Centerville vs. Hagerstown

Centerville picked up there 4th straight win with a somewhat ugly 46-33 win over county rival Hagerstown. Just as I had been waiting for, Brad Siegel, 6'6" senior forward, dominated the game with 19 points on 7-10 shooting. He showed his ability to shoot from the outside, hitting a 3 early, along with a nice 15 footer, as well as his ability to score inside. In the second half he was scoring at will, normally getting the ball either in the post, or getting the ball on the left wing and taking it to the basket. Hopefully Brad will continue this performance for the remainder of our season. Alex Houck, a 6'2" junior guard lead Hagerstown with I believe 11 points. I was disappointed in his aggressivness, usually he is almost too agressive. However, later in the game hit hit a deep 3, followed by a solid drive to the basket where he finished well through contact. I think he could become a contributor at the NAIA level. Tomorrow night I will be at the Richmond vs. East Central game, I look forward to seeing junior guard John Trawick, who is recieving some D1 interest.

Thoughts on Hoosier Basketball Magazine

First off all, the Hoosier Basketball Magazine is a great publication, and I think that they do a great job with everything. As far as East Central Indiana is concerned, Neil Beshears was named First Team All-State as well as being featured on the side-bar of the cover. Jon Trawick was named to the Second Team, Zach Appolos was Third, Chandler Miller and Jon Thompson were Fourth. (I believe I am missing somebody from Connersville but I do not have the book with me at the moment.) For the most part I think that they got the All-State teams right. Personally, I think that Trawick deserved first team honors, but there is nobody who I would really want to take off of that team. I am glad to see that the Magazine has begun to factor in some AAU performances and just raw potential when making the All-State teams. For example, A.J. Hammons from Carmel was named First Team, however he only average about 5 points last season. Of course, we expect big things from him this year. Overall, I think they did a great job with the magazine, and I always enjoy reading it.

Weekend Update

Centerville moved to 3-1 with a win this Friday over Randolph Southern. Once again, Junior Matt Schauss lead C-Ville with 15 points. He showed improved decsion making after making some careless plays early this season. Blake Welch, a 6'4" guard/forward from Southern lead all scores with 18. He is a great mid-range player, very good catch and shoot. However, he never showed the ability to create a shot for himself off the dribble. He works very hard, just lacks the quickness to create off the dribble. I see him as a NAIA player. The Muncie Burris vs. Northeastern game Saturday did not feature any prospects at this point. Burris controled the game and had some nice players, but they are VERY undersized and I do not see any of them playing college ball at this point. Also, the Richmond game is not until NEXT Tuesay, that was me not knowing how to ready a calender.

Weekend Preview

I will get the chance to see 3 different games in the next five days. Tonight, Centerville welcomes Randolph Southern, who will be hurting from the loss of their best player in 2011 6'3" shooting guard Nick Pruitt. However, I am anxious to see how 6'4" junior Blake Welch performes, as he has been quite impressive so far this year. Also, I look for senior Small Forward Brad Siegel to step up and perform to the level that I know he is capable of. Saturday, I will be checking out the Northeasern vs. Munice Burris game, I have seen Northeastern once already, and nobody caught my eye, but I have never watched Burris play before. I am eagerly anticipating my first chance to watch Richmond this year, as they take on East Central on Tuesday. Junior John Trawick headlines Richmond, but they also offer solid prospects in Senior Ryan Jones, and Sophomore Chandler Miller. I will update probably sometime on Sunday about my two games this weekend.

Weekend Update

This weekend Centerville defeated Northeastern 50-29 and Franklin County 57-37. In both game Junior point guard Matt Schauss used his driving ability to as well as his outside shooting to prove that he was the best player on the court. Despite some uncharacteristic tournovers, Schauss had a very good weekend averaging 15 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. He will need to improve his decision making, but it should come back as I have never seen him have that problem before. Northeastern does not have any college prospects so there is really nothing to say there. Against Franklin County, Senior small forward Bradley Siegel had his best game of the season, contributing 11 points and 7 rebounds. He hit a 3 early, and hit a few inside shots, before disappearing for the second half. In fairness, he just wasn't getting the ball, but he still needs having a constent contribution even if he isn't scoring. Jared Seale from Franklin County was the only prospect they had to offer. He is a 6'3" small forward with extreme strength that allowed him to finsh through all contact. However, he was unagressive and did not shoot from the outside. Could be a good slasher, or zone buster in college. Probably NAIA prospect.

