Lawrence North Wildcats (Indianapolis, IN)

[hoopsfan]

Thanks for the inside info Hoopsfan, from all I've seen (just TV) and read about Greg, he is a great kid who will be a pleasure to be involved with (albeit only as a fan) for 1 (or hope, hope, hope more) year(s) as a B-ball Buckeye.

You are absolutely right -- but none of you can even imagine what a great kid he really is. Friends he has had for years -- those he himself considers his best friends -- he still to this day calls their parents by Mr. and Mrs. _____. His respect and polite manner are something you don't see often in kids, much less superstar athletes. Greg is one of those people you cannot help but like.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

IndyStar

3/4/06

AT TECH
Warren Central sets up tonight's battle with No. 1
Warriors will face Lawrence North in attempt to halt 40-game streak

With stars Greg Oden and Mike Conley off their games, top-ranked Lawrence North needed a lift from somewhere else.

It got it from Damian Windham, Chris Read and Stephan Van Treese. And several other spots.

"We know Greg and Mike can't play five on two," Windham said after his 12 points and nine rebounds helped Lawrence North overcome a sluggish first half to beat Manual 72-42 in the semifinals of the Class 4A Tech Sectional.

"We go out and play the best defense we can, run the break. We know Greg and Mike are going to get theirs. We're just trying to follow in their footsteps and win a state championship."

Thanks to a strong effort from its supporting cast, the two-time defending state champions improved to 24-0 and pushed their overall winning streak to 40 games, five short of the state record set by Crispus Attucks during the 1954-55 and 1955-56 seasons. Lawrence North, ranked No. 1 in the nation by Sports Illustrated, faces Warren Central (17-6) at 7:30 tonight in the sectional final.

Senior forward David Smith's 22 points led Warren Central to a 72-59 victory over Lawrence Central (12-10) in the second semifinal.

Lawrence North won 69-38 at Warren Central on Jan. 24.

"All we wanted to do was get an opportunity," Warren Central coach Scott Heady said. "They're a tremendous team. They've got two of the best players in the nation.

"For us to have any kind of a chance, we're going to have to shoot it well and pretty much play our best game of the year, no question."

Ohio State coach Thad Matta was in attendance with three future Buckeyes playing -- Oden, Conley and Warren Central sophomore guard Walter Offutt.

Oden, who played just 20 minutes, had 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. He got a technical foul for hanging on the rim when he missed an alley-oop, grabbed the rim with his right hand and reached for the rebound with his left. Conley had nine points, three steals and no assists.

For the final five minutes of the second quarter, Lawrence North coach Jack Keefer went with a second line, anchored by his two tall freshmen, 6-8 Van Treese and 6-6 Read. Read finished with six points and 10 rebounds, while Van Treese added six points and six rebounds.

"The kids we put in defensively did well and added the energy we needed," Keefer said. "I didn't think our starting group had the energy we always ask of them."

The Wildcats might have been in trouble if Manual (11-10) hadn't simply been so overmatched. The Redskins, with no starter taller than 6-4 and four 6-1 or shorter, were outrebounded 56-18.

"We need to be mentally tough to play our game every night," Keefer said. "We had spurts of that in the second half."

The second semifinal, tight throughout, was tied at 40 with 5:30 left in the third quarter. Warren Central scored the final six points of the period in building a 52-43 lead and never trailed again.

Senior guard Marcus Thomas had 15 points and Offutt added 14 points and a game-high seven rebounds.

Evansville-bound guard Darin Granger had 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting to lead Lawrence Central, which shot 73 percent in the first half but just 32 percent in the second half.

Lawrence N. 72, Manual 42
Manual614157--42Lawrence North14162121--72
Manual -- Sawyers 0-2 0-0 0, Thomas 2-4 0-1 5, Britt 7-17 5-7 23, Brown 0-3 0-0 0, Anderson 14- 0-0 3, Pierce 1-3 0-2 3, Harris 2-7 0-0 5, Tigner 1-3 0-0 3, Young 0-3 0-0 0, Henson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-46 5-10 42.
Lawrence North -- Owen 0-2 2-2 2, McDonald 3-4 0-0 6, Conley 4-11 0-0 9, Windham 6-11 0-0 12, Oden 4-11 5-7 13, L.Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 0-2 1-2 1, Smith 2-3 1-1 5, K. Thomas 1-2 1-2 3, Read 3-6 0-2 6, Van Treese 3-8 0-2 6, Isaac 3-4 2-3 9. Totals: 29-64 12-21 72.
3-point shooting -- Manual 9-28 (Britt 4-11, Pierce 1-2, Thomas 1-3, Harris 1-3, Tigner 1-2, Anderson 1-4, Young 0-3), Lawrence North 2-8 (Conley 1-4, Isaac 1-1, McDonald 0-1, Jones 0-1, Smith 0-1). Rebounds -- Manual 18 (Thomas 3, Harris 3, Britt 3), Lawrence North 56 (Read 10, Windham 9). Assists -- Manual 8 (Thomas 4), Lawrence North 13 (Owen 4). Turnovers -- Manual 22, Lawrence North 14. Total fouls -- Manual 15, Lawrence North 9. Fouled out -- None. Technical foul -- Oden.
Warren Central 72, Lawrence Central 59
Warren Central19151820--72Lawrence Central2315516--59
Warren Central -- Offutt 6-8 2-4 14, Rogers 3-4 2-4 10, Buggs 0-1 0-0 0, Thomas 4-7 4-6 15, Forte 0-1 0-0 0, Lane 0-0 0-0 0, Harvey 4-9 1-2 9, Smith 9-12 2-4 22, Hazelett 0-0 0-0, Clardy 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 27-43 11-20 72.
Lawrence Central -- Hedrick 3-3 1-3 8, Granger 8-14 1-2 20, Bonds 1-4 0-1 2, Miller 0-2 0-2 0, Hormann 0-0 0-0 0, Baldwin 5-7 2-3 12, Geiger 0-0 0-0 0, Somerville 0-0 2-2 2, Billups 3-5 0-0 6. Totals: 24-47 6-13 59.
3-point shooting -- Warren Central 7-13 (Thomas 3, Rogers 2, Smith 2), Lawrence Central 5-17 (Granger 3, Hedrick, Williams). Rebounds -- Warren Central 29 (Offutt 7, Harvey 6), Lawrence Central 19 (Baldwin 4). Assists -- Warren Central 15 (Thomas 4), Lawrence Central 16 (Bonds 6). Turnovers -- Warren Central 12, Lawrence Central 13. Total fouls -- Warren Central 13, Lawrence Central 19. Fouled out -- None.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

