You know it is getting late into a tournament weekend when a fan yells “That’s great defense!” to protest a foul call and the referee yells back: “If you think that’s great defense you need a rulebook!”
Hey, it was getting late for all of us Saturday at Carmel High School for the second day of the Charlie Hughes Showcase. Here are my takeaways from Day 2:
>>>Great weekend for Homestead. The Spartans, after wins over Crown Point and Guerin Catholic on Friday, defeated Pike 57-56 on a last-second putback by Mack Welker, the 6-8 senior who shined in Friday’s wins. Homestead then had a double-digit lead over Fishers in the second half of the final game of the weekend before falling 69-66 in overtime. Welker, who had 22 points against Pike, added offers from Wright State and Eastern Michigan to a list that includes Ball State, Central Michigan, Oral Roberts and Purdue Fort Wayne. But it goes beyond Welker. Homestead is a really good team. The Spartans went toe-to-toe with two dramatically different teams in Pike and Fishers. Jake Coolman is a tough 6-1 senior guard, and junior Bryce LaCross is a major addition from Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian. LaCross had 30 points and six rebounds in the loss to Fishers.
>>>Merrillville freshman Nasir Faniel is an exciting young player. A 6-5 freshman who can play point guard? He also poured in 20 points in a win over West Lafayette Harrison. Charles Hardimon, a junior guard, was outstanding for the Pirates, finishing with 29 points. Merrillville should take a step forward this season after going 6-17 last year.
>>>Though his performance came in a loss to Penn, Bloomington North 6-6 senior Levi Lindeman was impressive with a 21-point game. The 6-6 Lindeman has a lot of offensive ability.
>>>Sheridan senior Trey Page had a 37-point game for Sheridan in the Blackhawks’ 80-62 win over Heritage Christian. Page was 7-for-11 from the 3-point line. A cool scene earlier in the day when Sheridan played on Carmel’s main floor, which is named after his great grandfather Bill Shepherd.
>>>New Albany’s motor is always running hot. The Bulldogs are one of the hardest-playing teams in the state and also one of the most talented. That is usually a good harbinger of things to come. Coming off a semistate appearance last year, the expectations are high for New Albany, which went 4-0 for the weekend with wins over South Bend St. Joseph (74-61) and Terre Haute North (71-44) on Saturday. And this was without standout junior Noah Washington, who is still on the mend from a hamstring injury. Sophomore Karson Stoudemire had 19 points in the win over St. Joseph and Ashton McKee had 16 in both games. Will have more coming on the Bulldogs.
>>>Bishop Chatard will be a sleeper for the upcoming season. The Trojans are a senior-dominated team with a standout guard in Ari Sahm, who averaged 19 points in a 4-0 weekend and shot 17-for-25 from the 3-point line. Chatard posted wins over Evansville Memorial (66-50) and Barr-Reeve (70-51) on Saturday.
>>>The atmosphere inside the freshman/auxiliary gym is one of the things I love the most about the Charlie Hughes Showcase. The sound in there makes it feel like every game is Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Included in that mix on Saturday was Homestead’s win over Pike and Fishers’ overtime win over Homestead.
>>>Jason Gardner Jr. is one of the quickest players I have ever seen getting to the basket. Defenses know that is what he wants to do and still can’t stop him. The Fishers’ standout had a big 27 points in the win over Homestead, and the Spartans defended him well.
>>>Big fan of Crown Point junior guard M.J. Wilson. The 6-5 junior averaged 19.9 points over four games for the Bulldogs, who will be a much different team than last year’s state runner-up. Wilson will have a lot on his plate and should be in position to take a big jump.
>>>Kendrick Martin went for 25 points in Liberty Christian’s 83-76 win over Austin. I was impressed with both teams. Austin’s Micah Mohler, the recent recipient of an Indiana offer, finished with 18 points. Mohler is just a sophomore.
>>>Parke Heritage went 4-0 for the weekend. The Wolves are still going to be tough to beat with Carter Crum and Brendan Goins. Crum had 34 points in a win over Valparaiso and 26 in a win over Norwell (Goins had 19 on 5-for-6 shooting from the 3-point line).
>>>I like the makeup of Carmel’s team. Cash Daniels will benefit from a year of experience at point guard and will be one of the best guards in the state as a senior. Looking forward to seeing the Greyhounds a little more on Sunday. Carmel put up 93 points in a win over South Bend St. Joseph.
Read more: Pike looks part, Cooper Zachary goes crazy, more from Day 1 of Charlie Hughes Showcase
Read more: Cooper Zachary one of stars of Charlie Hughes Showcase. Where will Fishers’ guard land?
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649. Get IndyStar’s high school coverage sent directly to your inbox with the High School Sports newsletter. And be sure to subscribe to our new IndyStarTV: Preps YouTube channel.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Standout team, individual performances from Day 2 of the Charlie Hughes Showcase
Reporting by Kyle Neddenriep, Indianapolis Star / Indianapolis Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Kyle Neddenriep, Indianapolis Star | USA TODAY Network
