Will Avance, 6'1" point guard; Lawrence North

• Relentlessly looking to get downhill when he puts the ball on the floor.  Crafty scorer around the basket and also not remotely afraid of taking contact.
• Improving as a playmaker.  Avance makes great ball screen reads with is screening partner.  Still needs better vision to either slot, but he sees the corners well on either side, regardless of direction.
• Potential lockdown defender.  At worst, he's a plus-defender who might gamble a bit off the ball.  No fake hustle though.  He's back into the play quickly if he misses.  Super motor!
• His shot is looking better.  From 3PT, it's mostly off the catch.  Not punishing defenders yet for going under ball screens, but he's looking at it now.
• Reported offers:  IUPUI, Miami (OH), Tennessee Martin.  Definite D1 prospect.  The more  consistent his shot becomes, the more mid-major he is.

Sean Black, 5'10" point guard; Warren Central

• Ultra-quick and strong, Black is a plus-shooter behind the 3PT line, so he's a tough cover on a closeout.  
• He does like to swing for the fences when he penetrates, but he's doing a better job at, not just finding teammates, reading the help and anticipating openings.  Great vision in transition!
• He's a plus-defender who can be a lockdown defender.  He just needs to improve awareness off the ball.  He shifts from being player dominant to ball dominant in his scope, and it can sometimes change possession by possession.
• Tremendous teammate and leader.  He never quits on a play.  Along with Avance, he has one of the best motors in the class.  
• Reported offers:  IU-East, IU-South Bend - the competitive NAIA level is his floor, and Indiana has the best NAIA leagues around.  I can see a D2 taking a chance on him.  

Vinny Buccilla, 6'2" point guard; Hamilton Southeastern

• Ball distributing point guard, who can kind of be vanilla at times, but at the end of it, he makes his teammates better.  Passes on time, on target.
• Great off ball movement, especially as a screener.  It's important because the ball doesn't stick with him.  But he isn't just a ball mover.  He gets teammates open too.
• He could be more aggressive looking to score.  Even getting downhill more to a floater would create more defensive rotations.  (* he has put up better offensive numbers since last view in early December)
• A willing defender, he can guard his position.  Decent length, good off ball instincts.  Rebounds his position pretty well on the defensive end.
• Reported offers:  Trinity Christian - He's a prototypical, NAIA 4th scoring option point guard, good enough to help the top teams win.  Hit the open shot, make everyone else around him better.  He has several D3 schools looking at him as well.  

Ronald Johnson, 6'1" point guard; Park Tudor

• Aggressive with the ball, Johnson is always hunting shots, and as one of the top shooters at the position, he should.
• As he penetrates, there are times he could make a better read of defensive rotations, not just passing vs. shooting, but back action and/or fill reads to the slots.
• Johnson is a capable defender, and when he's locked in, he can guard his position.  He's strong enough to cross match, and on smaller wings, he would be capable of guarding 1-3 at the level he's being recruited thus far.
• Even though his default position is to take the shot, he's improved managing possessions.  Improving the timing of his reads will help other shooters get into shot easier.  However, his ability to create his own is an asset, especially should a possession not go smoothly.
• No reported offers - An NAIA school looking for a scoring point guard would be wise to take a look.  He has several D3 suitors.

Malik Stanley, 6'0" point guard; Warren Central

• Best vision and best passer in the class.  To borrow a quarterback concept, he passes teammates open.  Stanley will change his pace and approach, cherry picking which defender is to help with the sole purpose of creating the opening for his teammate.  
• It doesn't hurt that he is among the best shooters at the position in the class.  A quick, smooth release, and he can hurt you over the top of a ball screen.
• He doesn't jump off the page physically.  He's quick, but not the quickest.  While 6'0" isn't an issue these days, especially at the D2 and low D1 level, he's not long.  He doesn't attack the rim like others do.
• Stanley can certainly guard his position, and with his offers, he's a plus-defender.  Good ball defender and rarely out of position off the ball.
• Reported offers:  Barry, Fairmont State, Indianapolis, Marian, Southern Indiana, Tampa. It's nice to see the instate D2's on board.  If I'm a low D1, I'm taking a chance on Stanley. 