IndyStar

3/5/06

lawrence north 64, Warren central 39

Wildcats return to form

After a pair of subpar outings, Lawrence North steps up its game to claim sectional crown

With hopes of a third consecutive state title, unbeaten Lawrence North is harsh when grading its performances. Winning its first two postseason games by a combined 46 points didn't rate good marks.

In Saturday's Class 4A sectional final at Tech, coach Jack Keefer and his players were looking for a quality of play more than a specific margin of victory.

"The last two games we had were so horrible we had to realize, 'Hey, we've got to get it together,' " senior point guard Mike Conley said after the Wildcats returned to the form they showed most of the season by handling Warren Central 64-39.

"I think we started playing our game a little bit and didn't let the triangle-and-two (defense) faze us."

The top-ranked Wildcats take a 25-0 record and 41-game winning streak into Saturday's regional at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Lawrence North faces Carmel (17-7) in the noon semifinal. No. 2 Pike (20-3) and Franklin (14-10) play at 10 a.m., and the winners play for the title at 8 p.m.

The Wildcats have beaten Carmel (68-49) and Pike (74-67 and 73-60) and haven't played Franklin. The 74-67 home victory over Pike on Feb. 21 remains Lawrence North's closest game of the year.

Warren Central, which was going for its first sectional title since 2000, ends the year 17-7. The Warriors played without Ohio State-bound sophomore Walter Offutt, who has not been playing back-to-back games while recovering from a knee injury.

Lawrence North moved past Marion (40 consecutive victories from 1984-86) for the second-longest winning streak in state history. The four victories the Wildcats need to win the state title would push the streak to 45, tying the 50-year-old state record set by Oscar Robertson-led Crispus Attucks.

Lawrence North shot 54 percent while holding Warren Central to 27 percent, including 3-for-27 from 3-point range.

"This was a wonderful effort on our part against a very good team," Keefer said. "Coach (Scott) Heady has brought that team a long way from when we played them the first time. I was surprised we were able to maintain that lead we got at the beginning, because at any given time they had the ability to come back on you."

The Wildcats, who won 69-38 at Warren Central on Jan. 24, held the Warriors to one basket and three free throws over a 12-minute period from late in the first quarter to early in the third. Lawrence North led 33-15 at that point.

Senior center Greg Oden had 20 points and 13 rebounds. He added three blocked shots and four assists in 27 minutes.

"Coach Keefer came out and told us to play with instinct instead of playing all stiff," Oden said. "I think we got like that at the end of the year.

"Teams are playing that triangle-and-two and all those junk defenses, leaving people open. He said if you get the open shot, take it."

Teams had been focusing almost all of their attention on the Ohio State-bound duo of Oden and Conley, who was playing Saturday with a wrap on his non-shooting right wrist due to a large blister.

With more offensive aggressiveness from the three other starters -- Qadr Owen, Brandon McDonald and Damian Windham shot a combined 9-for-22 -- the game opened up inside at times.

"Two nights ago (against Arlington), we didn't even take the shots and they had three people on Greg," Keefer lamented. "Our kids did things better and timed things better. Greg was one-on-one several times, and he looks pretty special one-on-one."

Warren Central104916--39Lawrence North16132015--64
Warren Central -- Rogers 0-4 1-2 1, Buggs 0-6 0-0 0, Thomas 4-14 0-0 10, Harvey 3-8 3-4 9, Smith 3-8 1-2 8, Wright 1-1 0-0 0, D. Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Clardy 1-1 1-2 3, Forte 2-8 0-0 4. Totals: 15-56 6-10 39.
Lawrence North -- Owen 2-7 0-0 4, McDonald 4-8 0-0 9, Conley 4-8 4-6 14, Windham 3-7 0-0 6, Oden 9-10 2-5 20, Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Weigel 1-1 0-0 3, Smith 1-1 2-2 5, K. Thomas 0-0 0-0 0, Read 0-0 0-0 0, Van Treese 1-2 0-0 2, Isaac 0-1 1-2 1. Totals: 25-46 9-15 64.
3-point shooting -- Warren Central 3-27 (Rogers 0-1, Buggs 0-5, Thomas 2-6, D. Jones 0-1, Harvey 0-4, Smith 1-4, Forte 0-4), Lawrence North 5-12 (Conley 2-5, Smith 1-1, Weigel 1-1, McDonald 1-3, Owen 0-1, Isaac 0-1). Rebounds -- Warren Central 27 (Harvey 6), Lawrence North 39 (Oden 13). Assists -- Warren Central 7 (Buggs 2, Harvey 2), Lawrence North 20 (Conley 5, Owen 4, McDonald 4, Oden 4). Turnovers -- Warren Central 8, Lawrence North 14. Total fouls -- Warren Central 13, Lawrence North 7. Fouled out -- Harvey.

