This year’s boys basketball Hall of Fame Classic will be played on Wednesday, December 30 at New Castle High School. While, like everything else, this tournament will look much different in 2020, it is still a really big deal. Not only will northeast Indiana have a representative in Blackhawk Christian, our top-ranked OTH Area boys team, but this is fun event this year for the other teams involved.
It is rare that smaller schools have these big opportunities, so its great to have all Class 2A and Class 1A teams in the event with some big-time scorers.
Games begin at 11 a.m. with Blackford facing Shenandoah and Blackhawk Christian versus Barr-Reeve to follow. The consolation game will be played at 6 p.m. with the championship game to follow that.
Played each December, the four-team event has been in existence on the boys end for 44 years. Fourteen participating teams have gone on to win their state championship, with six more finishing as state runner-up that season.
THE FAVORITE
BLACKHAWK CHRISTIAN
So the first thing about the Braves here is that their first game to be played on Wednesday is against a familiar foe that Blackhawk Christian has significant bragging rights against. The Braves beat Barr-Reeve three -straight times from 2017-2019 by winning titles at back-to-back North Daviess Tournaments, as well as the 2019 Class 1A state finals.
These games are always significantly tough battles and this is one of the best lower-class rivalries that gets to be renewed. The pair are the top teams in their respective classes with Blackhawk Christian the top team in the IBCA poll in Class 2A and Barr-Reeve leading 1A.
That all said, this may be the best Blackhawk Christian team that we have seen in recent years, including the 2019 championship team. The Braves are both very top heavy and very deep. Caleb Furst (23.2 ppg, 14.7 rpg, 3 bpg) gets a lot of attention and respect from opponents and for good reason. He doesn’t have a solid opposing matchup most nights. Zane Burke has exploded into his senior year and is a high-level scorer (20.2 ppg) and distributor (5.2 apg). It is nearly impossible for either, let alone both, to be slowed.
The Braves are averaging 89.2 points per game and are winning by an average of over 37 points. Marcus Davidson is capable of lighting up the nets too as a top scorer and Jacob Boyer has been one of northeast Indiana’s top breakout players so far this season. Teams just don’t have the depth that Blackhawk Christian does. BC is the No. 3-ranked team in the state regardless of class. This is the Braves’ first appearance in the classic.
THE CONTENDER
BLACKFORD
You should know where we are headed here and there will be more about him below, but….Luke Brown. He has long captivated Indiana high school basketball fans with his scoring prowess and the reality is that he could fill up New Castle on his reputation alone.
This ignores however just how strong the 7-1, Class 2A No. 3 team is behind him. Landon Grimes is shooting around 70 percent combined in his three best offensive games on the season. He fights his way to get to the line and doesn’t shy away from aggression or contact; he is 19-of-22 from the charity stripe. Grimes, Brown and freshman Jack Wors have developed a solid chemistry and Wors has become a steady hand much quicker than many freshmen.
Blackford is the sixth-best scoring team in the state at 83 points per game and have not yet scored less than 70 points in a contest. The Bruins are in their first Hall of Fame Classic and head coach Grant Newlin, in his first season, is still blemish free as a head coach.
THE OTHERS
BARR-REEVE
Getting to see Barr-Reeve against Blackhawk Christian again is going to be a treat. The Vikings are the top-ranked team in Class 1A, a major state title favorite in the class and the No. 11 team in the state regardless of class heading into Wednesday’s tournament. Head coach Josh Thompson is in his third year and has lost just five games in that time with one of those losses coming this season, but three of them coming to Blackhawk Christian.
But forget about past seasons this year: Barr-Reeve’s only loss thus far was to perennial Class 4A power Carmel in overtime. Meanwhile, the Vikings are winning by more than 30 points per contest.
Curt Hopf is a significant piece that Barr-Reeve has used very successfully this season. The Bellarmine commit has been everything Barr-Reeve was waiting for as one of the best big men in the state. Hagen Knepp and Brycen Graber are two other guys that have the potential to play at all three levels on both ends of the court.
SHENANDOAH
Northeast Indiana fans just saw Shenandoah against Leo in a game that was razor close until the end of the third quarter when the Lions pulled away. Still ranked No. 5 in Class 2A, the Raiders are fighters and the Leo game showed that until the depth of the Lions took over. That may be where Shenandoah struggles in that they really have five guys that focus on and not a ton of rotations behind that. The emergence of Kam Graddy after missing the first few games has been important. He is a solid rebounder who is arguably the Raiders’ best two-way player right now.
Have the Raiders gotten better at defending below the block? That was a big issue against Leo, which is the best look for northeast Indiana fans on what the Raiders have done this season. Overall they are solid, still sitting at 6-1, and although they have a small rotation, all of the guys in it can score. Jakeb Kinsey and Graddy are their best at scoring hard at the rim with Graddy hitting 75 percent of his shots inside the arc through his first five games. Shenandoah is making their first Hall of Fame Classic appearance.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
ZANE BURKE, BLACKHAWK CHRISTIAN
Although Caleb Furst has surpassed him as the team’s leading scorer, Burke has been a monster this season. Shooting 53 percent from the field, Burke has been a steady hand and his production has only gone down in the last two games because Blackhawk Christian has won them by a combined 83 points, so he hasn’t been on the court much late. Burke is crafty in how he scores and can hurt people in a lot of ways. A willing passer, he gets his teammates involved in almost as high of a rate as he gets himself involved.
LUKE BROWN, BLACKFORD
The Stetson commit is still working his way up the Indiana basketball scoring list as one of the most prolific scorers we have seen in the history of the state. He started the year as the 44th best scorer in state history, but has risen all of the way to 17th in the state’s history with 2,260 career points. In his last game, Brown hit 33 points with six three pointers and scored 17 points in the first quarter. He is currently averaging a Classic high 33.2 points while shooting 56 percent from the field, 45 percent from three point range and is 44 of 46 from the free throw line (96%).
CURT HOPF, BARR-REEVE
What is there to say about the 6-foot-8 senior? He may be one of the best hidden gems, in a way, in the state. After not playing varsity basketball last season following a transfer and denial of eligibility, Hopf has wasted no time in reminding Indiana fans how he can glide down the court as a running big man. He is much like his morning opponent Caleb Furst of Blackhawk Christian in that he can play with his back to the basket or step out and use some range.
KAM GRADDY, SHENANDOAH
After missing the Raiders’ first two games, Graddy has come in like a wrecking ball. In his two best games of the seasons, Graddy is a combined 25 of 32 from the field with 26 points against Northeastern and 25 points against Marion, both wins. The 6-foot-6 senior is tough as nails around the basket and if he gets going, he is more than solid.
BOUNCE’S PREDICTIONS
Like with the girls Classic preview, where teams are placed says what you need to know about these games, or at least as we see them going. I am all in for Blackhawk Christian/Barr-Reeve, which I think is a really compelling storyline already. The Braves depth is going to be a problem all day and although Furst and Hopf is a fun matchup, who then handles Burke or Davidson or Boyer or Callan Wood for Barr-Reeve? The teams that can stretch the floor the most should be the favorites on Wednesday. That is why I am going with Blackhawk Christian and Blackford in the early games.
I like Barr-Reeve in a possible consolation matchup because of Hopf’s interior presence should they play Shenandoah. As for my pick for a final game, could you imagine the crowd and fanfare (if it was possible) for a Caleb Furst vs. Luke Brown event? While they may still match up later this season, this would be terrific. Brown is going to get his but does Blackford have the size and effort to stop Furst? I see Blackhawk Christian making the most of the day and winning the Hall of Fame Classic to stay unbeaten on the season.
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