East Central Indiana Top Prospects 2011

The class of 2011 is very deep in East Central Indiana. Headlined by a few D1 prospects, here is my list of the top players I have seen recently.

1. Jon Trawick (Richmond)- 6'3" shooting guard. Very strong, athletic body. Great rebounder for his size. His strength allows him to get to the basket and finish among bigger opponents. Good mid-range shooter. Impact varsity player since his freshman year. Needs to improve shooting range. Receiving interest from some mid-majors. Will need to become more of a true 2 guard to succed at that level.
2. Dustin Smith (Eastern Hancock)- 6'1'' shooting guard. Athletic, decent quickness. Great outside shooter, consistent out to 25 feet, even with pressure on him. Handles the ball well, may need to convert to PG due to lack of size and strength. Needs to improve defense. Great scorer. Low Division/Division 2 prospect.
3. Matt Schauss (Centerville)- 6'3" point guard. Great outside shooter, handles the ball well. Gets to the rim easily. Has improved athletism from last season. Still needs to work on finishing on the inside and defense. Low Division 1 potential. Probably a D2 player at this time.
4. Spencer Comer (Rushville)- 6'3" shooting guard. Good athletism, quickness. Very hard worker on court. Shoots the ball well from the outside. Needs to improve ball handling so he can get the basket more often. Division 2/Top level D3.
5. Jon Thompson (Rushville)- 6'3'' small forward. Great strength. good set shot from the outside. Good all-around scorer, probably best pure scorer on Indiana Select this summer. However, lacks quickness and is undersized for position. Solid D3 player.
6. Jordan Hahn (New Castle)- 5'10" point guard. Good decision maker, handles the ball well. Needs to improve outside shooting. Undersized, needs to add strength to be able to handle the physicality of the college game. D3 player.
7. Seth Apollos (Knightstown)- 6'4" shooting guard. Long, athletic body. Good outside shooter. Needs to improve ball handling and strenght. D3/NAIA prospect.
8. Alex Houck (Hagerstown)- 6'1" point guard. Good offensive player, get to the rim well. Needs to improve decision making, undersized. NAIA player.
9. Nick Pruitt (Randolph Southern)- 6'3" shooting guard. NAIA player.
10. Brandon Herber (Rushville)- 6'6" power forward. D3 potential.

East Central Indiana Top Prospects 2010

Overall, in East Central Indiana, the class of 2010 is not nearly as talented as the class of 2011. However, here is my list of the top 5 players in the area with a honest evaluation of their college potential. Remember, this is only including players I have seen recently, so it may change from week to week. However, the top 2 spots are fairly secure.

1. Neal Beshears (Winchester)- 6'7" guard/forward. Long, athletic body, good slasher on the offensive side. Plays a good perimeter game as well. Great offensive rebounder. Named to the Junior-All Star team. He needs to add strength to his frame. Low Division 1 player.
2. Brad Siegel (Centerville)- 6'6'' small forward. Great rebounder, has developed post skills from playing center in high school, however has outside game from AAU experience. Can shoot out to 22 feet. Needs to improve his ball handling skills to excel at the small forward spot. Good motor. Could be a solid Division 2 player.
3. Zach Apollos (Knightstown)- 6'4" small forward. Athletic, strong body. Good rebounder. Consistent jumper out to 3 range. Strenght causes match up problems in high school, however is undersized to play post in college. Good handles for size. Probably a D3 prospect.
4. Brett Singer (Cambridge City)- 6'2'' point guard. Good offensive skills. Athletic body. Good shooter with deep range. Rebounds well from the guard spot. Needs to improve defensive desire in order to defend guards in college. NAIA prospect.
5. Zach Hufferd (Connersville)- 6'4" small forward. Athletic, long body. Good jumping ability, active on the offensive end, slasher. Shoots out to 18 feet. Undersized, but good pick up for NAIA school.

My Class of 2011 list should be coming in the next couple of days.