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

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

IndyStar

3/6/06

LN-Carmel game will air on cable

The Lawrence North-Carmel regional semifinal Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse will be broadcast on the Indiana Cable Network, the Indiana High School Athletic Association announced today.

The second semifinal of the day, tipoff will be set for 12:07 p.m.

The Indiana Cable Network, Channels 14 and 96 in Indianapolis, is comprised of 41 cable stations statewide.

No. 2 Pike (20-3) and Franklin (14-10) play in the first game, and the winners meet in the 8 p.m. championship.

Lawrence North is ranked No. 1 in the nation by Sports Illustrated and has the country's top-ranked prep player in 7-0 center Greg Oden. The Wildcats have won the past two Class 4A state titles and have a 41-game winning streak, four short of the 50-year old state record set by Oscar Robertson-led Crispus Attucks.

Carmel (17-7) is in the regional for the first time since 1995.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

IndyStar

3/10/06

HIGH SCHOOLS

Abundance of transfers not proof of recruiting

Lawrence North, with stars Oden and Conley, aware of talk but denies any wrongdoing

The confiscated signs rested on a blue chair in the athletic office at Franklin Central High School. "Lawrence North's 2001 recruiting class," one read. "Mike Conley, 6-1 point guard, Arkansas. Greg Oden, 7-0 center, Terre Haute."

During another game, as the Lawrence North student section chanted, "Undefeated, undefeated," Center Grove coach Cliff Hawkins looked at the scorer's table and said, "Yeah, but we don't recruit."

Every year the discordant note rings loudly across high school sports:

accusations of "recruiting," of high-powered teams illegally luring top athletes from other schools. They've been leveled at Ben Davis and Warren Central football, at Cathedral volleyball, at Carmel swimming. And -- for nearly two decades -- at Lawrence North boys basketball.

Now, with the Wildcats within four victories of a state record-tying third consecutive state title -- thanks in large part to two players, Oden and Conley, who moved into the Lawrence district the summer before eighth grade -- the recruiting roar has reached a fever pitch. The Star receives scores of e-mails and phone calls charging Lawrence North with recruiting.

Chants and accusatory signs are common in opposing stands.

The most commonly heard accusation goes like this: There have been three NBA-level 7-footers in Indiana high school basketball over the past 20 years -- Oden, John Stewart and Eric Montross. None grew up in Lawrence (which is untrue). All attended Lawrence North.

An analysis of transfers and recruiting in Indiana high school sports, and of Lawrence North in particular, found no evidence that the Wildcats boys basketball team has done anything counter to Indiana High School Athletic Association rules in building a program that has won three state titles in the past 17 years.

According to the current and past two IHSAA commissioners, who date to 1983, there has been only one transfer into the program who was denied eligibility. That occurred in the late 1990s, and had nothing to do with the school.

Gene Cato, commissioner from 1983-95, said he "had complaints enter the office" about Lawrence North during his tenure, but "when we started checking them out, people weren't willing to talk." None of the three past and present IHSAA leaders said they heard more complaints about LN than other top sports schools.

Jack Keefer, the only coach in the 30 years Lawrence North has existed, staunchly denies any wrongdoing.

"Far out in the state, they think all of Indianapolis recruits. The locals think we recruit," he said. " . . . I'm not worried about anything because I haven't done anything."

In the case of Montross, he grew up in the Lawrence district and attended Craig Middle School, which feeds into Lawrence North. He transferred to Park Tudor to repeat eighth grade, stayed for his freshman season and then returned to Lawrence North.

Of the dozens of people interviewed for this story, none offered specific details about inappropriate acts by the Wildcats that could be verified.

Yet the grumbling continues. Many coaches and fans point to the large number of transfers and middle school "move-ins" that Lawrence North has had over the years. Others say that not getting caught doesn't prove anything because recruiting is so difficult for the IHSAA to govern.

And that last part the IHSAA acknowledges to be true.

The whole situation underscores how muddy and ugly the issue of changing schools in prep sports can be, and how seriously people take it. Fingers are pointed at high school coaches, at travel-team coaches, at scholarship-eyeing parents. At its worst, it inspires enmity between schools, even cities.

Few think it will clear up anytime soon.

"It's always gone on," Bill Shepherd, who coached and administered athletics in Indiana for parts of six decades, including a 12-year stint on the IHSAA Board of Directors, said of illegal recruiting. "It went on when I was on the IHSAA Board, but in individual cases, you have to have proof of it.

"No matter what anyone does, it's always going to happen."

Heavily regulated

There are 10 pages of rules pertaining to athletic transfers and contact with an athlete prior to high school in the IHSAA bylaws, but the basic principles are simple: Changing schools based on athletics isn't allowed. And while an athlete can change districts prior to high school for any reason, including sports, no one in any way associated with the high school athletic department is allowed to have "undue influence" on that decision.

