Lawrence North Wildcats (Indianapolis, IN)

[Golferdow01]

Anyone else watching the game tonight?

Oden is a man among boys.

 

[wadc45]

yeah he is...

Gordon's dunk off the steal was pretty nice...

 

[Bucktastic]

Anyone else watching the game tonight?

Oden is a man among boys.

Agreed. Its childs play out there. Pure domination.

 

[Golferdow01]

Oden with an In-Your-Face block!

 

[Buckeye513]

Already over his average, and has a double-double.

Complete beast he is.

 

[wadc45]

Complete beast he is.

believe hard this is considering the force he does not use...

 

[Magua]

First off, yes Oden is dominating.

However Lawrence North's intensity really dropped off in the 3rd quarter and the lead was cut to 9 early in the 4th.

However, highlights are coming out of the woodwork now, and that Gordon guy from Central just had one of the sickest blocks i've ever seen in a mid-air alley oop.

 

[TheStoicPaisano]

Way to end it, Greg. LOL.

 

[bucknut11]

Lawrence North is currently ranked #1 in the country according to SI.com

The Wildcats won the prestigious Marion County Tournament by beating North Central, 78-55, before a crowd of 5,000. But the Wildcats won't be able to celebrate for long as they take a 29-game winning streak to North Central on Thursday for a rematch in an ESPN2 headliner. Seven-foot senior Greg Oden had three dunks during a 14-2 fourth-quarter run, which broke open a close game, and finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds (nine offensive) and three blocks. Point guard Mike Conley also had 23 points to go with nine rebounds and five assists. Junior Damian Windham (6-4) contributed 15 points. In the quarterfinals, the Wildcats ousted Indiana's Class 4A No. 3 Pike, 73-60, as Oden had 23 points, 17 rebounds and five blocks. Conley had 17 points and five assists. Conley scored 23 points in an 81-40 rout of Ben Davis.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

LINK

1/20/06

lawrence north 78, north central 59

Top recruits show they're prime-time players
Oden, Conley and Gordon impress on national TV

After his past two nationally televised games, Greg Oden admitted to being a little nervous at the start, in part because of the disruption such a situation causes. Previously, he was ushered through television interviews the afternoon of a game, sitting in front of a bank of lights with reporters he didn't know and technicians running to and fro.

Prior to Thursday's game at North Central telecast on ESPN2, there was none of that. And there was no stopping Oden.

With a dozen family members in attendance from his hometown of Buffalo, N.Y., the 7-foot center scored 23 of his game-high 33 points in the first half as Lawrence North built a huge lead and held off the Panthers 78-59 in front of a frenzied, sold-out crowd at the 3,200-seat North Central gymnasium.

In the best of his three national television appearances, Oden also had 12 rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists. He shot 13-for-18 from the field and 7-for-8 from the line. He hit a jumper and a mini-hook on a spin move, but most of the time he was able to get position on the low block for layups and dunks.

"My teammates were getting me the ball," Oden said. "They did a great job of taking their man's pressure off me and that got me one on one. When I'm one on one, the coaches ask for me to shoot the ball."

The two-time defending Class 4A state champions also got 18 points from senior point guard Mike Conley.

Illinois-bound North Central junior guard Eric Gordon scored 23 of his 27 points in the second half. In his first game on national television, Gordon shot 10-for-25 from the field, including 2-for-9 from 3-point range. He was 2-for-11 in the first half as North Central fell behind 38-19. He did have a spectacular blocked shot of an alley-oop to Brandon McDonald.

With three of the nation's top-ranked players on the court in Oden, Conley and Gordon, the game drew plenty of famous faces.

Ohio State coach Thad Matta, who gets Oden and Conley next year, and Illinois coach Bruce Weber were part of a crowd that also included five members of the Colts -- Tarik Glenn, David Thornton, Larry Tripplett, Aaron Moorehead and Troy Walters.

Oden's father, Greg Sr., and the rest of his family contingent from Buffalo sported baseball caps they had made with "Oden 50" in Lawrence North colors.

Gordon spent most of the night being chased by McDonald, a 6-2 guard.
"Brandon McDonald doesn't get as much credit as he should," Oden said.
"He played great defense. (Gordon's) a great player, and he's going to get his. But Brandon was out there chasing him, and in the first half you had great help. I give Brandon all the credit for this game."

Oden was unstoppable in the first half with 23 points on 9-for-10 shooting and 11 rebounds.

The top-ranked Wildcats, who improved to 14-0 and pushed their winning streak to 30 games, led by as many as 23 points early in the third quarter.

No North Central player other than Gordon scored more than seven points.
"We knew that defense was going to control the game," Conley said.

