominated by Norwell. But despite that, this series has seen its moments of brilliance as a staple to the NE8 Game of the Week coverage to kick off the NE8 conference race over at Around the Northeast Corner. 

There’s so much we need to more about this Vikings’ roster who have entered into life in the post-Taylor Double era. While that start has seen its share of growing pains, you can argue that the Vikings have handled this start a lot smoother than many assumed they would. Their last 2 games have looked far more like the typical Huntington North teams that we come to expect from them on a yearly basis.

Their offense will be highlighted by 3 players. Marissa Trout does a little bit of everything as their engine on their offense as a shooter and a force in the paint. Grace Fields is their most versatile athlete who competes very soundly on defense. Those two alone average a dozen points per game each. 

Then you have the emergence of Haiden Bailey as a shooter and a solid on-ball defender. Those 3 have to be awesome in this game. 

But the challenge comes against not only the lethal offensive talent that Norwell’s guards always seem to have, but also the famous 1-3-1 press and some of their length that they’re starting to have this season. On one hand, you have to limit Kennedy Fuelling and Makenzie Fuess’ touches, but on the other hand, you can’t let Dekota Hubble have a double-double performance in the post. Oh and by the way, Vanessa Rosswurm is also a baller. She not only can shoot darts but she’s got a stronger midrange game.  

That’s without even considering the fact, you (as the opponent) have to take care of the basketball or this team buries you beneath the ground. The fact that Norwell has TWO losses let alone one baffles my mind because this team is quite talented.

My concern with Huntington is if they are not able to keep this game within the high 40s and low 50s with Norwell, then this will be a blowout. The Vikings just don’t have nearly as much offensive depth as Norwell does. This has to be a Huntington North style of basketball game, which means it has to be lower scoring and a little “dose of nasty” as Greg Popovich usually says. 

Players to Watch

HN: Grace Fields Senior Point Guard

Norwell: Kennedy Fuelling Senior Shooting Guard

Norwell by 12

Saturday 

(5-2) Whitko @ (3-1) North Miami 

Series in the Last 20 Years: 15-11 Whitko 

What gets lost in the shuffle is the fact this may very well be for a TRC championship. Now that Tippy Valley is no longer there to dominate the TRC on what felt like a yearly basis, it’s someone’s championship for the taking. 

Coming into the season, all eyes were on North Miami and Wabash. But when you look at the TRC, aside from Lewis Cass’ surprisingly first 5-0 start in nearly 30 years, everyone else in the TRC has been…..Jekyll and Hyde. Except for maybe Whitko?! Is this real??

Is this where the conversation is taking us? Even the ANEC expert himself did not envision Whitko being THAT serious of a TRC contender. Welcome to the 2023-24 Three Rivers Conference, where seemingly all logical understanding and thought goes down the drain faster than the Eel River. In what is North Miami’s last season as a TRC member, they have all the motivation in the world to win this game…

But, I got the Cats picking up their first win over the Warriors since 2016-17. 

Players to Watch 

Whitko: Adriyanna Phillips Junior Combo Guard

NM: Kaiden Hanley Senior Combo Forward (Holy Cross Commit)

Whitko by 3

Undercard

Thur. Bluffton (6-0) @ Blackford (5-1) Bluffton by 1

Fri. Carroll (1-6) @ Homestead (4-1) Homestead by 10

Fri. Prairie Heights (3-2) @ Bethany Christian (6-0) Bethany by 2

Sat. Bishop Luers (4-0) @ Hamilton Heights (5-1) Hamilton Heights by 3

Sat. Westview (0-6) @ Churubusco (2-5) Busco by 5

Boys 

Wednesday 

Leo @ Wayne 

Series: 2-1 Leo 

What’s so fascinating about this game is we don’t know ANYTHING about this year’s teams. We can only go based off of last season. Why? For Leo, it’s because of the football team going to Semistate. 

What we can say is these are two teams with a whole lot of talent. You have Leo with the duo of seniors Jackson McGee and Trey Hiteshew. Both are serious gamers in their own right and give Leo that extra boost of talent and it factor to compete with anyone. Then you have some solid role players like Sole Richard, Brock Schott, and Nolan Hiteshew. It’s still a solid team on paper as one of the favorites of the NE8. 