The majority of transfer requests in Indiana -- 2,912 of 3,159 last year, 92 percent -- are deemed within the rules. Most are because of a family moving, which is common in a transient society. Suburban and township schools, such as LN, tend to benefit more than inner-city schools.

The transfer requests that are denied -- 56 last year -- are mostly because of improper contact between the school and the athlete, or questions of residence. (This isn't an issue with private schools, which have no districts.
Their coaches are still governed by the contact rules.)

With athletes who haven't reached high school, though, the scene is almost ungovernable, as the three commissioners acknowledged.

Coaches are prohibited from contacting prospective players outside their district, and aren't supposed to attend their games. But in reality it's not difficult to see the best players play, especially in nonschool competition such as travel or club teams.

Also, it's extremely difficult to prove "undue influence" as long as those involved aren't overt about it. The IHSAA said it keeps no statistics of penalties for this because it happens so seldom. Since 1991, three boys basketball teams have been banned from the postseason for violations relating to recruiting.

As Cato said, "You don't have to sit in (the commissioner's chair) very long to realize you cannot legislate honesty."

Lots of transfers

In the past 22 years there have been at least 14 transfers into the Wildcats program, far exceeding the numbers found in the same time period for three other top area boys basketball teams -- Pike with eight, Ben Davis with five and Cathedral with five. Lawrence North transfers included such players as Stewart, Chaz Spicer and Jesse McClung.

There also have been key players move into the Lawrence district during middle school. In addition to Oden and Conley, there was Todd Leary, a starter alongside Montross on the 1989 state title team.

None of those players said Keefer or anyone else on the Wildcats recruited them. Some, including Oden and Conley, said basketball didn't affect their decision; their parents just happened to move to the district.

Keefer said basketball was a factor for some players who moved to the district in middle school.

"We have a great atmosphere, a great school," he said. "We've put big kid after big kid after big kid in college, and they've done well in college.

"If somebody's moving to town, I think you're almost stupid if you don't ask who are the programs and coaches that favor a big kid. I certainly don't have to go out and convince people to come here.

"We've got a 6-9 eighth-grader. Why is he here? Well, because Greg Oden is here."

Keefer said he didn't know about Oden and Conley until they were playing at Craig Middle School in eighth grade. By then Oden was nearly 6-10 and was considered the top player in the nation in his class.

"Somebody (from Craig) came and said, 'We have got an unbelievable player down in the junior high,' and I go down there and we had two unbelievable players in the junior high (Oden and Conley)," Keefer said. "I'm not an AAU guru. I've probably been to five AAU games in my entire life. For me to know who the players are, I'd really have to do some studying."

The Conleys moved to Indianapolis in 1999 before Mike entered sixth grade, initially renting in the Pike district. The first house they attempted to buy, during the summer before Oden and Conley entered eighth grade, was in the Lawrence Central district, but it was purchased before the Conleys' offer went through. Soon after, they bought a house in the Lawrence North district.

Oden, who was born in Buffalo, N.Y., moved from Terre Haute to Indianapolis with his mother the same summer.

"It wasn't my choice; it was my mom's choice," said Oden, whose mother is a rehabilitation technician.

Mike Conley Sr., father of the Wildcats guard, said he didn't talk to anyone at Lawrence North until after his wife found the house they eventually bought. He said the plan was for Oden and Mike to attend high school together, but that it happened at Lawrence North wasn't planned. Oden and Conley are best friends, and have played on a travel team coached by Conley Sr. since the sixth grade.

"Us being involved in each other's family had nothing to do with Jack Keefer or basketball," Conley Sr. said. "That was going to happen if Greg didn't play another day of basketball."

Jimmy Smith of the Terre Haute Boys & Girls Club, where Oden first played when he moved to that city, said Lawrence North was not involved in bringing Oden to Indianapolis.

"That's a misnomer," Smith said. "It was a better situation for his mom. . . . For selfish reasons, I wish Greg wouldn't have left, but it's a better situation for him and his family."

School shopping

Still, Keefer and many other coaches acknowledge there are forces at work that, even if they don't break the letter of the IHSAA rules, certainly push the envelope of the spirit.

It's not uncommon, Keefer said, for parents to "shop" their kids around, looking for the best sports situation, one that might help lead to a scholarship.

As long as the proper procedures are followed -- a prospective student has to talk to the principal first, and convince him or her that the move would not be about sports -- that's allowed.

Lawrence North senior guard Evar Jones, who played last year at Marion, moved to Indianapolis when his mother got a new job. He said he picked Lawrence North because of basketball.

At Carmel, three of this season's varsity players have played at other schools.

There also is the perceived growing influence of travel-team basketball.
Indiana University freshman Joey Shaw transferred high schools in Arizona to play his senior year with his travel-team teammates. Marques Johnson, a Tennessee recruit, transfered from Fort Wayne Snider to Fort Wayne South. After being ruled ineligible at South, he returned to Snider to play his senior season.

Lawrence North's 2005-06 roster

A look at the primary varsity boys basketball roster used this season by Lawrence North, including the player's name, year in school and his first year in the Lawrence district.

PlayerClassFirst yearTerron BibbsJuniorSixth gradeQadr OwenJuniorEighth gradeBrandon McDonaldSeniorFifth gradeLarry SmithFresh.First gradeMike ConleySeniorEighth gradeEvar JonesSeniorSenior yearJason WeigelSeniorKindergartenWesley SmithJuniorKindergartenDamian WindhamJuniorEighth gradeKamal ThomasJuniorEighth gradeChris ReadFresh.KindergartenStephan Van TreeseFresh.KindergartenGreg OdenSeniorEighth grade

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

IndyStar

3/11/06

boys basketball Regionals

At Hinkle, only strong survive

4A state champ often emerges from brutal site

Four teams will play at Hinkle Fieldhouse today. One will emerge as a regional champion. Will it be the eventual state titlist?

