Midseason Review: Class 4A

As we approach the new calendar year, I wanted to take the time to highlight a few storylines that have begun to develop throughout the first half of the 2018-2019 high school season. Below are a handful of items in Class 4A that I thought stood out to me so far this season. Class 1A posted Friday, Class 2A posted yesterday, while Class 3A posted earlier this morning.   EVEN STEVEN After seeing the past two weeks’ results, there are just too many teams in Class 4A who can position themselves to win a state title, let alone beat anyone on any given night. Who do you pick out of North Central, Homestead, Warren Central, Hamilton Southeastern, Penn, Bedford North Lawrence, Lawrence North, Brownsburg, Center Grove, Bloomington South, Crown Point, etc., etc., etc.? I think, at the end of the day, whoever emerges atop Class 4A at the end of February will be the team who (1) stays the healthiest, (2) gets hot going into the tournament, and (3) who can play effectively at both ends of the floor. With so many teams capable of winning games in the tournament, you have to be able to get necessary stops late in games, and you have to have someone who can get their own shot and put it in the hole down the stretch.   VETERAN LEADERSHIP [caption id="attachment_16069" align="alignright" width="228"] Malea Jackson of Hamilton Southeastern[/caption] This topic has been the one consistent theme throughout each of the midseason reviews, and I think in Class 4A, Hamilton Southeastern (16-1) has quite an advantage in terms of veteran leadership. Seniors Amaya Hamilton, Malea Jackson, Molly Walton, and Tayah Irvin, plus star Junior Wing Sydney Parrish are all in their third year in the starting lineup. Minus a handful of minor injuries, this group has as much talent and consistency as anyone in Class 4A. This past week they won one of the biggest games in their careers, knocking off #1 North Central by 11 points at North Central. They also defeated their nemesis, Carmel High School, by 19 points earlier this year. In fact, their only loss this season is to a talented group from the state of Kentucky. If they can carry their hot play into the state tournament, they have as much of a chance as anyone to hoist the trophy in the last game of the season. It won’t be easy though, as their last five regular season games are at Warren Central, home against Westfield and Lawrence North, then at Zionsville and at Pike.   R-E-S-P-E-C-T #5 Penn (15-0) and #11 Crown Point (16-0) remain the only undefeated teams in Class 4A. The Sophomore tandem of Trinity Clinton and Jordyn Smith lead the way for Penn, while a pair of Freshmen, Jessica Carrothers and Lilly Stoddard, are making a lot of noise in the Northwest corner of the state for Crown Point. Both teams have been slowly climbing up the rankings, and the biggest reason neither team is higher at this point is due to the teams ahead of them primarily suffering their losses against other highly ranked teams. Crown Point also began the season on the outside looking in due to posting just a 13-11 a season ago and the uncertainty of how the youngsters, talented but Freshmen, would handle a Varsity schedule. Look for both teams to make a little movement when tomorrow’s polls are released. Penn still has to travel to Elkhart Central, host South Bend Saint Joseph, and play Fort Wayne South Side at a neutral location this coming month, while Crown Point has to travel to Lafayette Jefferson and host Bishop Noll in January.   SHHH… Center Grove (14-2) doesn’t want anyone to know how good they are or can become. Trust me. A year ago, they were 12-3 at this point, but they graduated Indiana All-Star and current Purdue Freshman Cassidy Hardin, along with experienced veterans Karinna Frankel and Amy Davis. This year was by no means going to be a “rebuilding” year, but posting an improved record to this point might not have been the expectation at the beginning of the campaign. They don’t have as much size or as many interior players as most of the top Class 4A teams, but they have a talented group of guards, wings, and forwards. Senior Guards Ella Thompson and Emma Utterback lead the way for the Lady Trojans. Sophomore Forward Mary Wilson’s impact has been a nice addition this season, plus the roster is incredibly versatile, with nine players a part of their regular rotation. They can really hurt opponents from the perimeter and in the mid-post, but to advance deep in the state tournament, they will need to figure out how to protect the basket against legitimate post presences…their two losses have come against Brownsburg and Warren Central, both of which have Division-I commits manning the middle. It also doesn’t get easier for the Lady Trojans, as they still have regular season games remaining against North Central, Ben Davis, and Lawrence North.   UM…HELLO? [caption id="attachment_22238" align="alignright" width="218"] Shaila Beeler of Warren Central[/caption] Is it just me, or are the Warren Central Warriors getting as little respect as possible for any highly ranked team? I hear about North Central, Homestead, even Zionsville more than I hear about the Warriors, and I feel like we’ve even done a poor job of highlighting Warren Central as well this season. All they’ve done is start the season 13-1 on the state’s 3rd toughest schedule. Last season, one in which they celebrated a Class 4A State Championship, they were just a modest 8-5 on this date a year ago. Indiana commit Shaila Beeler and Michigan State commit Cydni Dodd, both Seniors, remain the heart and soul of this team, but it has actually been Junior K’Ja Talley who is leading them in scoring this time around. The 5-9 Wing has been explosive and always plays with a motor. The Warriors do have a tough 3-game stretch right around the corner, as they are set to host Hamilton Southeastern this coming Thursday, before travelling to Zionsville and then hosting Jeffersonville. They finish the regular season with a trip to North Central on January 25th.   Header photo of Ella Thompson of Center Grove High School; photo courtesy of dailyjournal.net. Photo of Malea Jackson courtesy of DeShonne Jackson's Twitter account. Photo of Shaila Beeler courtesy of www.indystar.com.