This Saturday, December 19, will be the fourth annual Champions of Character Classic, held at Grace College’s Manahan Orthopaedic Capital Center. All five games on the day will feature Outside the Huddle Area teams, six teams in total over those games.
Something fun that the Classic does each year is select a ‘Champion of Character’ award winner to help promote sportsmanship. Below are quick looks into each of the five games on the schedule.
SNIDER VS. SOUTH BEND RILEY, 12:45 P.M.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Aidan Lambert, Snider: He is one of two Panthers averaging over 20 points per game in the season, sitting at 20.3 while shooting 67 percent from the field. Lambert is highly efficient and can hurt you in a lot of ways. His pull up is solid and he is head strong pushing to the rim, not afraid at all of contact. He also leads Snider at 6.3 rebounds per game.
Blake Wesley, South Bend Riley: The Notre Dame commit is one of the guys who’s name appears as a Mr. Basketball candidate. He has absolutely torched everybody all season, averaging 32.3 points per game. He was actually held to a season low 29 points on 38 percent shooting against North Side. Yeah, that is a bad game for Wesley. He is a practically unguardable offensive player, shooting 65 percent from inside the arc.
Isaiah Robinson, South Bend Riley: He is the Wildcats’ fourth leading scorer at just six points per game, but Robinson is noteworthy as a familiar face. He played for Concordia Lutheran last season and shined this summer with the Indy Heat organization. He is a high energy guy who moves well on both ends of the court.
KEYS FOR SNIDER
Rebound the Basketball: The Panthers don’t want to have to fight for their lives on the boards. They got out rebounded by Wayne. They got out rebounded massively by Leo. They average over six less rebounds per game than SB Riley. With the Panthers lack of overall size, this has to become an all hands on deck area. Lambert, Grant Brown and Jade Moore will probably continue to lead the way but all of the Panthers should be crashing the boards.
Throw different looks at Wesley: There is zero doubt that Snider coach Jeremy Rauch has put together a good gameplay on how to try and slow Blake Wesley. But it is important that the Panthers don’t get too comfortable with any one look. Nobody has really stopped Wesley yet, so throwing a few different defenders and/or packages at him could be something.
BOUNCE’S PREDICTION
I enjoy Snider basketball’s fast and loose play as much as the next guy, but this is an uphill battle. If the Panthers have struggled anywhere this year, it is defensively. They have to be tough and be tough fast for this one. A Friday meeting with North Side will only heighten their defensive senses, but the Panthers have yet to see someone like Blake Wesley. Snider will fight, they have a ton of that. But is a ton enough? BOUNCE PICKS SOUTH BEND RILEY
LEO VS. SHENANDOAH, 2:30 P.M.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Blake Davison, Leo: Davison’s high motor has been something to praise during his entire high school career. The kid just keeps going and going. But during the Lions’ start this season, Davison has been able to transition into a calming presence. Against four early SAC opponents, when the pace has gotten too frantic, Davison has been able to slow things down and extend possessions. That kind of pace setting will come in handy.
Jakeb Kinsey, Shenandoah: He is a good mirror for Davison as a guy who can get to the rim intelligently and is a head strong defender. He is tenacious on both ends of the floor, averaging 19.7 points and 4.7 assists per game. The battle between he and Davison will be a fun one to watch.
Kaden McCullough, Shenandoah: A guard who leads his team in rebounding, McCullough is going to one to battle. Whoever matches up with him has to face guard him tough, even off ball. He is capable of stepping out and shooting and will certainly not just watch shots, he’s going to go after the rebound always.
KEYS FOR LEO
Don’t Settle: The Lions are always regarded as a strong shooting team. They are capable on going on big runs with that shooting and Blake Davison, like his brothers before him, can be lights out from behind the line. Yet, if you look at Leo’s numbers this year, they aren’t shooting a ton of three pointers. Be it by design or not, this has worked in their favor and is important Saturday. Don’t settle for a perimeter shot, get in and bang around in the post. Score at the rim and leave the long range shots for an occasional boost.
Dominate the Glass: This is huge for the Lions. They play at their best when DJ Allen and Zack Troyer are each putting up close to double digit numbers on the glass. But they also have other guys who will attack the rim to get the ball, including Davison and Ayden Ruble. Leo is bigger with Shenandoah boasting just one player at 6-foot-6 and that guy, Kam Graddy, only has one game under his belt where he had just three rebounds.
BOUNCE’S PREDICTION
Both teams may enter this game unbeaten and it could be one of the best matchups you’ll see on Saturday. The two teams mirror each other pretty well with the exception of Leo just being bigger on the interior. Expect a dog fight in this one, where depth is key. One of these teams is just deeper right now and dog fight tested. BOUNCE PICKS LEO
CENTRAL NOBLE VS. DEKALB, 4:15 P.M.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Sawyer Yoder, Central Noble: Yoder’s play needs to be more consistent game in and game out. When he hit his stride mid to late last season, he was arguably the best player on the court some nights. Expect that it has been preached to Yoder how important his focus and aggression is going forward.
