To start the week, however, he pulled off his biggest feat, in a come from behind win over Floyd Central, Benter totaled 37 points (6-12 3PT), 10 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal, including hitting the game winner from about 30' out at the buzzer.

All of that makes Jack Benter the Courtside Indiana Player of the Week for the week of February 14-19

Others Considered

• Ryan Conwell, 6'3" senior guard; Pike
  • vs. Decatur Central -  17 points, 9 rebounds, 9 assists, 1 steal
  • vs. Southport - 19 points, 8 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
  • vs. Lawrence North - 24 points, 7 rebounds 2 assists, 1 steal
• CJ Gunn, 6'5" senior guard; Lawrence North
  • vs. Pike - 30 points, 10 rebounds, 4 steals
  • vs. Fort Wayne South - 29 points, 6 rebounds
• Drew Howard, 5'11" senior guard; Forest Park
  • vs. Boonville - 20 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals
  • vs. Princeton - 26 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal
  • Became Forest Park's all-time leading scorer, passing Brandon Hopf's mark of 1,464 points.  Howard now has 1,471 and counting
• Hagen Knepp, 6'4" senior guard; Barr-Reeve
  • vs. Southridge - 18 points, 7 rebounds, 7 assists
  • vs. Vincennes Rivet - 18 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists
  • vs. Jasper - 15 points, 4 rebounds
• Jonah Lucas, 6'1" senior guard; Harrison (WL)
  • vs. Marion - 31 points, 6 rebounds
  • vs. University - 17 points, 6 rebounds
• Trent Sisley, 6'7" freshman forward; Heritage Hills
  • vs. Washington - 29 points (12-16 FG), 9 rebounds
  • vs. Tell City - 26 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists

Others Nominated

• Tayshawn Comer, 6'1" senior guard; Cathedral
  • vs. Louisville Male - 23 points, 8 assists, 3 rebounds
• Jaleb Treat, 6'7" junior forward; Rock Creek Academy
  • vs. Eastern (Pekin) - 13 points, 6 rebounds
  • vs. Trinity Lutheran - 10 points, 11 rebounds
  • vs. New Washington - 19 points, 18 rebounds
• Jaron Tibbs, 6'5" junior forward; Cathedral
  • vs. Louisville Male - 19 rebounds, 9 points, 4 assists, 2 steals

Sophomore/Freshman Nominations

• Quade Morton, 6'0" sophomore guard; Pike Central
  • vs. Jasper - 17 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists
  • vs. Brown County - 30 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 6 steals

Connersville came into their own event #1 in the state in 3A, and while Monroe Central is going to be a threat in 1A this year, it was still viewed that Connersville would square off against Bloomington North.  Not only did Monroe Central beat the host Spartans, they turned around later that night and defeated Bloomington North.

They were led by Jackson Ullom.  The 5'11" senior guard totaled 40 points and 9 assists in the two games, including an impressive 17-19 from the FT line for both games in the 4th quarters alone.

Gavin Smithson-Burciaga, Luke Jones and Josiah Ullom also produced, Smithson-Burciaga' 28 points on the day, Jones' 21 points in the championship game, and Ullom being their defensive stopper.

All of that is giving us first, awarding the whole team of the Monroe Central Golden Bears Courtside Indiana's Player of the Week for the period of December 20, 2021 - January 1, 2022.

Others Considered

• Jack Benter, 6'4" sophomore guard; Brownstown Central
  • vs. Rock Creek - 29 points, 8 rebounds, 2 steals
  • vs. Loogootee - 33 points (7-8 FT), 6 rebounds, 1 block
  • vs. Blackhawk Christian - 22 points, 7 assists, 6 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block
• Hunter Johnson, 6'2" guard; South Decatur
  • vs. South Putnam - 33 points, 10 rebounds
  • vs. Lutheran - 33 points, 10 rebounds
  • vs. North White - 32 points, 20 rebounds

• Hagen Knepp, 6'4" senior forward; Barr-Reeve
  • vs. Northeast Dubois - 34 points (12-16 FG, 4-5 3PT), 10 rebounds, 4 steals

• Zeke Tanoos, 6'3" sophomore guard; West Vigo
  • vs. Shakamak - 26 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists
  • vs. Sullivan - 25 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists
  • vs. Parke Heritage - 19 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals, 2 blocks