With the fall signing period underway, several players came off this board this week. Zak Tyler and Jim Reamer gets you up to date on those commitments, as well as an update on offers.

Zak and Jim talk about the top players who are still available.

(See list of players below the sponsors)

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Evan Altman, Brebeuf
Shamarr Avance, Lawrence North
Andrew Bennett, Shenandoah
Jalen Blackmon, Marion
Brett Bosley, Paoli
Flynn Carlson, Victory Christian
Jaylen Carson, Crispus Attucks
Chrishawn Christmas, Gary West
Jalen Clark, North Central
Kyle Crim, Morristown
Koron Davis, Bowman Academy
Owen Dease, Evansville Reitz
Michael Eley, Elevate Academy
Noah Gordon, Mount Vernon
Connor Hickman, Bloomington South
Curt Hopf, Barr-Reeve
Ronald Johnson, Park Tudor
Eddie Jones, Pike
Thomas Latham, Leo
Chris Mantis, Lowell
Gabe McNary, Warren Central
Mason Nicholson, Gary West
Quimari Peterson, Gary West
Kyle Ross, Lake Central
Kyle Sanders, Western
Javon Small, Compass Prep (AZ)
Malik Stanley, Warren Central
Keon Thompson, National Top Sports (FL)
Jadon Thomas, International
Brian Waddell, Carmel
Blake Wesley, South Bend Riley
Harold Woods, Hammond

Zak Tyler and Jim Reamer discuss Luke Brown's commitment to Stetson, as well as other recruiting updates.

Zak and Jim move to discuss the Junior all-stars who are currently uncommitted and the types of offers they have.

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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.

Zak Tyler and Jim Reamer open with updates on scholarship offers and commitments from the past week. (Spoiler alert: No commitments this past week)

3:45 - The start of the school summer season is upon us (hopefully leading us to some more normalcy), and that's when transfer news starts to hit. Zak and Jim touch on Bloomington South mystery transfer and a return to the state by a top incoming sophomore.

7:40 - Jim discusses game action he saw this past weekend, mostly about the point guards who shined.

Class of 2021
Jovan Small, Franklin Central
Luke Brown, Blackford
Isiah Swope, Castle
Malik Stanley, Warren Central
Gus Etchison, Hamilton Heights

But the guy who stole the show, North Central's Leland Walker, class of 2022.

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.

Every player who plays AAU has been impacted, as April is when most non-D1 schools get serious about recruiting the outgoing juniors/incoming seniors, so this could be an exhaustive list, but there are certain keyframes on the recruiting calendar that provide opportunity for players to raise their level of recruitment.

High Major Bubble 

April is a time when high major programs start to broaden their search, early targets have started to settle in or transfers have changed recruiting priorities.  It can also be a time when players push through into broader roles on the court, getting a chance how they have expanded their game.

DJ Hughes, Lawrence North - Recently receiving his first Power 6 scholarship when Butler extended an offer, Hughes' first six offers up to that point were from mid majors.  Anyone with history of his development knows he has expanded his game over time, and he plays with a great motor.  At 6'7", he's at that stage in his skill development, especially with basketball going "smaller", where he brings versatility to the power forward spot.  

Hughes is likely getting close to projecting the ability to guard three positions at the HM level, definitely the PF and SF spots, and he wouldn't get burned in short stints vs. SG or centers should teams switch a lot or have ball screen coverages that cause rotations to X out. 

Kooper Jacobi, Silver Creek - Another motor guy for sure, and another guy who can guard multiple positions.  There are times for Silver Creek when he is their primary ball handler, and certainly in transition he's more than capable of making plays for others.  The spring for him would've been about how consistent could he shoot from range.  

Michael Eley, Fort Wayne Snider => Elevation Prep - Eley can get buckets.  He is a high volume shooter, but he has to improve his 3pt consistency.  He's most effective when he can get downhill and to the rim.  There are still some questions with him defensively, but no one can question how he rebounds his position.

He's serving as a guinea pig by transferring to the newly opened Elevation Prep in Fort Wayne.  

