With the boys basketball postseason coming around quickly, Bounce is here to quick preview and discuss the area Sectionals, now in Class 2A.
SECTIONAL AT WESTVIEW
Projected Winner: Westview
From the get go, Westview looked every bit of contender in the NECC and they fell just short at 8-2, one game back from first place Lakeland. Back-to-back 17 wins seasons show that coach Chandler Prible has a lot of things clicking in his favor but Westview wants to and maybe needs to win now. Their senior class is loaded with talent led by Wiley Minix (9 ppg) and Wyatt Zepp (9.2 ppg), and featuring a hot-hand of late Luke Helmuth (13.3 pig). Helmuth is coming off a 30 point outing against Concord that was wildly important in a 40-39 win as he was one of just three Warriors to score. Yes, that is the rarity for Westview who usually moves with good depth, but Helmuth’s emergence down the stretch probably has a lot to do with Westview being a favorite here.
Keep an eye on that senior group but also on the underclass. Freshman Austin Schlabach is the future of this program and his comfort has clearly risen throughout the season. Sophomore Kaden Grau has had a really solid season for the Warriors and junior Owen Brill is capable of getting loose shooting the ball. When you factor in this Sectional being played on their home court and Westview having the best home court advantage perhaps in the entire area, they slide to the top here.
Player you can’t miss: Conner Slee, Fremont
The sharpshooting guard for the Eagles has been worth the price of admission throughout the season. He is fifth in the NECC at 16 points per game and when he goes off, he has been a lights out shooter including 38 points (nine made threes) against Prairie Heights and 33 points against Lakewood Park. To keep his scoring down, teams have really needed to make a plan to face guard him and keep him from being able to get his shot off. What has helped is that Fremont has found perimeter consistency from others like Colten Guthrie, Cayden Hufnagle and Ethan Grimm so it has allowed Slee to get more comfortable later in the season.
Don’t be surprised if: Central Noble comes out of the top heavy bracket
The bottom half of the bracket contains three of the bottom four teams in the NECC, who have has many combined wins (17) as Westview does. The top half features three of the top 5 finishing teams in the NECC. Needless to say that this is one of those Sectionals you’d want seeded and it makes a wild affair up top. Westview edged Fremont, Fremont edged Central Noble and yes, Westview also has a win over Central Noble. But those three teams are close enough that things could get real wild up top trying to get a position in Saturday’s final.
Central Noble is in the best shape with their bye into Friday’s semi final round. Drew Pliett is averaging 15.1 points per game and is among the best scorers in the conference (which all teams in this Sectional are from). He is crafty and it really opens up the floor for the Cougars, who can then engage down low with Isaiah Gard or work on the perimeter with Redick Zolman or Jackson Andrews. The Cougars have solid depth, but so do all of the top side teams here. Central Noble simply has the best draw and also have the, odd-to-say, luxury of losing to both Fremont and Westview during the regular season so they may have a tad bit more motivation to win this title.
SCHEDULE
WESTVIEW SECTIONAL
Tuesday
Westview vs. Fremont, 6 p.m.
Churubusco vs. Prairie Heights, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
Central Noble vs. Westview/Fremont winner, 6 p.m.
Eastside vs. Churubusco/Prairie Heights winner, 7:30 p.m.
Saturday
Championship, 7:30 p.m.
SECTIONAL AT BLUFFTON
Projected Winner: Adams Central
Don’t get me wrong, this is the hardest Sectional to predict in the area, maybe even in the state. The esteemed John Harrell lists four of the teams between a 19.5 percent and 30 percent chance of winning. And one of the teams not in that area is a Whitko team that just beat Manchester, who is listed with a 19.5 percent chance of winning. I personally, think we will see Adams Central/Blackhawk Christian and Manchester/Bishop Luers in Friday’s semi final. And since I “have to” predict these things, I believe Adams Central will player Luers on Saturday night. But things could go wild.
Issac Schultz has equals in this Sectional. His height doesn’t give him the immediate edge, but will his work ethic do so? Schultz isn’t going to back down in the post from contact so how he potentially plays against the Kellen Picketts, Gavin Bettens, Danny Kellys or Kyler Krulls of the world is crucial. Micah McClure hasn’t gotten enough love for what he brings to this Adams Central team and how he makes everything tick. McClure is a quality lead guard and has the tendency to be a lights out shooter. The way he runs the floor and gets others like Ryan Tester and Trace Maller to run with him is massive and will be massive this week in a Sectional full of teams that can really move.
Player you can’t miss: Sam Essegian, Whitko
Take your pick here, so many options. Here is why I go with Sam Essegian.
First, Whitko is given the least love of any of the five favorites in this Sectional. Two, Essegian is a winner and knows how to win. He has tremendous success in the postseason and other times at Central Noble so having him is a major asset to Whitko.
At 13.7 points per game and the Wildcats’ number two scorer, Essegian’s length is real problem on both ends of the floor. He plays aggressive and with 7.8 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game, he knows how to put his body in the right positions to take control of games or at least push his team that way.
Don’t be surprised if: We are just confused, yet entertained at the end the week
This is already a confusing Sectional. There are legitimately five teams who could lay stake here. All five of them come in with at least 18 wins and the 105 combined wins of this Sectional are the third most in the state, while the .669 winning percentage is fourth and both are tops in Class 2A.
Who is Luers at this point? Lately, they’ve got some powerful wins (like Bellmont) and then some what happened losses (New Haven, Huntington North). But they also feature the two most athletic kids in this Sectional in Dereon and Drelyn Truesdale. They have the ability to play successfully at a frantic pace and until the game actually happened (it was close by the way), we thought they could be the team to knock off Wayne and win the SAC. They are still, potentially, that team so they area a high threat to win this Sectional.
Does Manchester have enough depth to contend with some really deep and powerful teams? Many in the area question that because the TRC is an outlier. First off, get on the Gavin Betten (21.9 ppg, 10.9 rpg) train. He’s a junior, there is still time and I’ve been (rightfully) singing his praises all season. Fellow junior Ethan Hendrix has had a really nice year as well. The downside of Manchester right now is that season ending loss to a good Mississinewa team is one they shouldn’t have had.
Blackhawk Christian isn’t looked at with as much overwhelming confidence as past seasons. Yet, they have two major contributors from last season’s state title team in 6-foot-9 Kellen Pickett and lights out shooter Isaac Smith. The emergence of Aiden Muldoon as a high level distributor that can also pick and pop his shot is massive for the Braves’ hopes to repeat.
Adams Central, as I listed above, is my favorite for all of those reasons. But if someone can slow down Schultz and they have an off night shooting, the Flying Jets could be caput against these other powerful teams.
Whitko isn’t given as much of a chance as the others but Kyler Krull is a game changing scorer and is averaging 19.3 per game. Sam Essegian (13.7 ppg) and Riley Harman (8.6 ppg) have both put together pretty good seasons and that recent win over Manchester gives a lot of hope that the boys from South Whitley could make waves too.
At the end of the day, this is going to be an entertaining week at Bluffton and if you aren’t attached to a particular area Sectional, this is the one I would push you to watch.
SCHEDULE
BLUFFTON SECTIONAL
Tuesday
South Adams vs. Adams Central, 6 p.m.
Wednesday
Manchester vs. Whitko, 6 p.m.
Bluffton vs. Bishop Luers, 7:30 p.m.
Friday
South Adams/Adams Central winner vs. Blackhawk Christian
Bluffton/Bishop Luers winner vs. vs. Manchester/Whitko winner
Saturday
Championship, 7 p.m.
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