Milestones

Others Nominated

• Peyton Bledsoe, 6'4" junior wing; Loogootee
  • vs. Paoli - 25 points (10-12 FG, 3-4 3PT), 4 rebounds
  • vs. Brownstown Central - 24 points (10-18 FG, 4-7 3PT), 4 rebounds
  • vs. Barr-Reeve - 20 points (7-12 FG, 3-6 3PT, 3-4 FT), 3 rebounds, game winning shot with 5 seconds left
• Brady Dunn, 6'2" senior wing; Christian Academy
  • Averaged 21 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists per game the past three games

• Blake Herdes, 6'3" junior guard; Evansville Central
  • vs. Gibson Southern - 10 points, 7 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 steals and hit the game winner at the horn from 70'
• Drew Howard, 5'11" senior guard; Forest Park
  • vs. Pike Central - 27 points (12-15 FG), 5 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 assists
  • vs. Evansville Memorial - 28 points (11-17 FG, 2-2 3PT, 4-5 FT), 5 rebounds
• Marcus Northern, 6'2" junior guard; South Bend Washington
  • vs. Northridge - 18 points, 4 steals, 3 rebounds
  • vs. Bishop Dwenger - 12 points, 3 rebounds
  • vs. Warsaw - 12 points, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 rebounds
  • vs. Pendleton Heights - 24 points, 11 rebounds, 3 steals 

• AJ Roseman, 6'0" senior guard; Bishop Chatard
  • vs. Northeastern - 16 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
  • vs. Belmont - 16 points, 4 steals, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block, 1 charge taken
• Gage Sefton, 6'4" junior guard; Blackhawk Christian
  • Averaged 19 points, 56% FG%, 6-6 FT, 7 rebounds, 3 assists per game and was named MOP in the North Daviess Tournament
• Jordan Turner, 6'3" senior guard; Cardinal Ritter
  • vs. Speedway - 28 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks

Sophomore/Freshmen Nominated

• Gavin Betten, 6'5" freshman guard; Manchester
  • vs. Wabash - 20 points, 17 rebounds
  • vs. Northfield - 16 points, 14 rebounds
• Joshua Renfro, 6'1" freshman guard; Christian Academy
  • Averaged 19 points and 3 rebounds, including a 7-11 3PT performance vs. Evansville Christian
• Camden Webster, 6'3" sophomore guard; Kankakee Valley
  • 69 total point, including a 41 point performance, in their three game Highland Holiday Hoopfest

Others Considered:

• Anthony Ball, 6'6" junior forward; Beech Grove
  • vs. Franklin - 20 points and 10 rebounds
  • vs. Roncalli - 29 points (14-17 FG), 10 rebounds and 3 blocks
• Ryan Conwell, 6'3" senior guard; Pike
  • vs Perry Meridian - 19 points (7-8 FG, 3-3 3PT, 2-2 FT), 8 rebounds, 2 assists
  • vs. Lawrence Central - 32 points, (11-18 FG, 5-10 3PT, 5-6 FT), 9 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals :: 19 points in the first quarter

• Travis Grayson, 5'11" senior guard; Chesterton
  • vs. Homestead - 23 points (8-16 FG, 2-3 3PT, 5-7 FT) and 3 assists
• Jaxson Gould, 6'4" junior guard; Warsaw
  • vs. Wawasee - 31 points (12-24 FG, 6-6 FT), 8 steals and 6 rebounds
  • vs. Fort Wayne North - 32 points (10-16 FG, 12-14 FT), 6 rebounds and 2 steals
• Andrew Hedrick, 6'2" junior guard; Columbia City
  • vs. East Noble - 36 points (11-13 FG, 12-12 FT), 7 rebounds, 5 steals and 3 assists

Milestones:

With 24 points in Barr-Reeve's win over North Knox, Hagen Knepp, 6'4" senior guard, surpassed the 1,000 point career scoring mark. 

