* 6’6 Junior forward Trey Yoder (Woodlan) impressed me in this one. First time seeing him in person. The lefty has excellent touch around the rim and stretches it out to the 3 point line. He was a little loose with the ball in the first half when New Haven was blitzing ball screens, but he showed the ability to put it on the floor and get to the paint and finish from the perimeter. Yoder ended with 26.

* 6’2 Senior guard Braden Smith (Woodlan) also came alive in the 2nd half with Trey Yoder. Smith had 16 of his 22 points in the 2nd half. Smith plays on the ball a lot for Woodlan, but I think he’s a 2 in college. He was a little loose with the ball at times. Smith can knock down shots from the perimeter and see more value in him at the 2. Love his competitiveness and toughness on the court.

* 6’2 Senior Ajani Washington (New Haven) played his first game with New Haven after transferring from Concordia. All facets of his game were working tonight. Ajani hit 5 threes, a few pull-up jumpers, and a couple nice finishes at the rim with both hands. Ajani unofficially finished with 31 points.

Getting over the Carmel hump was the last and toughest task, but the Purdue commit did just that, totaling 22 points, 7 assists, 7 rebounds and a steal.  Smith also hit 13 3PTers on the week.  All of that, as well as winning one of the top two sectionals in the state earns Braden Smith Courtside Indiana's Player of the Week for week of the sectionals.

Others Considered

• Jack Benter, 6'5" sophomore guard; Brownstown Central
  • vs. Edgewood - 21 points, 8 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals
  • vs. Northview - 34 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
• Willie Miller, 6'3" junior guard; Lake Station Edison
  • vs. Bowman Academy - 25 points, 11 rebounds, 5 blocks, 4 steals, 2 steals
  • vs. Whiting - 20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals, 1 assist
  • vs. Hammond Noll - 20 points, 7 rebounds, 5 steals, 1 assist
• Matt Wagner, 6'1" senior guard; Evansville Bosse
  • vs. Mount Vernon - 18 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals
  • vs. Boonville - 22 points, 7 assists, 4 steals
  • vs. Evansville Memorial - 22 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 4 steals

Others Nominated

• Brady Dunn, 6'1" senior guard; Christian Academy
  • Averaged 18 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals
• Drew Howard, 5'11" senior guard; Forest Park
  • vs. Tecumseh - 19 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
  • vs. Evansville Mater Dei - 10 points, 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals (Became the single season scoring leader for Forest Park)
  • vs. North Posey - 13 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
• Casey Kaelin, 6'2" junior guard; Providence
  • vs. Switzerland County - 15 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
  • vs. Southwestern (H) - 18 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal

Other Milestones

• Landon Biegel, 6'5" junior guard; Oak Hill, surpassed 1,000 points in their sectional game vs. Bellmont
• Dylan Moles, 6'3" junior guard; Greenfield Central, surpassed 1,000 points in sectional game vs. Anderson

Sophomore / Freshmen Nominated

• Dusty Cole, 6'0" freshman guard; Paoli
  • Averaged 17 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds and 2.3 steals in their three sectional victories
• Micah Davis, 6'0" sophomore guard; Franklin
  • Averaged 18.3 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2.3 steals
• Josh Renfro, 6'1" freshman guard; Christian Academy
  • Averaged 16 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
• Trey Rominger, 6'0" sophomore guard; Paoli
  • Averaged 13 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists in their three sectional wins

Out to an 8-0, maintaining a two to three possession lead the entire first half, thanks in part to Luke Almadovar and EJ Smith's scoring.  Zionsville scored the first two baskets in the 2nd half to cut their five point deficit down to one, but an Almadovar 3PTer sparked a 9-0 run.  Preston Roberts' 15 points in the second half sealed the deal for Noblesville.

• Almadovar can shoot off the pass and off the dribble.  He can also finish around and through traffic.  He put all of that on display last night, especially early, as mentioned above, and, as Zionsville extended their defense, late.
• Roberts is miscast as Noblesville's starting center, but defensively he's strong enough and quick enough at the HS level to get the job done.  It was his defensive effort that stymied Zionsville's Nick Richart, both in terms of scoring and rebounding.
  • Offensively, he got going in the second half when a majority of his catches put him in isolation vs. Rickhart from the nail hole or top of the key.
• Zionsville never capitalized on their size advantage.  Noted above, Richart struggled in the low post, and while Isaiah Davis hit a couple of 3PTers, he wasn't a factor on the defensive glass.
• The back breaker was the struggles of Logan Imes.  Imes wasn't getting downhill in the first half, and it seemed like their were opportunities to do so as Noblesville was rotating in and out of their ball screen hedges.  He was more aggressive in the second half, finally getting to the line.  He missed his first two FT's, just to supply one more nail in their coffin.
  • Imes scored his first points between the three and four minute marks in the third quarter, ending with 9 points overall.
  • At his best, Imes is a high level shot creator and mis-range scorer, who is a better shooter from range off the pass than off the dribble.  He couldn't get anything to drop for 2.5 quarters.