But even with a new (and familiar) head coach in Anthony Brewer, Wayne returns a whole bunch of talent that went all the way to Semistate a season ago and posting a 21-5 campaign. Devon Lewis, Chase Barnes, HJ Dillard, and Preston Comer to name a few all have the lethal talent and basketball IQ that instantly gives Wayne championship aspirations. Now can they build off of last season and answer the call? They seem motivated to do just that, but until you start playing games, everything else is just noise. 

My one big concern is can Leo consistently box out and contain their athleticism inside? After all, the last time these two met a season ago, Dillard had 14 points, 11 boards, and a block. 

This should be a fun game of Wednesday night hoops in Fort Wayne. And with that, I got the Wayne Generals, the presumed favorites in the SAC, to take their season opener. 

Players to Watch

Leo: Jackson McGee Senior Combo Guard

Wayne: HJ Dillard Junior Combo Forward

Wayne by 8

Friday 

(0-1) Angola @ (1-0) Central Noble

Series in the last 35 years: 28-12 Angola 

Much like the girls, the boys’ game is a part of the first NECC Doubleheader of the Week at Around the Northeast Corner this season. In my opinion, this game has far more potential to be exciting…dare I say maybe some December fireworks. 

Angola lost their season opener to Wawasee 64-62 in OT. But I would argue that Angola was slightly the better team in both the 4th quarter and in OT. Angola outscored Wawasee 13-11 in the 4th, but unfortunately, they ran out of time. Now, let’s make this clear, Wawasee is going to win quite a few basketball games as they’re already 2-0 with the win over Fairfield as well. 

Obviously, everyone knows Dane Lantz. He’s the shooter every opposing team key on. But I think we will soon start talking about Ryan Stuckey and eventually the other sophomores like Tommy Caswell are going to get a lot of talk. Stuckey had 18 points in his first varsity game against Wawasee. And Apps told me Stuckey is tough and the makings of a future leader. They expect the sophomores to grow up fast, and Holy Toledo! They are growing up faster than a speeding bullet. 

Yes, Angola is going to make a LOT of mistakes right now because this is a sophomore-heavy team that have not experienced playing with competition at this level. But I would argue that for the first time in at least 5 years and probably more than that, Angola Boys Basketball is actually fun again. Don’t get me wrong. They’ve had some nice teams beforehand, but it’s been a while since Angola has seen a growth in basketball talent. 

Now Central Noble is no deer in headlights. This is a pretty talented basketball team that torched Canterbury’s defense like shredded cheese last week 67-47. What helps with CN is a balanced scoring attack led by Drew Pliett’s 17, Redick Zolman’s 15, and Isaiah Gard’s 15 points. That right there is a good start. My questions begin with the depth of this team, and they have trust that the rest of the team will be better. 

Numbers wise, they are as healthy as they can be, as they play 10 guys deep, which is awesome for a 2A program. But for CN to be a consistent winner in big games, you need that depth to contribute on a daily basis. Now of course your experienced players like Jackson Andrews and Spencer Adams will do fine. What about the others??

Now the good news is there’s encouragement with that. Carter Wilkinson, who by the way is a talented pitcher on that baseball team, drained a 3 against the Cavs. Jayden Tilley can be a constant threat from deep as he had 2 threes against the Cavs. So theres promise…

Although I see Angola as a definitive step up for the CN defense, I still like the Cougars getting a dub at the Jungle.

Players to Watch

Angola: Dane Lantz Senior Combo Guard

CN: Jackson Andrews Senior Point Guard 

CN by 4

Blackhawk Christian @ New Haven (0-1)

Series in the last 35 years: 18-17 Blackhawk 

Last week against Woodlan, New Haven saw a 12-point lead disappear despite a 31-point effort from Ajani Washington. Woodlan’s Trey Yoder, who had 26 points, scored the game winner with 1.9 seconds left to beat the Dawgs 66-64. 

Now New Haven will get the reward of playing the defending state champions, Blackhawk Christian. Last season was a special one for the Braves as they went 27-3 on their way to state championship number 3 for the program. Graduation hit the Braves hard heading into this season. 

They will need the likes of 6’9 junior Kellen Pickett to dominate in all facets. Look for Isaac Smith to have a nice season for the Braves as well. While Blackhawk doesn’t have Josh Furst or Gage Sefton anymore, I trust the talent and depth of the Braves a lot more than New Haven’s depth and defense. 