Other Nominations:

• Marial Diper, 7'0" junior center; Rock Creek Academy
  • vs. Christian Academy - 14 points, 11 rebounds, 7 block
• Brady Dunn, senior guard; Christian Academy
  • Averaged 17 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 steals in their two wins over South Central and Charlestown
• Ben Garwood, 6'4" senior guard; LaCrosse
  • vs. Oregon-Davis - 24 points (6-12 FG, 1-2 3PT, 9-11 FT), 10 rebounds, 6 steals, 3 assists, 3 blocks
• Trevion Johnson, 6'3" senior forward; Daleville
  • vs. Blue Rive Valley - 15 points and 7 rebounds :: Game winner at the buzzer
  • vs. Wes-Del - 35 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists
• Ellis Lyons, 6'2" senior guard; North Putnam
  • vs. Northview - 22 points (7-12 FG, 3-5 3PT), 5 assists and 2 steals
  • vs. Indian Creek - 30 points, 4 assists and 3 steals
• Nas McNeal, 6'2" junior forward; Parke Heritage
  • vs. South Putnam - 27 points, 8 rebounds 3 steals
• Kaden Neukem, 6'0" senior guard; Southridge
  • vs. Shoals - 22 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists
  • vs. Perry Central - 20 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists
• AJ Roseman, 6'0" senior guard; Bishop Chatard
  • vs. Covenant Christian - 20 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 1 block
• Caleb Roy, junior forward; Christian Academy
  • Averaged 15 points, 10 rebounds and 3 assists in wins over South Central and Charlestown
• Jaleb Treat, 6'7" junior forward; Rock Creek Academy
  • Holy Cross (KY) - 16 points, 10 rebounds

Sophomore and Freshmen Nominations:

• Josh Renfro, freshman guard; Christian Academy
  • Averaged 20 points in two wins over South Central and Charlestown
• Trent Sisley, 6'7" freshman forward; Heritage Hills
  • vs. Crawford County - 27 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block

Zak Tyler gets us up to date on recruiting, then Zak and Jim Reamer discuss Luke Brown's transfer decision, as well as northern Indiana small forwards in the class of 2022.

Nick Baumgart joins Jim to discuss recruiting, as well as the rest of the small forwards in the class of 2022.

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His son, Will, a senior guard, played more than one minute for Carmel tonight, doubled his father's production, and for a couple of stretches was the only Carmel player looking to aggressively score.

• As Carmel narrowed their 15 point deficit to five, Peter Suder picked up his energy level and became much more assertive on both ends.  He was extremely productive in OT, sandwiching two baskets around a steal, as well as scoring what was ultimately the game winning basket.
  • Playing without starting point guard, Connor Goia, Suder has much more responsibility as a primary ball handler, and he's been passive in spurts.  He came through down the stretch.
• Barr-Reeve's Curt Hopf had to feel pretty good about tonight's game.  While Carmel possesses length and bodies, they don't really have that interior post presence that matches up well physically with him, and with Carmel's starting center, Charlie Williams, being out due to illness, that was a 6'9" body out of the lineup.
• Turnovers ultimately cost Barr-Reeve, as Carmel started to press full court, trap ball screens and dabble a bit with an extended 1-3-1.  However, guards Hagen Knepp and Brycen Graber were having great games until the final few minutes of the game.  
  • Both were excellent and attacking ball screens wide enough to create separation from the screening and opening up back action opportunities, leading the 3pters.  A couple by Hopf.
• However, it was Leary's 18 points and double digit production of Sam Orme, a 6'7" sophomore forward, that led Carmel back.  Orme continued into OT providing a huge corner 3, before Suder sealed the deal.
  • Credit too to Nick Frische, 6'4" senior forward, and Jared Bonds, 6'5" sophomore forward, for making Hopf work for every catch.  

The 6'7" senior guard ended the game with 48 points (13-20 FG, 5-12 3pt, 7-7 FT), 10 rebounds, 5 assists and a block.  On the year, Mantis is averaging a double-double at 29.2 points and 10.4 rebounds per game, to go along with 3.6 assists per game.  This makes Chris Mantis our Courtside Indiana Player of the Week, sponsored by the Metro Indy Basketball Fall League, for the week of December 14-December 19.