"We knew if we played good defense, the offense would take care of itself."
Behind Gordon, who also guarded Conley in the second half, Class 4A No. 6 North Central (11-3) went on a furious rally, getting within 58-49 a minute into the fourth quarter. Gordon had 13 points in the third quarter and hit 5-of-6 shots during one stretch, but the Panthers suffered the same fate as Saturday, an 80-66 defeat to Lawrence North in the final of the Marion County Tournament.

"We just got so far behind," Gordon said. "We had a little run in the second half, but it's tough to come back on a team like that. It's hard to score inside with Greg in the paint. We lacked intensity at the start, and that hurt us."

LAWRENCE NORTH 78 NORTH CENTRAL 59
Lawrence North18202020--78North Central6132614--59
Lawrence North -- Owen 2-7 3-4 8, McDonald 3-9 0-0 6, Conley 7-12 3-4 18, Windham 4-8 1-1 9, Oden 13-18 7-8 33, Jones 1-1 0-0 2, Thomas 0-0 0-0 0, Read 1-1 0-0 2, VanTreese 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-56 15-17 78.
North Central -- Finkton 2-4 0-0 4, Gordon 10-25 5-6 27, Malone 1-5 5-7 7, Campbell 1-6 0-0 3, Hodzic 3-8 0-0 6, McCain 1-2 0-0 2, Barlow 2-7 0-0 4, Latimore 2-2 0-0 6. Totals 22-59 10-13 59.
3-point goals -- Lawrence North 1-6 (McDonald 0-3, Conley 1-3), North Central 5-19 (Finkton 0-1, Gordon 2-9, Barlow 0-3, Campbell 1-4, Latimore 2-2). Rebounds -- Lawrence North 32 (Oden 12), North Central 32 (Gordon 6). Assists -- Lawrence North 17 (Owen 6), North Central 13 (Campbell 4). Turnovers -- Lawrence North 9, North Central 16. Total fouls -- Lawrence North 13, North Central 14. Fouled out -- Windham.

Call Star reporter Jeff Rabjohns at (317)-444-6183

The lines

• Greg Oden, Lawrence North: 33 points, 12 rebounds, four blocked shots, three assists.
• Eric Gordon, North Central: 27 points, six rebounds, two assists, one block.
• Mike Conley, Lawrence North: 18 points, two assists, four steals.

 

[buckeyeboy]

Is anyone else a little surprised at the offense Lawrence North runs? I was wondering why the coach has Oden setting screen on the ball at the top of the key so much. As a result, he's out of position on a lot of rebounds. I'd tell him to never leave the post area if I were coaching.

 

[bucknut11]

Lawrence North is holding steady at #1 in SI.com's power rankings

The Wildcats strutted their stuff for a capacity crowd of 3,200 and a national TV audience with a 78-59 victory over rival North Central. The crowd included Ohio State coach Thad Matta and Illinois coach Bruce Weber, as well as many of Greg Oden's relatives from Buffalo, N.Y., who were wearing hats bearing his name and uniform number. The 7-foot superstar responded brilliantly with 33 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks and three assists. He made 13-of-18 shots from the floor and 7-of-8 free throws. Senior point guard Mike Conley scored 18 points. The Wildcats, who have a 30-game winning streak, sizzled with 31-of-56 shooting from the field and 15-of-17 from the line, while making just nine turnovers in the pressure-filled game.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

indystar

1/25/06

lawrence north 69, warren central 38

Wildcats draw closer to state-record winning streak

Should Lawrence North finish without a loss, it would tie Attucks' 45 in a row

By Jeff Rabjohns
[email protected]

It's getting to the point where Lawrence North's biggest basketball test might come from history.

With a 69-38 victory at Warren Central on Tuesday night, the Wildcats ran their record to 15-0 and pushed their winning streak to 31 games.

They have seven regular-season games left and possibly seven in the postseason. If they run the table and finish with an unbeaten state championship, their winning streak will be 45, matching the state record set by legendary Oscar Robertson-led Crispus Attucks from 1954-55 through 1955-56.

"I didn't even know the winning streak we had going," said senior point guard Mike Conley, who scored 21 points in 22 minutes Tuesday. "Now that you mention it, it would be an honor to be mentioned with those great basketball players and be a part of Indiana history. But we're just worried about one game at a time and winning a state championship rather than a winning streak."

History has become part of the discussion surrounding Lawrence North because it has been so dominant. The Wildcats are winning by an average of 24.7 points; no team has come closer than 13 points. If nothing else, Lawrence North's run has made Attucks' winning streak part of the conversation.