In reality, the high school boys basketball state title won't be decided for another two weeks until the finals at Conseco Fieldhouse. But in practical terms, surviving two games in one day at Butler's historic gymnasium is a good indication of who will be crowned the king of Class 4A.

In five of the past seven years, the team to come through Hinkle has won the state title.

"You just accept the fact that you're going into Hinkle and you're going to have to fight for your life two games in a row on the same day," said Lawrence North coach Jack Keefer, whose team is trying to win a state record-tying third consecutive Class 4A title.

The 8 p.m. regional title game could pit No. 1 Lawrence North against No. 2 Pike.

The Red Devils (20-3) play Franklin (14-10) in the 10 a.m. semifinal. The 25-0 Wildcats, ranked No. 1 in the nation and on a 41-game winning streak, face Carmel (17-7) at noon.

"It's a real tough day," said senior point guard Mike Conley, who teams with 7-foot center Greg Oden give the Wildcats one of the most talented inside-outside duos in the country. "Most of the best teams in the state will be there. Pike is definitely one of the best teams in the state and so is Carmel.

"It's a real tough day for all four teams that are in it."

The state champions to emerge from Hinkle in the past eight years are Lawrence North (2004, 2005), Pike (2001, 2003) and North Central (1999).

The three schools are within 18 miles of each other on the north side of Indianapolis, Pike toward the west, North Central toward the middle and Lawrence North toward the east.

"That's Central Indiana. That's Indiana basketball," said Pike coach Larry Bullington, whose team came the closest to Lawrence North this season, a 74-67 loss on Feb. 21. "That's something I think everybody takes great pride in, us as much as anybody.

"I've always respected the basketball around Marion County. You've got to be ready mentally and physically. It's very, very much a challenging regional."

The past three years, Hinkle has been host to the regional rounds. In 2001 and in 1999 the format was different but the path essentially the same.

Those years, Hinkle was the site of a four-team semi-state.

Under the current format, Saturday's winner will play a one-game semistate on March 18 with the state championship on March 25.

"We know our work is cut out for us," said Carmel coach Mark Galloway, whose team lost to Lawrence North 68-49 on Feb. 3. "They're talking about making history, but so are we. If we can knock off the No. 1 team in the country and get a shot at the No. 2 team in the state, what a great day of basketball that would be."

In addition to Oden and Conley, both headed to Ohio State, the regional has seen North Central's Jason Gardner (Arizona), A.J. Ratliff (Indiana) and junior Eric Gordon (committed to Illinois); Pike's Robert Vaden (Indiana), Chris Thomas (Notre Dame), David Teague (Purdue), Courtney Lee (Western Kentucky) and Justin Cage (Xavier); Ben Davis' Stanley Burrell (Xavier) and Arlington's Delco Rowley (Michigan State).

Gardner, Ratliff, Thomas and Cage all won Indianapolis Star Indiana Mr. Basketball. Oden and Gordon are the favorites to win the next two years.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

IndyStar

3/11/06

LN, Pike to face off in Hinkle

The top-ranked teams in the state in Class 4A will play at 8 tonight for the championship of the Hinkle Regional.

Behind 13 points and nine rebounds from senior center Greg Oden, No. 1 Lawrence North hammered Carmel 47-22 in one semifinal, and No. 2 Pike handled Franklin 79-58 in the other.

Lawrence North, ranked No. 1 in the nation, and Pike have played twice already this season, the unbeaten Wildcats coming away with 73-60 and 74-67 victories. The seven-point win on Feb. 21 is the closest this season for Lawrence North.

Either Lawrence North or Pike has played in each of the past five Class 4A state title games.

The two-time defending state champion Wildcats (26-0) pushed their wining streak to 42 games, three shy of the state record set by Oscar Robertson-led Crispus Attucks from 1954-55 to 1955-56.

Pike (21-3) is 21-1 against everyone except Lawrence North this season.

Coach Larry Bullington has announced this is his final season at Pike.

"I'd like to make this my buddy Larry's last game if I could," Lawrence North coach Jack Keefer said. "I don't know if I can or not.

"It'll be a battle. These kids know each other, they play with each other in the summer. They know each other backwards and forwards. It'll be a pressure-packed game and I'm sure an enjoyable game."

In its semifinal, Lawrence North held Carmel to 18 percent shooting (8-for-45). Lawrence North led 21-10 at halftime as junior Jake Kelly scored all 10 points for Carmel (17-8). The rest of the Greyhounds were 0-for-12 from the field in the first half. Carmel didn't get a point from a player other than Kelly until Daniel Moore made a 3-pointer with 5:00 left in the third quarter.

At one point, Kelly was 4-for-6 shooting; the rest of the Greyhounds 2-for-32.

Junior Damian Windham had eight points, nine rebounds and four steals for Lawrence North.

In the first game, junior guard Reece Cheatham scored 20 points and led a Pike barrage from 3-point range. Cheatham shot 5-for-6 from behind the arc as the Red Devils finished 10-for-14 from 3-point range. Junior Jeff Teague scored 18, senior Curtis White 17 and senior Tony James 11 for Pike, which shot 65 percent in the second half.