Blake Sisley, Heritage Hills - Offensively, he has the shot and the passing to make the grade.  Sisley wouldn't be impactful at the HM in the low post as a center, more of a catch/shoot (36% from 3pt, 50 attempts) or drop off scorer at that level, so the question becomes is what can he guard.  The more comfortable staffs are projecting he can guard the PF spot (or the second big) in their league the more he would fit at the HM level.

Luke Brown, Blackford - Brown's situation has been covered a lot.  He's a HM shooter for sure, and he has excellent vision.  For a 6'1" point guard has to go a long way to show he can guard at the HM level, having two definite HM skills is a must.  No question, he is a willing defender, and that can go a long way.

The other aspect of this is can he produce vs. higher caliber of talent consistently.  He hasn't had the chance to show that consistently yet.  Some of it based on injuries in the spring.  Some of it not really sticking with a team throughout an entire summer.  He's not getting much D1 caliber competition on Blackford's schedule.

Division One Bubble

Shamar Avance, Lawrence North - With one D1 offer under his belt, IUPUI, as with anything, it only takes one.  His passing, motor and quickness/athleticism exceed requisite levels.  He is a terror on defense, adjoined with his quickness.  

Avance has a good mid-range game and has little issues getting to the paint.  He makes great decisions from that area.  Consistency from the 3pt line and how well he can finish at the rim through bigger players.  The latter isn't always easy to prove, even in the MIC, if there isn't a lot of true D1 size around.  

Naylon Thompson, Fort Wayne Bishop Luers - No reported offers yet, but the 6'4" junior had an outstanding junior year, helping Luers go from 4 wins as a sophomore to 15 as a junior.  Thompson shot 30% from the 3pt this past year at a pretty good sample size.  That has to improve, but his quickness and length on the defensive translated to 2.6 steals and 1.2 blocks per game.  

Brian Waddell, Carmel - Between an injury and mono, basketball for Waddell looked pretty rough before mid-January.  It started to turn around after the turn of the calendar, and by the time February rolled around, he was producing at a consistent level to an occasional huge level.  His best performance was his most timely, a 26 point performance vs. Westfield in the sectional final.  

His movement off the ball takes takes full advantage of his 6'6" frame and length, and as he got healthier, he was able to finish through contact more and improve his consistency from the 3pt line.  Questions will be is can guard the wing at the D1 level.  

Curt Hopf, Barr-Reeve - For obvious reasons, after having to sit the whole season due to a transfer eligibility ruling, Hopf was certainly looking to the spring to get his name back on social media feeds covering basketball.  A good catch/shoot guy with 3pt range, he will have to show he can do that consistently.  Hopf drives well for a kid his size, but who he can finish against is what has to be proven in the spring/summer.  

Jaylen Carson, Crispus Attucks - Super long prospect, who anchored Attucks inside.  He's effective in the low post, but it's probably not his best asset.  He's a rim run big, who is also good in ball screen action.  There were times in games last year when he would disappear, and he has to show he can finish vs other bigs.  Lots of ability on the defensive end of the floor.  As Attucks will look to spread their offensive production next year, he should be more engaged on both ends.

Malik Stanley, Warren Central - In the wake of guards graduating above him the last two years, Stanley showed last year he can run a team...still full of guards.  He's a pesky defender, and while his size might be an issue, he's not out there gambling to get it done.  Stanley is also one the true players in the class who can really shoot off the dribble from mid-range.  

Quimari Peterson, Gary West - Good outside shooter, who still needs to improve consistency from the 3pt line, and he is also one who can get downhill and score.  Peterson rebounds his position well.  Looking forward to him playing with a healthy Jalen Washington, as point guards who move the ball well seem to improve with  more options around them, and Washington will draw a lot of attention.

D2 / NAIA

This group is squarely in the scholarship worthy camp.  Just a question of which level. 

Blake Barker, Columbus North - Sneaky athletic.  Barker can put a guy on a poster.  D1 leaping and improved laterally over the last couple of years.  41% from 3pt and the ability to get to the basket and finish, it wouldn't be surprising if D1s started sniffing around.  

Jadon Thomas, International - Thomas can really score, and he's a motor guy.  He's competitive defensively, and offensively he's not afraid to take/make the big shot.  He never backs down from the moment.  His playmaking could improve, but that's really an issue when discussing if he can be a primary ball handler vs. a wing.