Cole Richmond, DeKalb: Plenty of other guys have contributed in major ways, but nobody knows this system or level of expectation better than Richmond. And there probably isn’t a guy in the program who wants a signature win more than him. He is a very good scorer who gets more comfortable every game diversifying that scoring.
KEYS FOR CENTRAL NOBLE
Logan Gard: But wait, isn’t this just another key player? Not really. Because the Cougars don’t use Gard as a primary weapon. But in this instance, Gard has to step up against a really quality big. While both teams will attack well on the perimeter, there are chances this game comes down to the inside. Gard has to play tough basketball on Saturday.
Close out on Shooters: Remember when I said that both teams will attack on the perimeter? DeKalb is adept at moving the ball around. Nolan Nack opened the year hot against Northrop and Cole Richmond, Brantley Hickman, Alex Leslie and Jackson Barth are all capable shooters. Central Noble can’t play lazy when getting out on these guys.
KEYS FOR DEKALB
Work off Penrod: Penrod getting comfortable working off the elbows and blocks will open a lot of things up. While Central Noble knows they have to throw some difference stuff at hit, that doesn’t mean the ball shouldn’t consistently go Penrod’s way. Get him the ball so he can chin it and make some decisions.
Defend Diversely: The key to getting by Central Noble is by keeping them off guard. You can’t just throw the same defense or scheme at them over and over and expect it to work for 32 minutes. Find different matchups that work, don’t be afraid to mix things up so that the Cougars can’t maintain balance.
BOUNCE’S PREDICTION
Is there a game more difficult to predict? We know about Central Noble yet they’ve left so many questions too after a loss to Westview. DeKalb looked stellar in their season debut on Thanksgiving Eve…and then didn’t play for 20 days before taking on three games this week. You have to assure court rust and/or stamina comes into play at some point. BOUNCE PICKS CENTRAL NOBLE
WARSAW VS. PORTAGE, 6:00 P.M.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Jaxson Gould, Warsaw: The sophomore has really taken pride in his play so far this season and is coming off a great buzzer beater. You may not find a player in this game who is more confident right now than Gould. He leads Warsaw at 11.8 points per game, leading the team in both three pointers made and free throws made.
Kamari Slaughter, Portage: It never hurts to start with a do everything guy. Slaughter does everything. Leading Portage in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals, everything that the Indians do runs through the 6-foot-4 sophomore. As long as he can penetrate whatever defense Warsaw throws out and he can get inside the arc, he is going to be hard to slow.
KEYS FOR WARSAW
Make Portage Shoot: There are just two Portage players hitting above 38 percent from deep and one of them is just 1-of-2. Warsaw really wants to cut off the Indians from getting too interior with their offense. If they can make the Indians just chuck up shots, it is a good day.
Be Tough: Overall, Portage is probably bigger but Warsaw hasn’t played small all year. 6-foot Judah Simfukwe and 6-2 Jaxson Gould have scored as well at the rim as anyone else on the Tiger roster. Those two, along with senior Luke Adamiec play fearless. So play fearless, beat and bang for buckets.
BOUNCE’S PREDICTION
This is a pretty close contest. Portage is just finding their stride here early on while Warsaw has put out some good performances, both in wins and losses. Experience and consistent play may be the most important part here. BOUNCE PICKS WARSAW
HOMESTEAD VS. SOUTH BEND ST. JOSEPH, 7:45 P.M.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Fletcher Loyer, Homestead: If anyone didn’t know about Loyer’s upside after his transfer and before he took the court for the Spartans, they know now. And they know loudly. He is coming off his best game of the season and his addition to this lineup has just made them stronger and they spread out the ball.
JR Konieczny, South Bend St. Joe: Another Notre Dame commit to participate on the day, his length makes him a difficult matchup for a lot of people. While Homestead can match him in that department, Konieczny is incredibly crafty and difficult to prepare for. He isn’t going to make many mistakes or force many shots so he requires your best defensive attention.
KEYS FOR HOMESTEAD
Beat the Brother: Well you can’t let Chris Johnson lose to brother Mark, can you? With the holidays coming up, do your coach a favor and give him some dinner table bragging rights. These are two tremendous coaches, two of the best in the state and the game should be a real chess match as neither is opposed to mixing things up on game day.
Don’t make little Mistakes: The South Bend St. Joe full court pressure defense is a headache. Just ask Goshen, who coughed the ball up 15 times in the first half in a December 12 loss. Homestead has faced some solid pressure this year, so they just need to keep that same calm when South Bend St. Joe throws their own defense out there. Make good passes, don’t rush and don’t panic. Sounds simple. Will it be?
BOUNCE’S PREDICTION
How much will it fluster South Bend St. Joe when their full court pressure doesn’t fluster Homestead? Because I really don’t think it will. The Spartans have tremendous ball movement and the intelligence and length to make a lot of things work when getting around the best traps teams can throw out. BOUNCE PICKS HOMESTEAD
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