Westfield 62, Fishers 44

Westfield never trailed in this game, and while they didn't have the early control that Noblesville did in the first game, the game got out of hand after Jalen Haralson picked up his second foul shortly after a 2nd quarter timeout.  Westfield, ahead 17-12, stretched their lead to 30-15.  Westfield pushed their lead to 20 quickly to start the second half and rarely looked back.

• Braden Smith was Braden Smith.  I'd guess he was responsible for 80% of Westfield's offense in the first half, either scoring or assisting, and it took until the end of the third quarter before Fishers' team scoring exceeded Smith's individual scoring.
• Cam Haffner never really got going for Westfield.  It's unusual and bodes well for how dominant Westfield was.  There might be another level to their offense.
  • Picking up the slack was Nick DePasquale and Alex Romack.  DePasquale was able to sneak through in transition, while Romack, especially in the second half, was the great ball screen partner we've touted of him all season.
• Fishers' offensive attack never got going.  Jeffrey Simmons struggled to get anything in the low post.  He was guarded by a perimeter player the entire game, while Romack camped at the rim, effectively daring his man to shoot while being a guarantee double on Simmons when he was able to back his man down.
• Haralson is going to be that NEXT guy.  He did most of his damage in the second half when the game was mostly lost, but his movement with purpose off the ball is a huge asset he has.  As his range improves, perhaps showing an ability to hit contested shots, he'll be the HM prospect we all think he is.
  • Defensively, he was on Haffner, so he's able to take on a D1 level guard and effectively shut him down.  Though in defense of Haffner, the rest of the Westfield didn't meet much resistance, so there wasn't a need to get him going.

• Well, not only did Smith finished, he controlled the game during two separate spurts.  He was big early as Westfield jumped to a 13-6 lead, and he was big late in the third and into the fourth.
  • Early in the game it was mostly off the dribble, while later in the game he hit three 3PTers, all on his way to an impressive 28 points.  
• The gap in the middle?  Cam Haffner, who didn't have a huge game did hit three 3PTers of his own at a time when all else was dry and Carmel was taking and stretching their lead. 
• Without three key seniors, it was up to Carmel's deep junior class.  Led by Sam Orme who mixed in baskets from the 3PT line, off the drive and off cuts.  
  • Orme, Garway Dual, Jared Bonds and Spencer White were all active on the offensive glass. 
• Bonds and Dual produced.  Bonds mostly in the half court, also hitting a 3PT.  Dual mostly in transition.  Dual was making plays defensively too, block two Smith jump shots and deflecting the ball from him a couple of times too.
  • Junior guard, Jake Griffin also provided two baskets.  
• Westfield didn't get much from anyone else, at least in terms of points after a couple of big performances in the Hall of Fame.  Likely the difference of knowing each other's personnel so well.

• Recruiting Updates
• Best Game, Best Team and Best Player (15:43)
• Promising Prospects (we finally have a name for it)
• Upcoming Games

Westfield closed out the second quarter on a 10-0 run, taking a 36-30 lead to the locker room, and they really never looked back.  Marian was only able to score 9 points the from that point on.

• Despite having snatched momentum and the lead, the game really took off for Westfield when Smith was placed in the middle of Marian's 1-3-1.  Smartly through core of their defense, often making his way to the top of key, Smith was able to play make from middle. 
  • Once Marian switched to man, Smith was able to really shine, attacking the baseline from the wing and the nail hole from the slots.  Smith moved the defense with his eyes and created a lot of easy baskets.
• Alex Romack was really effective in the paint.  He's a good ball screen partner with Smith, and he's succeeding as a roll man.  He was more impactful on the defensive glass than the offensive glass this game.  
• Cam Haffner was play making for others this game, vs. being just a shooter or even just someone looking to score -- something he's good at.  What this gives Westfield is another level of shot creation, especially for Romack and their other forward types.  It also gives Smith some room to find clean catches.
  • Trey Buchanan, sophomore guard, was also penetrating well and ran things well when Smith was on the bench in foul trouble.
• Richard Brooks' shot truly progressed.  It's more fluid than in the past, and he has a quick release.  This goes well with his ability to penetrate and punish defenders in the paint.  Brooks continues to be one of the more under recruited players in the 2022 class.
• Coming into this game, Kaleo Kakalia was shooting 37% from the 3pt line.  He struggled from there today, but him getting that shot is part of what they do.  It shows a progression in his game. 
  • The flip side of that was Kakalia wasn't in the paint as much, missing opportunities for offensive rebounds, a strong suit of his given his size and spring. Dareon Thornton and he are both 2+ offensive rebounds per game.
• Watching much of the game through a camera lens sometimes can obscure evaluations, but Deaglan Sullivan wasn't as aggressive as I've seen him in the past.  Westfield definitely paid a lot of attention to him, and anytime he put the ball on the floor, there was a second defender heading him off.  

