Friday's Finest Faceoffs (Part 1)

There are some awesome early season matchups scheduled for this Friday, December 12th. Some of the top ranked teams in the area are playing, as well as several top players and IU targets. I picked what I think are the 14 most interesting games in the Indy area, with a few a bit further away. I've broken them down into two groups, with Part One today, and Part Two for tomorrow. Here's a taste of what's coming up tomorrow night!

4A #11 Carmel (2-1) at #5 4A North Central (3-0): One of the most intriguing matchups of the night. These two teams play differing styles, with Carmel preferring a half court game and North Central wanting to get out and run. In fact, the Panthers are fifth in the state in scoring average at 86.3 points per game. The Greyhounds can explode, as witnessed by their 93-point performance against Tech, but they will have their hands full trying to keep up with all of coach Doug Mitchell's scoring threats. Carmel features 6'10" freshman AJ Hammons, who has a linked story below. They have more size in 6'6" sophomore Robert Kitzinger and 6'5" junior Scott Laskowski, as well as a stable of talented guards, including 6'5" Kentucky football recruit Morgan Newton. The Panthers feature Purdue-bound 6'4" junior guard Terone Johnson, who recently had a 40-point game. They have strong inside play with Justin Reid, a 6'8" center with D1 interest. Of interest to IU fans is freshman standout D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, a 6'3" power guard who is tearing it up through the first three games of his high school career. He has offers from IU and Pudue already, and is making his name known on the national scene, as Evan Daniels of Scout.com recently highlighted his play in a recent feature article. Expect this one to be a closely contested matchup of opposing styles.

Ft. Wayne Concordia (1-3) at 3A #3 Ft. Wayne Bishop Dwenger (1-0)- The focus in this game is on Dwenger, the preseason #1 pick in 3A. They have dropped because of lack of exposure, with one of their two games rescheduled due to weather. The Saints won their first game in a blowout of Norwell behind 17 points from Arizona transfer Jordan Didier. Other players of interest in this game are 6'6" football standout and Notre Dame recruit Tyler Eifert (if he is healthy) and 6'8" sophomore Tony Springmann. Dwenger should roll in this one, but you never know with heated parochial matchups.

Hamilton Southeastern (3-0) at 4A #13 Noblesville (3-0)- This matchup of undefeateds should be a good one. HSE is sporadic offensively, with a high game of 81 points and a low of 48 points. The Royals are led by Indiana All-Star candidate 6'7" forward Charlie Duffy. Duffy is joined by sharpshooting Zach Starr, who has games of 17 and 13 points. One to keep an eye on for HSE is 6'1" freshman guard Gary Harris, a quick athlete who is seeing minutes as a ninth grader on a 4A squad. The #13 Millers are led by 6'4" junior guard Leland Brown, a streaky shooter who has had a game of 25, but also had ones of five and eight, but hit the winning shot in their 42-40 victory over Carmel. Another youngster to watch in this one is 6'6" freshman forward Daniel Purvlicis, a top ten player in his class statewide. He has played sparingly and put up modest numbers, but all the qualities of a D1 power forward are there, if he grows. With an oppressive home court advantage and rabid fans, expect the Millers to move to 4-0.

2A #5 Heritage Christian (2-0) at Bishop Chatard (1-0)- Fresh off their upset win of 4A Columbus East, the Eagles head to the musty old gymnasium a few miles down Binford Boulevard to face off with the 1-0 Trojans. The home team is led by senior guard Pat Kennedy, the last of the Kennedy brothers. Two junior guards also help lead the Trojans, Taylor Wayer and Aaron Bluitt, who had 17 and 16 points in the opener, respectively. The Eagles are led by 6'5" senior guard Tommy Eggleston, a dynamic athlete averaging 17 points, 7.5 boards, 3.5 assists, two steals, and 1.5 blocks a game. Clearly, he does it all for Heritage, including knocking down five three-pointers in their game against the Olympians. Senior guard David Reynolds, another sharpshooter, is putting up 14.5 a game, and 6'4" senior forward Morgan Cook (12.5 ppg last season) returns from injury for his second game. Freshman Joel Smith, a 6'6" guard, is starting for the Eagles and is deemed a top five player in his class statewide. The Eagles should be able to move to 3-0 this week while on the road.

Arlington (2-1) at 2A #18 Covenant Christian (2-0) - The Warrior are led by Butler-bound 6'9" senior center Andrew Smith, who is coming off an amazing 26 point, 20 rebound, 4 assist game (in three quarters!) against Manual. Smith is a tough matchup due to his size, strength, good mid range game, and surprising athleticism. The Golden Knights are led by senior guard Phillip Freeman, a slasher who is averaging 25.3 point per game, on of the top scorers in the area. This one will be tough for the Warriors to pull out, and I expect the overall athleticism of Arlington to win out in the end.

4A #5 Franklin Central (2-0) at Columbus North (3-1) - With a common defeated foe in Martinsville, this looks to be a quality matchup despite the disparity in ranking. The Flashes are coming off a hard-fought overtime win against Columbus East, in which their star, Purdue-bound 6'8" forward Patrick Bade had 30 points and eight boards. Bade is joined in leading Franklin Central by 5'9" point guard Casey Coons, a Taylor signee who has a high game of 20 points this season. North has the size to match up with Bade is 6'8" sophomore Tyler Greathouse and 6'7" senior Dee Jones. Greathouse is a solid prospect who could end up a D1 player. They are led in scoring by 6'2" bullish forward Phillip Tarnowski at 14.5 a a game. The Flashes should be able to get a nice road win in this one.

Lafayette Harrison (1-2) at Avon (2-1) - The Avon Orioles have played a monster schedule and done well so far, beating Plainfield and Pike (by two), and suffering a three point overtime loss to 6'9" Boiler-bound center Travis Carroll and 3A #8 Danville. Avon is the clear favorite here, and they are led by a pair of spectacular sophomore guards: 6'5" Kendall Griffin and 5'10" Juan Sarver. Griffin is a very nice D1 prospect, with a combination of size, slashing ability, and shooting prowess, as seen in his 30 point outburst on six threes against Pike. He is averaging 20.7 points per game as a tenth grader, explaining early interest from D1 schools, inluding an unconfirmed invite to Bloomington for IU's Hoosier Hysteria this fall, which he did not attend. Sarver runs the point, exhibiting great leadership on his way to putting up 14.3 points per game. The Orioles should walk away with this one and make their case for a 4A ranking.

Check back tomorrow for Part Two of the weekends' top tilts!