Unranked Franklin, which was 7-10 at one point in the season, went on a seven-game winning streak to reach the regional for the first time since 1999 when it was in Class 3A.

The Grizzly Cubs (14-11) lose every starter except junior Adrian Moss. The 5-9 guard scored 15 of Franklin's first 25 points and finished with a game-high 29 points. He hit from long range, drove past defenders and hit crafty leaners against taller defenders.

Pike went on a 19-4 run at the start of the second half to turn a 32-27 lead into a 51-31 edge. Pike had its slim halftime lead thanks to shooting 6-for-9 from 3-point range. The Red Devils used 10 players in the first half.

"There's no doubt, if guys aren't playing well or they get in foul trouble, the other guy is ready to come in," Bullington said. "We have confidence in them. Some played well in the first game, some didn't play so hot.

"The great thing about basketball is, if you mess up on one end, you can make up for it at the other end. If you play bad one game, come back the next game. That's the way we're coaching this thing, we're going to have to bring everybody."

Read tomorrow's Indianapolis Star for more details about this story.

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

 

[IndyBucksFan]

Oden has perfect effort on big day
Lawrence North star makes all 18 shots from field in victories over Carmel, Pike
By Jeff Rabjohns
[email protected]


Facing a big day, Lawrence North turned to its big man. And he delivered, in perfect fashion.
Greg Oden didn't miss a shot from the field in the two games of the Class 4A regional Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse, leading the top-ranked Wildcats past their toughest challenger and within two victories of tying a pair of hallowed state records.
The 7-foot center was 12-for-12 from the field and 5-for-5 from the line for a game-high 29 points as Lawrence North survived its third meeting with No. 2 Pike, 63-57 in the title game. He added nine rebounds, five blocked shots and four assists while playing all 32 minutes.
In the Wildcats' 47-22 victory over Carmel in the noon semifinal, the national high school Player of the Year shot 6-for-6 from the field for 13 points to start his 18-for-18 shooting day.
"This is a great regional," said Oden, who is headed to Ohio State along with point guard Mike Conley. "You have to be on your best game this day."
Lawrence North (27-0) pushed its winning streak to 43 games, two short of the 50-year-old state record held by Oscar Robertson-led Crispus Attucks. The Wildcats face Bloomington South (21-5) on Saturday in the semistate at a site to be determined today. Lawrence North won 60-50 Feb. 17 at Bloomington South.
The Wildcats also are trying to tie Franklin (1920-22) and Marion (1985-87) as the only teams to win three consecutive state titles.
In addition to his offense, Oden anchored a defense that held Pike 28 points below its average and Carmel to 41 points below its average.
"He comes to play in big games, and today was two big games," said Conley, who added 12 points, five assists and five rebounds. "I think he stepped up and led us to victory."
Junior Damian Windham had 14 points and five rebounds, and Brandon McDonald added seven assists for the Wildcats, who had 21 assists on 26 baskets.
Pike (21-4) kept getting closer to Lawrence North in the three meetings this season, losing by 13, seven and six. The final two are the closest games of the year for the Wildcats.
"We knew tonight's game, especially from Lawrence North's perspective, was the state championship," Pike coach Larry Bullington said. "There's nobody else that can touch them. Playing with five guards, we had them sweating, but the big fella, he's going to be on TV on Sundays and have a great career in the NBA."
Each of the past five years, either Pike or Lawrence North has emerged from the Hinkle Regional to play in the Class 4A state title game.
"I think this is the hardest day of basketball in the nation," Lawrence North coach Jack Keefer said. "We're expected to play two teams that are well coached, two teams that are very good, in the same day with what, three to four hours rest? To get through today was a major obstacle course."
The Wildcats, winners of 19 consecutive postseason games, haven't allowed more than 47 points this year in the playoffs.
It may have been the final game for Bullington, who announced before the season he was retiring. But he allowed after the game that he might "re-evaluate down the line."
Lawrence North scored 48 points in the paint against Pike, but the Red Devils answered by shooting 13-for-23 from 3-point range. Senior guard Reece Cheatham shot 7-for-10 from behind the arc and scored 24 points.
Pike was within 34-30 in the third quarter, but Lawrence North made a run and the Red Devils couldn't get any closer than five the rest of the way.
Lawrence North 63, Pike 57







Pike916527--57Lawrence North18141021--63
Pike -- Jordan 2-4 0-0 5, Teague 5-12 1-2 12, White 3-6 2-2 10, James 2-3 0-0 6, Cheatham 8-15 1-2 24, Passley 0-3 0-0 0, Collins 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 20-43 4-6 57.
Lawrence North -- Windham 7-9 0-0 14, Oden 12-12 5-5 29, Owen 3-6 0-1 6, McDonald 1-4 0-0 2, Conley 3-7 5-8 12, Isaac 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 0-0 0-0 0, Weigel 0-0 0-0 0, Read 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 26-38 10-14 63.
3-point shooting -- Pike 13-23 (Cheatham 7-10, James 2-3, White 2-5, Teague 1-4, Jordan 1-1), Lawrence North 1-5 (Conley 1-3, McDonald 0-2). Rebounds -- Pike 12, Lawrence North 24 (Oden 9). Assists -- Pike 12 (White 4), Lawrence North 21 (McDonald 7, Conley 5). Turnovers -- Pike 7, Lawrence North 8. Total fouls -- Pike 17, Lawrence North 8. Officials -- Mike Wallpe, Scott West, Terry Bartell. INSIDE

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

Copyright 2006 IndyStar.com. All rights reserved

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Lawrence North will play Bloomington South in the semistate on March 18.

