Each week, Bounce will pick the results of a handful of the best girls games and handful of the best boys games in the area.
This will be the final set of picks for 2023 and hopefully Bounce can be better in 2024. At this point, I really feel like I am a better motivator when picking a team to lose. Need an example? East Noble fell short when I picked them to win last Tuesday against Snider, but when I picked them to lose to Columbia City on Friday? They won. I just don’t get it.
But, coming off my best week of picks this season it will only go up from here, right?
LAST WEEK: 9-8
OVERALL: 32-23
GIRLS
Columbia City at Bishop Luers, Monday
A big opportunity for the Knights to prove that they are among the area elite this season and can really make an impact in 2024. They have to protect the ball well though because the Eagles have been so good defensively, that if they don’t take care of it, it could be a long night. BOUNCE PICKS COLUMBIA CITY
Warsaw at Huntington North, Wednesday
Huntington North is really coming into form lately and with big NE8 games still on the horizon before the postseason, a marquee win is something they’d really like. That is easier said that done against a Warsaw team just cruising. It may be one of those games where home court really does matter because of the distance between the two schools. And it may not. BOUNCE PICKS WARSAW
Lakewood Park at DeKalb, Thursday
Two of the best underrated scorers in the area go to battle here as Ava McGrade wants to up her game after multiple 30 point performances this season. To do it opposite DeKalb’s Ashley Cox would be a huge impact in this DeKalb County rivalry. BOUNCE PICKS LAKEWOOD PARK
Bluffton at Fairfield, Thursday
Bluffton has had a stellar start to their season and they deserve much more praise than most have given them. At the same time, Fairfield also probably isn’t getting enough love for their start a year after winning state and losing their coach and one of the best players in program history. Girls game of the week right here. BOUNCE PICKS FAIRFIELD
Lawrence North at Norwell, Saturday
9-3 Lawrence North has been really tough and has done so in some really tough games. This is a great test for Norwell that will certainly be one of those postseason prep games. BOUNCE PICKS NORWELL
BOYS
Warsaw at Carroll, Tuesday
Carroll fought valiantly last Friday night before coming up short in a key SAC game. I wouldn’t exactly want to be on the other side of the Chargers right now. Historically, this is one of the best underrated non-conference games in the area. Right now, Jaiyre Sampson is the area’s breakout player of the season and it will be interesting to see how Warsaw handles him. BOUNCE PICKS CARROLL
Homestead at Leo, Tuesday
With four wins in a row, things are clicking together better for Leo, but this is their biggest test outside of their two losses. Homestead can really get hot from behind the arc with a multitude of players, but Leo has shown more scoring depth in recent wins themselves. The big question here is what does Homestead have on the interior and can Leo take advantage there? BOUNCE PICKS LEO
Lakeland at Westview, Tuesday
Is this for the NECC title? It is certainly too early to make that determination but there has to be a feeling that it is at least crucial in that conference. These two teams are not far apart but at the same time, a home game at Westview (even on a Tuesday) is like a whole different world. BOUNCE PICKS WESTVIEW
Bellmont at Adams Central, Friday
The county rivalry with two teams playing really good basketball. I think Bellmont and I are on good terms, and at the risk of that changing, Adams Central looked really impressive their first week of play with Isaac Schultz flirting twice with 30 point games. He is a hard matchup for anyone this season and Bellmont is going to have to throw multiple guys at him to try and deter him. BOUNCE PICKS ADAMS CENTRAL
North Side vs. Fairfield, Saturday at Trine
A fun day to see how the NECC can measure up in both of these last two games as they face SAC schools. North Side is just dominant right now and it is a massive test for a scoring balanced Fairfield. But still a fun one to see how this Fairfield team can fare against one of the area’s best. BOUNCE PICKS NORTH SIDE
Northrop vs. Lakeland, Saturday at Trine
Another fun one that comes across more balanced. Northrop’s Dallas Lawrence looked so impressive last week in a closer than expected loss to Leo and the energetic, athletic battle between him and Lakeland’s Nate Keil sounds fun. BOUNCE PICKS LAKELAND
These opinions represent those of Bounce and Outside the Huddle. No opinions expressed on Outside the Huddle represent those of any of our advertisers. Follow Bounce on Twitter at Bounce_OTH
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