Other Considerations:

Mason Brooks missed much of the summer and part of the fall due to an injury.  The 6'6" North Putnam senior forward put back to back games together in impressive fashion.  In a win over county rival, South Putnam, Brooks totaled 30 points, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals.  In their win over Indian Creek, he did more, 43 points and 15 rebounds.  For the week, he was 10-22 3PT, and North Putnam only had five players for each game due to injury and contact tracing. 

While Union (Modoc) has been finding wins hard to come by, they are are getting massive production from Champ Ellis.  The 6'3" senior guard put up 26 points, 11 rebounds, 8 blocks vs. Randolph Southern, 36 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks and Christel House and 40 points, 24 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks vs. Connersville Christian. 

Other Nominees:

• Tucker Biven, 6'2" junior guard; New Albany
  • vs. Carmel - 27 points (5-5 FG, 4-9 3PT)
• Curt Hopf, 6'9" senior forward; Barr-Reeve
  • vs. North Knox - 26 points, 11 rebounds, 3 assists
  • vs. NE Dubois - 16 points, 9 rebounds
• Edward Jones, 6'5" senior forward; Pike
  • vs. Lawrence Central - 19 points (8-13 FG), 9 rebounds, 2 steals
• Hagen Knepp, 6'4" junior guard; Barr-Reeve
  • vs. North Knox - 19 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals
  • vs. NE Dubois - 21 points, 6 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 blocks
• Tristin Miller, 6'1" junior guard; Lewis Cass
  • vs. Tipton - 27 points (13-15 FG), 7 steals, 5 rebounds
• Blake Sisley, 6'9" senior forward; Heritage Hills
  • vs. Crawford County - 25 points (11-14 FG), 4 rebounds

Other Sophomore and Freshman Nominees:

• Logan Imes, 6'4" sophomore guard; Zionsville
  • vs. Franklin Central - 13 points, 10 rebounds
  • vs. Bloomington North - 25 points, 7 rebounds
• Luke Saylor, 6'2" sophomore guard; Heritage
  • vs Fremont: Scored 30 points, had 10 rebounds, 6 steals and 4 assists. He scored 23 points in the second half in a 67-51 win.
  • vs. South Adams: Scored 39 points, had 11 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 steals in a 69-61 win over conference opponent South Adams.
  • vs. Norwell: Scored 18 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals in a 47-48 close loss to Norwell.

Zak Tyler and Jim Reamer breakdown the top point guards in the class of 2022.

Also:
Recruiting updates

2022 Players reviewed from the weekend:
Jalen Jackson, Jahni Summers, Joe Reidy, DJ Allen, Braden Smith, Alex Covey

2021 Players reviewed from the weekend:
Landen Jordan, Thomas Latham

Sponsors:
Metro Indy Basketball Fall League

Welcome to Metro Indy Basketball

Courtside Indiana podcast is now 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.

In one of their tougher games of the season, Blackford's Luke Brown does what he always does, put up numbers--31 points, 7 assists, 6 steals and 4 rebounds.  The night before over Southern Wells, he totaled 19 points and 11 assists.  

Trey Kaufman, the 6'8" junior forward from Silver Creek, had a stellar week too, 30 points, 9 rebounds in a win over Austin, and he topped it off in a win over Corydon Central with 39 points and 14 rebounds.  

However, the Player of the Week (POTW) presented by Metro Indy Basketball for the week of February 17-February 23 is Johnell Davis from Gary 21st Century.  

The 6'2" senior guard, who is headed to Florida Atlantic, is second in the state in scoring (among those reported to MaxPreps), and this week didn't hurt his 32.2 ppg.  

In their big win against highly rated and sectional foe Kouts, Johnell had 38 points, 9 rebounds, 6 steals, 3 assists and 2 blocks, and in their win over Victory Christian Johnell had 31 points, 10 rebounds, 5 steals, 3 assists and 1 block.