Players to Watch 

Blackhawk: Kellen Pickett Junior Combo Forward 

New Haven: Ajani Washington Senior Combo Guard 

Blackhawk by 7

South Side @ Snider 

Series in the last 35 years: 29-20 South

I don’t know if it’s on everyone’s radar, but this game excites me quite a bit. First off, congrats to Snider Football on bringing home your 3rd ever state title. I just want to get that out of the way. Plus, we will now get to see the new era of a Josh Riikonen-led program in the SAC getting to do its magic against a decent South Side program that maybe have gotten overlooked by its 4-20 record from a year ago. 6 of those losses came by less than 10 points, despite the fact it was the Archers’ worst season in a decade. 

South has some talent coming back led by the Bishop Luers’ transfer Cadell Wallace, who will bring a huge spark on that offense as their point guard , and I like the upside with their sophomore big Zachary Belcher. The Archers will be competitive, but will they grasp more wins?

As for Snider, they were a very, very young team last season and that youth sets themselves up for improvements. How much of an improvement remains to be seen as the rest of that Snider team will have to quickly transition into basketball shape, and trust me that is hard to do in such a small window of time. 

Like on the football field, look for Ke’ron Billingsley to be the quarterback on the basketball court. I expect a big senior season from him coming off a historic run in the football playoffs. This is a team with plenty of athleticism and basketball talent, but the keys lie in basketball maturation and a resurgence on defense. Snider’s 3-21 record a season ago was their worst mark in this century, and this is a team that went 1-14 in games decided by 10 points or less. 

This is eerily similar to Carroll from a season ago. Remember when Ryan Abbott took the Carroll job for the 2021-22 season, and they went 2-21? Experts like me said that was the greatest 2-21 team in the history of 260 area basketball. They lost a ridiculous number of games by 10 points or fewer. Afterwards they improved to 12-11 last season. 

Now we’re talking about Carroll as one of the favorites in the SAC under Abbott’s leadership. Now going back to Snider, I’m not too sure they win this game, but I expect this game to be close. 

Players to Watch:

South Side: Cadell Wallace Senior Point Guard

Snider: Qualyn Clopton Junior Shooting Guard

You know what. Let the good vibes roll! Snider by 3 in a SuperSam Upset Special! 

(2-0) East Noble @ (1-1) Carroll

Series in the last 35 years: 24-17 Carroll

Even though they are now former NHC rivals, this continues to be a nice out-of-conference rivalry for boys’ basketball. You have the SAC ties with Brandon Durnell being the head coach for East Noble, and you have the ghosts of postseasons past when it comes to Carroll-EN. 

East Noble is off to their best start since winning their 2nd straight NE8 crown in 2018-19, and that was the last time EN had posted a winning record. Last season’s team saw EN lose a bunch of close games mostly due to just not being able to finish off games and a struggling defense. 

While it’s only a 2-game sample size, EN has done the exact opposite of what they didn’t do last season. They are winning close games and their defense has been the story only allowing 42.5 points per game. And trust me, defense is what helped Brandon Durnell’s career get to Spring Arbor and win a national title. East Noble doesn’t have that one major superstar that a lot of teams seem to have, but they got athletes and good basketball players. 

That’ll be tested against an excellent Carroll team that has two major college commitments in Jaxon Pardon and Cannen Houser. Pardon the interruption, but Jaxon is a Bowling Green commit, so you know the pure basketball shooting ability and the defense are all there to get to that next level. And Houser is going to fit quite nicely at Grace College and that Lancer culture they’re known for best. 

It doesn’t shock me at all that a Ryan Abbott program is winning games not just on the scoreboard but also with class and dignity. They do things right to represent Carroll, and this should be a very good basketball game.

Carroll will obviously have to challenge their shooters and make sure guys like Kobe Ritchie, Nate Bowker, and Mason Treesh don’t get hot shooting the ball. While I do see Carroll with the edge, I expect the defense of East Noble to be better in this game. 

Also make sure you have Carroll’s Jaiyre Sampson on your radar after he dropped  17 points and 4 boards on Norwell. 

Players to Watch

EN: Ryker Quake Junior Small Forward

Carroll: Jaiyre Sampson Junior Point Guard 

Carroll by 7

Undercard

Tues. Garrett (3-0) @ Woodlan (1-1) Woodlan by 10

Fri. Bellmont (2-0) @ Whitko (2-0) Bellmont by 4

Fri. Homestead (1-0) @ Warsaw (1-0) Homestead by 1

Fri. Manchester (1-0) @ Wawasee (2-0) Manchester by 3

Fri. North Side @ DeKalb (2-0) We the North by 2

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