"That's an honor," said senior center Greg Oden, who had 21 points, 14 rebounds and two blocked shots in 24 minutes. "We've still got however many games left, and we are going to take it one game at a time, play our hardest and hopefully win another state championship.

"We know we can't look that far ahead because every team is going to come at us hard."

As the two-time defending Class 4A champs, the Wildcats, ranked No. 1 in the state and No. 1 in the nation by Sports Illustrated, take the best shot from every opponent. Another state title would tie them with Franklin (1920-22) and Marion (1985-87) as the only schools with three consecutive state championships.

"They don't even know what you're talking about, probably, although they did meet Oscar once," Lawrence North coach Jack Keefer said of Attucks' record. "We just don't talk in those terms. We talk about what we did to get back on defense better, what we did to block out better.

"I guess I'm like (Colts coach Tony) Dungy: I go for what's next in line.

You've got to play every game to win, every game to do your best."

Lawrence North already has beaten the two teams, North Central and Pike, commonly viewed as the most legitimate threats. The Wildcats handled North Central 78-55 and 78-59 and beat Pike 73-60. The victory over Pike is as close as any team has come to the Wildcats this season.

With Oden, the national high school Player of the Year, and Conley, one of the nation's top-ranked point guards, and a number of other athletic players, Lawrence North has become a stellar defensive team. They're holding opponents to 32 percent shooting. Warren Central, an above-average team with an 11-3 record, shot just 25 percent.

Conley said the senior class has learned, from two previous state championship seasons that each included two losses, that a lack of focus can quickly mean a loss.

"A lot of us have started varsity since our freshman year. We were on those teams that were 24-2 and 29-2," Conley said. "How we lost those four games was letdowns."

Against Warren Central, the Wildcats led by 22 points, 27-5, at the end of the first quarter. The Warriors tried to get it going from 3-point range but hit just 1-of-18 long-range shots.

Oden started the second half with 11 of his team's first 15 points, including three dunks. The Wildcats' lead reached 47-17 on Conley's offensive rebound basket with 3:57 to play in the third quarter.

Warren Central sophomore Walter Offutt, headed to Ohio State as are Oden and Conley, had 10 points and five rebounds.
Lawrence North2792013--69Warren Central581312--38
Lawrence North -- Owen 2-4 1-1 5, McDonald 2-8 0-0 5, Conley 9-14 2-4 21, Windham 1-2 0-0 2, Oden 8-13 5-5 21, Bibbs 1-1 0-0 2, Smith 0-1 0-0 0, Jones 1-5 0-0 2, Weigel 1-1 0-0 2, Smith 0-2 0-0 0, Thomas 1-2 0-1 2, Read 1-2 0-0 2, VanTreese 2-4 1-2 5. Totals 29-59 8-10 69.
Warren Central -- Offutt 5-9 0-0 10, Buggs 0-4 0-0 0, Thomas 2-16 4-4 8, Harvey 0-1 0-0 0, Smith 2-8 4-4 9, Rogers 1-3 0-1 2, Wright 0-2 0-0 0, Jones 0-5 0-0 0, Hazelett 1-2 1-2 3, Clardy 2-3 2-2 6. Totals 13-53 11-3 38.
3-point field goals -- Lawrence North 3-13 (Owne 0-1, McDonald 1-3, Smith 0-1, Conley 2-4, Jones 0-3, Smith 0-1), Warren Central 1-18 (Offutt 0-1, Wright 0-1, Buggs 0-3, Thomas 0-7, Jones 0-2, Harvey 0-1, Smith 1-3). Rebounds -- Lawrence North 48 (Oden 14, Conley 9), Warren Central 26 (Offutt 5). Assists -- Lawrence North 10 (Owen 2, Conley 2, Thomas 2), Warren Central 5 (Thomas 3). Turnovers -- Lawrence North 10, Warren Central 12. Total fouls -- Lawrence North 13, Warren Central 13. Fouled out -- None.

Call Star reporter Jeff Rabjohns at (317) 444-6183.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

link

1/29/06

LAWRENCE NORTH 76, CENTER GROVE 55
No. 1 Wildcats try something new

No fast start this time for Lawrence North, which trails for most of the 1st quarter

Lawrence North found itself in an unusual position in the early going Saturday night against Center Grove: behind.

After a string of games in which fast starts led to easy victories, the state's top-ranked team trailed the Trojans for most of the first quarter.

The host Wildcats weren't able to put away their 76-55 Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference victory until midway through the fourth quarter.

"What I really liked was the maturity and workmanlike approach of our team," Lawrence North coach Jack Keefer said after his team ran its winning streak to 31 games and improved to 16-0 and 4-0 in the conference.

"We've had so many quick starts of late that it was really good for us to see how we'd react when we didn't have a quick start."