Others Considered

• Gus Etchison, 6'0" junior guard; Hamilton Heights
  • vs Lafayette Central Catholic - 22 points and 7 assists
  • vs Tri-West - 29 points and 7 assists
• Jylen Petty, 6'7" senior forward; South Bend Washington
  • vs Elkhart Central - 29 points, 6 rebounds
• Kaden Stanton, 6'0" sophomore guard; New Albany
  • vs Bedford North Lawrence - 21 points
  • vs Evansville North - 21 points, 4 assists and 0 turnovers
    • Also noted, Kaden carries a 4.0 GPA

Others Nominated

• Trey Flatt, 6'0" junior guard; Covenant Christian
• Hagen Knepp, 6'3" sophomore guard; Barr-Reeve
• Ethan Maudlin, 5'10" senior guard; Covenant Christian
• Malachi Pearson, 6'4" junior guard; Logansport

Kooper Jacobi was the best player on the floor in the Silver Creek/Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian matchup at Southport on Saturday.  The 6'6" junior forward put up 36 points (26 in the first half) with 9 rebounds, single handedly keeping them in the game in the first half.  (Not that Caleb Furst wasn't impressive too for FWBC.).  

Keon Thompson, 6'1" junior guard from Merrillville was impressive scoring 34 points in a win over Hammond Morton and 41 in a loss to Andrean.

All that said the Player of the Week (POTW) presented by Metro Indy Basketball is Jack Townsend.  

This release from Coach Brent Dalrymple from North Daviess:

Jack Townsend Topples Two School Records at North Daviess

The record-breaking shooting of 6’1” senior guard, Jack Townsend, ND claimed a double-win weekend against visiting North Central (Farmersburg) and Vincennes Rivet.

Jack Townsend led the offense on Friday evening with 24 points in a 57-44 SWIAC conference affair versus the NC Thunderbirds.  The shooting guard dropped four three-pointers on a night when he made 9-15 shots from the field overall while contributing four rebounds, two assists, and a steal.

Saturday night, Townsend made eight three-pointers in the first half alone while registering 26 points before halftime.  Townsend’s numbers on Saturday night were:  a school-record 47 points on 13-19 shooting from 3 pt range, 4 steals, 3rebounds, and 1 assist for the Class of 2020 Division II Ohio Dominican signee as the Cougars rolled Vincennes Rivet 68-16.  Townsend tied the school’s single season three-point record a year ago as a junior with 62.  Through six games, the senior shooting guard has knocked in 29 of 61 attempts and is averaging nearly 24 points per game.

Other considerations aside from the above

• Davion Bailey, 6'4" senior guard; Pike
  • vs Hamilton Southeastern 18 points, 3 assists
  • vs Center Grove 22 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists
• Caleb Furst, 6'9" junior forward; Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian
  • vs Elkhart Christian 14 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks
  • vs Silver Creek 23 points, 9 rebounds and 1 block
• Blake Sisley, 6'9" junior forward; Castle
  • vs North Posey 24 points and 8 rebounds
  • vs Brownsburg 21 points and 9 rebounds
• Kolden Vanlandingham, 6'2" junior guard; Northeastern
  • vs Eastern Hancock 15 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists
  • vs Tri-Village (OH) 39 points (17-19 FT), 7 steals and 4 assists
• Dillon Ware, 6'7" senior forward; Danville
  • vs Southmont 33 points and 12 rebounds
  • vs Cascade 31 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals

Other Nominations

• James Arnold, 6'4" junior guard; South Adams
• Blake Barker, 6'2" junior guard; Columbus North
• Jylen Petty, 6'7" senior forward; South Bend Washington
• Payton Sparks, 6'8" senior center; Winchester
• Isaac Uebelhor, 6'3" senior guard; Forest Park

Sophomores and Freshmen nominated

• Drew Hogan, 5'9" sophomore guard; Goshen
• Hagen Knepp, 6'3" sophomore guard; Barr-Reeve
• Trey Schoch, 5'10" sophomore guard; South Adams
• Jeffrey Simmons, 6'6" sophomore forward; Fishers
• Kyle Thomas, 6'3" sophomore guard; Cloverdale
• Dillon Tomlinson, 5'9" freshman guard; Northfield

Game takeaways

1. Barr-Reeve 6'3" Sophomore Hagen Knepp is a high motor kid who has yet to realize the impact he has on games.  He will be a special player from the Southern part of the state if he continues to work on his game.
2. Barr-Reeve struggles with the post entry pass.  With a 6'8" post presence that is normally guarded by a 6' player they really struggle to get the ball down low in order to start the offense.
3. Orleans is much improved.  They have struggled the last couple of years but have things headed in the right direction with a Junior heavy roster.