Northwest Indiana: "The Region"

For many years now, it has been heavily debated as to what area the nickname “The Region” truly refers to, and it seems like anyone and everyone from Northwest Indiana has their own definition of this. Officially, any town located within the Chicago Metropolitan Area is a part of “The Region”. This includes all of Lake County in Indiana, which is home to towns like Crown Point, East Chicago, Gary, Hammond, Hobart, Merrillville, Munster, and Whiting. While I realize it’s a little hypocritical to the above information, in an attempt to bring more attention to lesser-known prospects, we are going to expand the reach of this article like we did with Evansville and Fort Wayne, and we’ll consider ladies from any of the Northwest Indiana counties who are located within the Central Time Zone. This means players from Porter, LaPorte, Starke, Jasper, and Newton counties will also be eligible here. Year after year Northwest Indiana turns out several talented basketball players and teams, and they tend to be overlooked, underappreciated, and unfortunately “less included” at times from statewide polls, honors, and awards. In general, I just think a lack of familiarity with this area of the state contributes to this. At the same time, recent prospects like Jenasae Bishop (East Chicago Central 2018), Dana Evans (Gary West Side 2017), Talia Roldán (Andrean 2017), Victoria Gaines (Merrillville 2015), and Michal Miller (Michigan City 2015) all grew up in Northwest Indiana. All of those ladies were Indiana All-Stars and/or are playing at Division I schools. However, year after year there are many other quality players in Northwest Indiana who often go underrecruited, so I encourage small colleges to drive up I-65 or across U.S. 30 a couple of times each high school season to check out the area teams. Below I wanted to take the time to highlight a handful of girls who may not often grab the spotlight, but who deserve their share of recognition for their basketball abilities. Not all of these girls are technically in “The Region”, but they are from the Northwest corner of Indiana.   [caption id="attachment_12604" align="alignright" width="223"] Janicia Anderson of Michigan City[/caption] Janicia Anderson, 2019, 6-1 C, Michigan City H.S. When it comes to Michigan City these days, the name everyone points to is 6-4 2019 post Hannah Noveroske. However, Janicia Anderson has also been very productive the last couple of years. In 2017-2018 she averaged 8.9 points and an impressive 11.1 rebounds per game, plus she blocked 4.6 shots per game. She has a strong frame, solid athleticism, and very good length. With Noveroske’s status uncertain due to a March knee injury, Janicia could be the focal point of the Wolves, especially early on.   Karli Miller, 2019, 5-8 W, Andrean H.S. Karli is a very intriguing wing who I think is going a little overlooked by colleges in the Midwest. She has been a Varsity starter from the get-go, and she has done nothing but be consistent year-in and year-out. She has good length, she’s a fluid athlete in all directions, and she’s well-balanced and versatile skillfully. She actually has an Illinois address but attends private school at Andrean. During the 2017-2018 season she averaged 15.9 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 3.9 steals per game.   Morgan Rinkema, 2019, 5-9 G, Highland H.S. Morgan is actually not on our Class of 2019 Top-150 list, but she’s someone who intrigues me from a recruiting standpoint. She is very long, still a little thin, but fairly smooth and skilled. She can shoot it at all levels, especially in the mid-range game, and she plays with a good motor. She looks like she still might grow another inch or two, but she has already been a consistent performer for Highland. Last season she averaged 10.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, and made 36 3-pointers.   Amani Alvarez, 2020, 5-5 G, Merrillville H.S. Merrillville uncharacteristically stumbled last season, but their future is bright with a lot of young talent in 2020 through 2022. On a team with four Senior starters a year ago, Amani earned significant playing time and now will be one of the leaders for the Pirates. She is a tough-nosed, strong, physical, and quick combo guard. She is skilled enough to play point guard from time to time, but she’s also aggressive and tough enough to battle as a 2-guard. She could make a major jump this season statistically.   [caption id="attachment_12606" align="alignleft" width="214"] Tiara Payne of Gary West Side[/caption] Tiara Payne, 2020, 6-0 F/C, Gary West Side Leadership Academy With Dash Shaw (2020 G), Trinity Thompson (2021 F), and a couple of talented 2022s in the fold this year for West Side, Tiara could honestly be the most important piece to their metaphorical puzzle. Tiara is a long, athletic, and physically talented front-liner. She isn’t a big-time shooter / scorer anywhere on the floor, but she’s a nice pursuing rebounder, and she gets a lot of deflections on interior passes. If she can increase her 6.3 points and 6.3 rebounds from last year just a little, look for West Side to be a potential Top-10 Class 3A team this season.   Amber Wolf, 2020, 5-10 F, South Central H.S. (Union Mills) I touched on Amber following the IGBRR event last weekend, and then again in the Class 1A previews, but I think she’s worth mentioning one more time. She has been a key cog for the Satellites since her Freshman season, but she has always been on the cusp of bursting onto the scene statewide in terms of her recruiting. She is long, very athletic, and she plays with a motor. She has grown from a mid-post player to more of a wing. The last girl who came through SCHS in similar fashion, Riley Popplewell, ended up at D1 USC-Upstate and has started 53 of the 59 games she’s played.   [caption id="attachment_12605" align="alignright" width="219"] Laila Rogers of Bishop Noll[/caption] Laila Rogers, 2021, 5-9 F, Hammond Bishop Noll Institute There are a couple of other girls getting recognition at Noll right now, and rightfully so, but Laila has the chance to be a really nice player for them the next three years. She already logged significant Varsity time, averaging 5.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game on their 2018 Sectional Championship team. She is wiry strong, bouncy and athletic, and she plays with a nonstop motor. She rebounds much bigger than she is, and she can defend interior or perimeter players. As she makes her perimeter shot more consistent, look for her to really establish herself as a nice inside-out threat.   Additional Northwest Corner Prospects In Our Statewide Rankings: Tai-Yanna Jackson, 2019, 6-5 F/C, East Chicago Central H.S., committed to Mississippi Tiara Jackson, 2019, 6-2 F/C, East Chicago Central H.S. Emmery Joseph, 2019, 5-2 PG, Marquette Catholic H.S. Emma Nolan, 2019, 6-1 F, Marquette Catholic H.S., committed to Saint John’s Sophia Nolan, 2019, 6-1 F, Marquette Catholic H.S., committed to Saint John’s Hannah Noveroske, 2019, 6-4 C, Michigan City H.S., committed to Xavier Riley Ott, 2019, 5-6 PG, LaPorte H.S., committed to Purdue Fort Wayne Darlisha Reed, 2019, 5-10 F, Hammond Clark H.S. Michaela Schmidt, 2019, 5-11 F/C, Highland H.S. Madeline Schumacher, 2019, 6-0 F, North Judson-San Pierre H.S., committed to IU-South Bend Lindsey Simpson, 2019, 5-10 W, Knox H.S., committed to Indiana Tech Faith Haggard, 2020, 5-8 W, Gary Thea Bowman Leadership Academy Dash Shaw, 2020, 5-6 G, Gary West Side Leadership Academy Abby Stoddard, 2020, 6-0 F, Crown Point H.S. Sara Zabrecky, 2020, 5-8 G, Lake Central H.S. Taylor Austin, 2021, 5-4 G, Lake Station Edison H.S. Corutney Blakely, 2021, 5-6 PG, Hammond Bishop Noll Institute Lilliann Frasure, 2021, 5-9 W, North Judson-San Pierre H.S. Ryin Ott, 2021, 5-10 W, LaPorte H.S. Alyna Santiago, 2021, 5-5 G, Crown Point H.S. Trinity Thompson, 2021, 6-0 F, Gary West Side Leadership Academy Trinity Barnes, 2022, 5-7 W, Gary West Side Leadership Academy Megan Bolen, 2022, 5-10 F, Knox H.S. Jessica Carrothers, 2022, 5-4 PG, Highland H.S. Emma Gerdt, 2022, 5-8 W, Valparaiso H.S. Iatia Poston, 2022, 5-8 G, Gary West Side Leadership Academy Davina Smith, 2022, 5-10 W, Merrillville H.S. Lilly Stoddard, 2022, 6-3 F, Crown Point H.S. Lauryn Swain, 2022, 5-7 W, Andrean H.S.   Header photo of The Jackson 5 mural in downtown Gary, Indiana; photo courtesy of Kim Johnson's flickr.com account. Photo of Janicia Anderson courtesy of heraldargus.com. Photo of Tiara Payne courtesy of nwitimes.com. Photo of Laila Rogers courtesy of journollonline.com.