 

[hoopsfan]

Lawrence North will play Bloomington South in the semistate on March 18.

FYI - Bloomington South is the team that LN played earlier this season when the week before the game the LN coach made the team practice without Greg. Each time they have been to Bloom South in Greg's career, he has gotten into foul trouble (didn't happen anywhere else consistently, so you be the judge!). Sure enough, he did get into quick foul trouble but the team still prevailed. this game will be on a neutral court, so look for Greg to dominate again!

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

FYI - Bloomington South is the team that LN played earlier this season when the week before the game the LN coach made the team practice without Greg.

I remember this early in the year, is there anyone that can stop LN at this point?

 

[hoopsfan]

I remember this early in the year, is there anyone that can stop LN at this point?

If they were going to lose, it would have been to Pike on Saturday. They are the only team with athletes even in the same discussion as LN. Bloomington South's best player is about 6'2" and is going to indiana State. Decent player, but they shouldn't compete with LN on a neutral floor. As fo rthe state finals, they will probably face the same Muncie Central team they beat soundly in the finals last year.

 

[bucknut11]

LN is still #1 according to SI.com

Lawrence North (Indianapolis) (27-0)The Wildcats defeated the state's No. 2 team, Pike, 63-57, for the third time to win the Class 5A regional. Seven-foot senior superstar Greg Oden dominated with 29 points, nine rebounds, five blocks and four assists while playing all 32 minutes. He was 12 of 12 from the field and 5 of 5 from the line. Senior point guard Mike Conley had 12 points, five rebounds and five assists. Damian Windham, a 6-foot-4 junior, scored 14 points, while senior guard Brandon McDonald dished out seven assists. The Wildcats shot 26 for 38 from the field and had a 24-12 advantage on the boards to offset Pike's 13-of-23 three-point shooting. Oden made all six of his field goal attempts during a 47-22 semifinal victory over Carmel, giving him a perfect 18-of-18 day. The Wildcats will carry a 43-game winning streak into Saturday's game against Bloomington South (21-5) in the Class 5A semistate.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Credit goes to hoopsfan for the find....

IndyStar

3/17/06

HIGH SCHOOL Boys basketball semistates

Best-ever debate has 5th candidate: Oden's team

Lawrence North's threepeat quest puts it in class of legends Attucks, Washington, East Chicago Washington, Marion

The question has been bandied about for decades, even generations: What was the best Indiana high school basketball team of all time?

Indianapolis Washington with George McGinnis and Steve Downing?

Crispus Attucks with Oscar Robertson?

Marion with co-Indianapolis Star Indiana Mr. Basketballs Lyndon Jones and Jay Edwards?

How about East Chicago Washington with Pete Trgovich, Junior Bridgeman and Tim Stoddard?

As this season nears a close, a new team has entered the conversation.

Lawrence North, behind the consensus top player in the nation in 7-foot center Greg Oden, has handled every opponent and is two victories from tying two hallowed state records: Crispus Attucks' 45-game win streak, and a third straight state title, a feat accomplished only twice in 95 years of Indiana basketball.

In addition to Oden, the Wildcats have Mike Conley, one of the nation's top-ranked point guards, and an athletic supporting cast. And not only is Lawrence North unbeaten, it has the highest margin of victory (21.1) in the state this season -- counting all classes -- against a schedule rated as the toughest by the Sagarin computer rankings. Those ratings don't include its three double-figure wins over out-of-state powers, one from Ohio and two from Illinois.

Assuming the Wildcats win a neutral-court semistate Saturday against Bloomington South, a team they beat by 10 on the road, and then win the Class 4A title March 25, then where would they fall in the conversation?

"It'd be very difficult for me not to rank Lawrence North No. 1," said Steve Witty, 59, who coached powerful Ben Davis teams from 1990-2003 and is now the executive director of the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association.

"Some of my earliest memories are of watching Oscar and those great Attucks teams, but as a young child, I didn't know as much about the game as I do now.

"But I'd have to rank Lawrence North up there, with Oden as one of the great all-time individual players on one of the all-time great Indiana high school teams."

The famous 4

The four teams most frequently mentioned by former coaches and longtime observers are 1956 Crispus Attucks, 1969 Indianapolis Washington, 1971 East Chicago Washington and 1987 Marion.

Attucks went 31-0 in 1956 behind The Big O, considered one of the best players of all time at any level. He led Cincinnati to the Final Four and the Milwaukee Bucks to an NBA title, and is a member of the Naismith Hall of Fame. His Attucks team from the previous year, which also included Willie Merriweather, was the first in the nation from an all-black school to win a state title.

Washington was 31-0 in 1969 behind the 6-7 McGinnis, who starred at Indiana University and with the Pacers; the 6-9 Downing, a first-round draft pick of the Boston Celtics; and guard Wayne Pack, who played for the Pacers.

The 1971 East Chicago team was led by Trgovich (UCLA), Bridgeman (Louisville) and Stoddard (N.C. State). All three helped their college teams to the Final Four, and Stoddard pitched 13 years in Major League Baseball.