• Zionsville 6'3 junior guard Logan Imes showed off great leadership and the ability to hit tough shots. Westfield had draping defense on him all night and he  scored 18 points. He hit multiple tough mid range jumpers and had some great drives to the rim. He also responded well after some issues with the heavy pressure on him early. Play of the game for him was a block on a stepback 3 near the end of the 2nd quarter. Really impressive overall performance for Imes and he is having an excellent start to the season.
• Westfield 6'1 senior guard and Purdue commit Braden Smith was red hot in the second quarter of this one. 4 tough pull up and stepback 3s and a great drive and the foul. Smith finished with 26 and was willing his team. Those tough shots and great drives continued throughout. Similar to Imes, there was heavy pressure on Smith the whole time, but he responded very well. Smith also finished with 6 assists and was setting up his teammates well inside and out. This was a really solid performance by him and expect him to continue having impressive performances all season long.
• Zionsville 6'8 senior forward and Hunnington commit Isaiah Davis had a great game and has been huge for the Eagles in their impressive start to the season. In the second quarter Davis started with a smooth pull up 2 and followed it up with 2 made 3s for the Eagles. Through this and the Ben Davis game he has really shown his ability to stretch the floor. Davis made some crucial rebounds and some good inside scoring later on and was huge for the Eagles. Davis finished with 7 rebounds and 4 were offensive boards.
• Westfield 6'2 senior guard Cam Haffner was big for Westfield as well. He was second in scoring for them and hit some really impressive jumpers. This includes one of his signature shots which is a moving 3 off a sharp screen. Haffner was able to make some tough 2s and was really aggressive all night.
• Zionsville 6'9 junior forward Nick Richart was really impressive inside especially in the 2nd half. Richart had some tough post moves and was really agile throughout the game. Richart finished with a double double and was crucial in the second half inside as he had some big finishes to give momentum. He also had an even split of 6 offensive rebounds and 6 defensive rebounds which was his best rebounding game of the year so far.

What an incredible game and both teams played tremendously. Each team with only 8 turnovers and it was action packed all 32 minutes.

Zak Tyler and Jim Reamer talk about the leading candidates for Mr. Basketball and the various ways the voting process could go.

It's like Election nerd talk among basketball nerds

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Jim Reamer and Zak Tyler are joined by Nick Baumgart (Baumhoops.com) and Eric Gardner (prephoops.com) to breakdown the sectional action from the weekend.

Best Games, Best Team performance, Best Player performance

We kind of end the pod over a Braden Smith debate

Sponsors:
Box Out Sports is the leading online graphics solution giving you the ability to create professional content in seconds to highlight your team and student-athletes this season. You can sign up for a free demo at BoxOutSports.com

Courtside Indiana podcast is on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, as well as SoundCloud. You can subscribe via each of those apps and have them delivered straight to your phone, tablet or desktop.

• From this morning’s Game Preview to the opening part of the game, Westfield’s biggest challenge was going to be Carmel’s length.  Carmel had several second chance opportunities throughout, converting on most of them. 
• Braden Smith, like most point guards, looks a lot better when he has a paint option to find.  He’s a brilliant passer with outstanding vision, which showed through, but Carmel took away his drift passing by cutting off the opposite corner and smothering his drop off guy after the catch.
  • Throw in that Smith didn’t shoot well this game, he was a bit stifled.
• Brian Waddell was excellent early and the driving force of their second quarter run.  He sat with three fouls in the 3rd with Carmel in control, and he returned into the 4th to put the final nails in the Shamrock coffin.
• Peter Suder was off his game scoring wise, and he sat the entire second quarter with two fouls.  He made up for it with is playmaking and being active on the glass.  Even if he didn’t get to a rebound, he made it possible for a teammate to get it.  Carmel own the glass on both ends. 
• Carmel won this with Suder sitting out the second and Waddell sitting out the third.  Hitting a couple of baskets each, were Sam Orme and Will “Viking Killer” Leary.  
• Doing an outstanding job on Smith, Carmel point guard Connor Goia scored a couple of baskets early, and with Waddell, he set the tone.  Goia is the proverbial “it’s not the size of the dog in the fight, rather the size of the fight in the dog”.  His mistakes are few and very far between.