Lane Sparks, Greensburg - Look for his production and usage to go way up next year, not that he wasn't getting touches the last two years.  Sparks has gone from being the youngster playing alongside two D1 caliber perimeter players, to being the senior leader.  The crafty scorer is outstanding at all three levels, and his 3pt shot and mid-range game translate to college.  

Kyle Sanders, Western - One of the top shooters in the class.  Defensively projection is an issue at the D2 level, but he's a willing defender and pretty physical on the ball.  His vision is at a high level.

Eddie Jones, Pike - Jones has D1 physical tools, and he certainly is aggressive with the ball.  While he was second in scoring last year, all of his production was in the paint, mostly slashing or battling for offensive rebounds.  Right now, he's an undersized perimeter PF who can guard multiple positions.  As he develops as more of a scoring threat outside the paint, this would be a good one to revisit. 

Injury candidates

• Jalen Blackmon, Marion
• Koron Davis, Bowman Academy
• Chrishawn Christmas, Gary West

Episode 3 - Under the radar class of 2021, Mr. Basketball process
Zac Tyler and Jim Reamer start talking the cancellation of the all-star games.

4:12 - Anthony Leal is Mr. Basketball, there is no "snubbing" when it's a vote

10:15 - The rest of the pod is focused on the class of 2021 kids who are under the radar...mostly because the class is SOOO deep.

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.

The Player of the Week presented by the Metro Indy Basketball for the week of December 2-December 8 is Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian's Caleb Furst.  In a 103-59 win over Fort Wayne North, the 6'10" junior center finished with 29 points, 15 rebounds and 5 assists, going 9-10 from the FT line.  In their win 74-48 win over New Haven Furst added 23 points, 19 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 blocks, going 7-7 from the FT line.

Competing this year at the 2A level, due to the IHSAA's success factor, Furst has Blackhawk  Christian off to a good start as they vie to be the first team in the class era to win back to back championships in multiple classes.  (Two teams have reach the state finals in back to back years in multiple classes, Harding and Bowman Academy, but both went 1-1 in those games.)

Other considerations aside from the above

• Davion Bailey, 6'4" senior guard; Pike
  • vs Perry Meridian 23 points (9-15 FG), 5 assists and 4 steals
  • vs Ben Davis 19 points (9-15 FG), 5 rebounds and 4 assists
• Tucker Bivens, 6'2" sophomore guard; New Albany
  • vs Evansville Harrison 32 points (11-17 FG/4-7 3pt), 5 rebounds, 6 steals and 4 assists
• Jayden Broadnax, 6'5" senior guard; Garrett
  • vs Lakewood Park Christian 39 points, 16 rebounds, 5 assists and 5 steals
• Lincoln Hale, 6'3" senior guard; Linton
  • vs Vincennes Lincoln and Clay City, averaged 29 ppg, 3.5 steals
• Braden Smith, 5'11" sophomore point guard; Westfield
  • vs. Pendleton heights. 25 points, 9 rebounds 6 assists
  • vs Zionsville 19 points 4 rebounds 7 assists

Others nominated

• DeAndre Davis, 6'6" senior guard; Lawrence Central
• Jake Friel, 6'2" senior guard; Hebron
• Easton Goode, 6'2" senior guard; Lewis Cass
• Grant Niehaus, 6'2" senior guard; Washington
• Nijel Pack, 5'11" senior guard; Lawrence Central
• Coleman Sater, 6'4" junior forward; Edgewood
• Simon Scherry, 6'2" senior guard; Heritage Hills
• Blake Sisley, 6'9" junior forward; Heritage Hills
• Kenny Tracy, 6'1" senior guard; Decatur Central
• Ty Wright, 6'5" senior forward; Mooresville

Sophomores and Freshmen

• Ryan Conwell, 6'1" sophomore guard; Pike
• Baylin Graf, 6'1" sophomore guard; Bloomfield
• Joey Hart, 6'2" freshman guard; Linton
• Will Loving-Watts, 6'3" sophomore forward; Jeffersonville
• Reese Marrs, 5'11" sophomore guard; Hebron
• Kaden Oliver, 6'0" freshman guard; Madison