Marion went 28-1 in 1987, including 28-0 against Indiana teams (its loss was to Lexington Lafayette), in winning a third straight state title. Jay Edwards (6-5) and Lyndon Jones (6-3) ruled in the backcourt, with 6-6 Daric Keys, 6-6 Eric Ewer and 6-2 Kyle Persinger rounding out an all-senior starting five, all of whom were named to The Indianapolis Star Indiana All-Stars.

Certainly there have been other contenders. Michigan City Rogers was strong in the mid-1980s, but ran into Marion's "Purple Reign." East Chicago Roosevelt was 28-0 in 1970 behind Jim Bradley and a powerful front line.

Pike went 29-0 in 2003 behind Robert Vaden and Mr. Basketball Justin Cage.

Ben Davis started and finished No. 1 in 1995. Muncie Central in 1960 with Ron Bonham was often mentioned as the best team to not win a title.

And of course there was Fuzzy Vandivier-led Franklin, the first team to threepeat, in 1920-22.

But in the end, the conversation usually comes back to the main four. And the new guys.

Oden is X-factor in debate

"I compare Oden to what we faced when I was at Purdue and we played UCLA when they had Kareem Abdul-Jabbar," said 1965 Mr. Basketball Billy Keller, who has called Lawrence North games on radio.

"He was the same force as Oden. When teams go inside, they're not going to get anything because he's going to swat it away. That allows perimeter players to use their speed and quickness to get out and create problems."

Keller also noted that having Conley at point guard presents an inside-outside combination difficult to defend.

When pressed, Keller said he would put Lawrence North and 1969 Washington at the top.

"Who would be the best? I don't know," Keller said. "It's so hard to say. I see similarities between McGinnis' team and Oden's team, but Oden is a factor McGinnis' team didn't have."

Oden averages 23 points, 11 rebounds and three blocked shots while shooting 75 percent from the field. It's his presence, though, that changes games as much as anything.

The Wildcats beat second-ranked Pike three times this season. On Saturday, the undersized Red Devils practically avoided the paint, taking 23 of their 43 shots from 3-point range in a 63-57 loss in the Hinkle Regional.

That was Lawrence North's closest game of the season.

"It would be very difficult for Attucks or Marion, as good as they were, because Oden makes such a difference and neither one had anybody who could match up with him," said Garry Donna, who is in his 36th year publishing Hoosier Basketball Magazine.

"Washington had McGinnis and Downing, and they could play with him. Could they stop him? They could slow him down.

"I think I would have to rate Lawrence North and Washington a little ahead of the others because of Oden and McGinnis and Downing, but that's just splitting hairs."

Franklin's "Wonder Five" wasn't mentioned by many observers, on the theory that modern-day athletes are superior to those in the 1920s.

But Bobby Plump, whose legendary shot lifted tiny Milan past Muncie Central in the 1954 state title game, has a different take. He said the level of a team's domination needs to be taken into account, regardless of era.

"If the teams in the '20s had been born in the era of today, they'd be just as good," Plump said.

Class basketball

Plump also feels teams that won prior to the introduction of class basketball in 1998 faced a more difficult path.

"You have to look at the circumstances under which they played," Plump said. "When we won the tournament, in one month we played half as many games as we had all season. Attucks did the same thing and so did Marion."

Attucks won 10 postseason games; Washington, East Chicago Washington and Marion each won nine. Lawrence North would need to win seven. On the other hand, class basketball means large schools don't get to beat up on little schools in the sectional.

Jim Russell, a former Indianapolis News sportswriter, has seen every State Finals since the early 1960s.

"I would go with East Chicago in 1971 as No. 1, Washington as two, Lawrence North as three and Marion as four," Russell said.

About the only consensus was that if people could see one matchup, it would be Washington with McGinnis and Downing against Lawrence North with Oden and Conley.

"I think we would have had a great game with Lawrence North, but we'd have had a hard time with Greg Oden because there's never really been anybody like him," McGinnis said.

"No player in the history of Indiana high school basketball has been as dominant as him. Us against Lawrence North, I think that would pack any arena in Indiana."

Who would win?

Let the debate continue.

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

 

[IndyBucksFan]

From today's IndyStar



high school boys basketball semistates
Rematch challenges Wildcats
Bloomington South gave Lawrence North a scare in February
By Jeff Rabjohns
[email protected]


Two wins from making history on several fronts, the Lawrence North boys basketball team faces one of the few teams to challenge it this season. The top-ranked Wildcats (27-0) play Bloomington South (21-5) today in the Class 4A Southport Semistate. The game will follow the 1 p.m. Class A game between Hauser and Shakamak.
Lawrence North, with no victory by fewer than six points this season, won 60-50 Feb. 17 at Bloomington South, ending the Panthers' 31-game home winning streak.
The Wildcats are attempting to join Franklin (1920-22) and Marion (1985-87) as the only Indiana teams to win three consecutive titles and match the 50-year-old, state-record 45-game winning streak set by Oscar Robertson-led Crispus Attucks.
The Wildcats also are ranked No. 1 by every national prep poll. No Indiana team has finished the year at the top of the USA Today poll. Two Indiana teams have wound up ranked No. 2: Marion in 1987 and Pike in 2003.
Lawrence North, which has won 43 in a row, is led by the Ohio State-bound duo of 7-foot center Greg Oden (23 points, 11 rebounds, threeblocks) and point guard Mike Conley (17 points, four assists, three steals).
Oden has made 27 field goal attempts in a row, going 18-for-18 in two victories Saturday in the Hinkle Regional.
In the February game, Indiana State-bound senior guard Cole Holmstrom led South with 19 points.