The Ohio State-bound duo of 7-0 center Greg Oden (23 points, 16 rebounds, four blocked shots) and point guard Mike Conley (22 points, four assists, six steals) powered Lawrence North once again.

Tensions nearly boiled over in the second quarter, when Center Grove's James Nussbaum grabbed Conley by the neck and threw him to the floor as Conley was going for a fast-break layup.

Lawrence North coaches came past halfcourt, screaming for Nussbaum to be ejected. The officiating crew of Tom Walter, Mike Bohan and Joe Bauer called an intentional foul on Nussbaum and, after a discussion, a technical on the Lawrence North bench and ejected Lawrence North assistant Jim Etherington. Afterward, Etherington said he was simply trying to keep the situation from escalating.

"The officials are my friends and the coaches at Lawrence North are my friends, but I really felt there was a loss of control there," Center Grove coach Cliff Hawkins said. "Where I realize the coaching box to be and where it seemed to be out there in that melee, more than one technical could have been called."

Conley, one of the nation's top-ranked point guards, landed awkwardly but got up, hit both free throws and played the rest of the game.

"I anticipated him staying back and he just came out of nowhere," Conley said. "I was scared, because I didn't know what was going on. I was just hoping I didn't hurt anything when I hit the ground.

"I was cool. I'm fine, bumps and bruises like every game."

Hawkins said Nussbaum was elbowed in the head on a prior play.

"I think he was just trying to hustle," Hawkins said. "My goodness, if they're going to win the state championship, they're going to have somebody make a harder foul than that. Mike Conley's going to Ohio State, he can handle that."

The rest of the game was a typically physical MIC contest that included an impressive performance from Center Grove's Tyler Kitchel. The junior guard, who had 41 points in a 69-67 loss at Carmel, scored 25 points, hitting 6-for-11 from 3-point range.

The Trojans (9-5, 2-2 MIC) shot almost as well on 3-pointers (9-for-22) as they did on two-pointers (11-for-26). Center Grove hung around for nearly three quarters, trailing just 45-41 with 1:35 left in the period.

But Conley started driving, Oden started dunking and Qadr Owen and Brandon McDonald started hitting 3-pointers. By the time the 20-5 run was over, Lawrence North led 65-46.

Lawrence North is now one of only two unbeatens in the state, along with Shelbyville, after Valparaiso and Hauser lost on Saturday.
Center Grove12141514--55Lawrence North14171827--76
Center Grove -- Gray 5-15 0-0 11, Kamo 1-4 0-0 2, Kitchel 7-15 5-7 25, Price 3-9 1-4 7, Deffner 2-3 0-0 4, Hazelbaker 1-1 0-0 3, Kaylor 0-0 0-0 0, Hensley 0-0 0-0 0, Gill 0-0 0-0 0, Nussbaum 0-0 0-2 0, Clawson 1-1 0-0 3. Totals 20-48 6-13 55.
Lawrence North -- Owen 4-5 0-1 9, McDonald 2-8 0-0 5, Conley 7-13 6-7 22, Windham 3-6 6-6 12, Oden 8-12 7-7 23, L. Smith 0-0 1-2 1, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Weigel 0-2 0-2 0, W. Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Thomas 0-1 0-0 0, Read 1-3 0-0 2, VanTreese 0-1 2-2 2. Totals 25-51 22-27 76.
3-point goals -- Center Grove 9-22 (Kitchel 6-11, Hazelbaker 1-1, Gray 1-6, Clawson 1-1), Lawrence North 4-10 (Conley 2-5, Owen 1-1, McDonald 1-3, Thomas 0-1). Rebounds -- Center Grove 20 (Price 5), Lawrence North 42 (Oden 16). Assists -- Center Grove 11 (Gray 4), Lawrence North 14 (Conley 4). Turnovers -- Center Grove 14, Lawrence North 12. Total fouls -- Center Grove 23, Lawrence North 11. Technical -- Lawrence North bench. Officials -- Tom Walter, Mike Bohan, Joe Bauer.

 

[bucknut11]

LN is still #1 according to SI.com

The Wildcats continued to play great defense as they won twice to extend their winning streak to 32 games. They had just 10 turnovers while holding Warren Central to 25 percent shooting (1-of-18 on 3s) in a 69-38 victory. Seven-foot senior Greg Oden and point guard Mike Conley each scored 21 points in three quarters. Oden also had 14 rebounds. Oden contributed 23 points, 16 rebounds and four blocks in a 76-55 victory over Center Grove. Conley survived a big scare when he was grabbed by the neck and thrown to the floor while headed for a fast-break layup in the second quarter. He made both free throws and finished the game with 22 points, six steals and four assists.