It is easy sometimes to jump to wild conclusions about teams based on their records.
As the girls seasons is virtually over at this point and the boys season has turned the corner to the second half after some conference tournaments, most people’s minds are made up about teams this season and, lets be honest, maybe about programs and players going forward.
But records don’t always tell a true story.
So today, Bounce is looking at five area teams who’s records aren’t the whole book or even the big picture for programs.
CONCORDIA BOYS (6-6)
After last week’s win over Leo, the Cadets are not as under the radar as you’d think anymore. In fact, they probably shouldn’t have been in the first place but it makes sense considering the four game skid they went on from December 27-January 3 and the lack of a win streak of more than two games so far this season. Yet, even in loss, the Cadets have made some waves. It took Blackhawk Christian a near buzzer beater to beat them and the hung very close with Bishop Luers until later in the game, both during that four game losing streak.
But look at Concordia’s wins pre-Leo game even: they topped Bellmont, they beat Columbia City, have a win over a very talented NorthWood squad and beat a Dwenger team who has recently beaten Carroll themselves. Cole Hayworth has made some monstrous moments along the way while Avery Cook has taken better lead guard leadership and guys like Sam Eggold, Max Adair, Ben Bentz and Will Schlegel have helped the Cadet depth.
Also, coach Phil Brackmann has come out with a vengeance this season with arguably the best beard in the area.
CENTRAL NOBLE GIRLS (11-9)
The Cougars have a winning record with time almost up in the regular season and that is fantastic. But you can see how some might overlook them at just above .500 on the year.
Look no further than the last 10 games to see just how good Central Noble is however. They are winners of seven of the last 10 games with three and four game winning streaks along the way. Central Noble has lost their last two, but one of those was by two in the NECC Tournament to eventual tournament champion Eastside. The next game, they dropped an overtime game by two points to NECC leader Fairfield. Both of those games show just how close the Cougars are to making major waves and if they don’t have time to do it in the conference, we have to assume they will be able to in the postseason.
Central Noble has three players averaging double digits, led by Abby Pliett’s 12 per game. And while Grace Swank (10.2 ppg, 7.6 rpg) is one of the best sophomores in the area, second leading scorer Melissa McCoy has made a fantastic transition to the high school varsity world this season, averaging 10.8 points per game.
EAST NOBLE BOYS (7-6)
The Knights have lost three straight and haven’t played a game since January 5. That streak of losses and rather long layoff of games doesn’t exactly have East Noble in the forefront of many minds right now.
But this is a team that won four straight between December 19 and 28 and hold wins over NECC frontrunner Lakeland and NE8 contender Columbia City; and CC has big wins all season including Homestead, Blackhawk Christian and Bellmont. East Noble has been able to find tremendous balance but has struggled to have a full lineup with Nathan Bowker, Mason Treesh and Kobe Ritchie all missing some critical time.
Down the stretch of the NE8 schedule however, East Noble has to be considered a contender especially if they can stay healthy. This is a team who has a multitude of players that can score at a high level including those three and some breakout performances from Ryker Quake and Owen Van Gessel.
FREMONT GIRLS (11-8)
This is a team with the best current record on this list but for some reason, Bounce doesn’t feel like the area is giving enough credit to Fremont for how this season has gone.
The team, with winning streaks of four and five games this season, already has the most wins since the 2019-2020 season and could have one of the best five series (in terms of wins) in the last 20 seasons with a big push down the stretch, even making them a bit of a postseason threat as well as they are 3-2 against their Sectional opponents this season.
This is a team with some experience but still very young. All of the major contributors, like Addy Parr, Grace Scharlach and Mya Turner are coming back next season. Being as young as they are and accomplishing what is inches away from being a guaranteed winning season is pretty special.
WOODLAN BOYS (6-6)
Their loss to Heritage last week was a bit of a shocker for the ACAC Tournament and it robbed us of a possibly great finals rematch against Adams Central. That speaks volumes about what Woodlan is capable of considering that nobody else has been able to play with AC in terms of pace and high scoring volume; yet Woodlan did in a 77-70 loss.
With just one instance of back-to-back wins this season, I get the hesitation on looking at Woodlan highly. But still they scored 66 to beat New Haven when the Bulldogs were at full strength, the AC game will always stand out and they also hold a 32 point win over Fremont.
The Warriors have two of the very best scorers in the area with Braden Smith and Trey Yoder, while Drew Fleek and Mason Moore have both had some banner worthy moments of their own offensively. Yoder is almost averaging a double double while leading the team in points, rebounds, assists and blocks.
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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