2012 City Securities Hall of Fame Classic fields announced
(NEW CASTLE) – The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame proudly announces the fields for the 2012 City Securities Hall of Fame Classic tournaments to display the best teams, players, coaches, and fans in Indiana high school basketball on Thursday, December 27 and Friday, December 28 at the New Castle Fieldhouse.
2012 Girls- City Securities Hall of Fame Classic
New Castle Fieldhouse – Thursday, December 27, 2012
11:00 a.m. (ET) Hamilton Southeastern vs. Columbus North
to follow Evansville Mater Dei vs. Logansport
6:00 p.m. Consolation Game
to follow Championship Game
2012 Boys- City Securities Hall of Fame Classic
New Castle Fieldhouse – Friday, December 28, 2012
11:00 a.m. (ET) Cathedral vs. Jay County
to follow Indianapolis Tech vs. Fort Wayne Northrop
6:00 p.m. Consolation Game
to follow Championship Game
The prestigious event will be held for the 29th time for girls and 36th edition for the boys.
Selecting from the best teams in the state, the girls- tournament has included 15 teams that went on to win a state championship that season, including eight state champions and five state runner-up teams in the past ten years alone.
On the boys side, 12 participating teams have gone on to win their state championship, with four more finishing as state runner-up that season.
Tickets for the tournaments will be available through participating schools and the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in the 2012 school year.
ABOUT THE TEAMS
Girls:
Hamilton Southeastern – The Royals expect to return a strong frontline from a team that completed the 2011-12 regular season with a 20-0 record before a sectional opening loss to eventual 4A state champion North Central.
6-4- junior Taya Reimer led the squad at 19.4 points per game and 9.6 rebounds per contest. A 2013 Miss Basketball candidate and member of the core Indiana Junior All-Star team for this summer, she was a member of the 2011 USA Basketball Under 16 national team last summer. 6-1- junior forward Jessica Pongonis averaged 10.6 points and 5.4 rebounds. Junior Kasey Hornbuckle and sophomores Lindsay Walton and Kirsten Alexander also are expected to return as varsity contributors.
The Royals finished the season ranked #1 in the all-class Indiana Basketball Coaches Association poll and #1 in the 4A Indiana Coaches of Girls Sports Association poll and were ranked in various national polls. Over the last 10 seasons, the Royals have the state-s 2nd highest winning percentage (.826).
Head coach Chris Huppenthal is 129-29 (.816) in seven seasons leading the Royals and has a 304-67 record in 16 seasons. His .819 career winning percentage is the best among current Indiana high school girls coaches with 10 or more years experience.
Hamilton Southeastern makes their 2nd appearance in the girls- Classic. The Royals won the 2004 event with wins over Bloomington North and East Chicago Central. The Hamilton Southeastern boys were winners of the 2011 event.
Columbus North – The Bull Dogs expect five starters to return from a 23-4 4A state runner-up squad that had just one senior on their roster.
5-9- freshman point guard Ali Patberg averaged 12.9 points, 5.8 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 2.3 blocks per game while 5-9- sophomore guard Tayler Goodall averaged 12.9 points and a team-high 6.4 rebounds. 5-8- junior Hannah Ballard averaged 8.4 points, 5-10- junior Quin Shoultz averaged 6.0 points and 5.0 rebounds and 5-9- sophomore Kelsey Cunningham averaged 5.5 points.
Columbus North rattled off a school-record 19 straight wins from December 17 through their 4A semi-state victory on February 25 and their 23 wins for the season was also tops in the program-s history.
Head coach Pat McKee is a 2008 Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame inductee, as a recipient of the St.Vincent Health Silver Medal for contributions to Indiana high school basketball. A former sportswriter with the Indianapolis Star, McKee has completed his 2nd season as head coach at Columbus North, where his record is 42-11.
Columbus North makes their first ever appearance in the girls- Classic and their girls program has never faced Classic competitors Hamilton Southeastern, Evansville Mater Dei or Logansport. The Columbus North boys hosted the 1984 boys- Classic under Hall of Fame coach Bill Stearman – they were 0-2 with losses to Ben Davis and L&M.
Evansville Mater Dei – Led by the youthful punch of a sophomore and freshman, the 27-1 Wildcats were the 2012 2A state champions. Separating them from a perfect season was a one-point overtime road loss to Evansville Bosse in December that they later avenged.
5-11- sophomore Maura Muensterman surpassed the 1,000 point mark this year as she was the state-s 3rd leading scorer and was the state-s leader in assists. Muensterman averaged 22.2 points, 7.0 rebounds, 8.0 assists, 4.7 steals and 2.3 blocks per game, while 6-1- freshman center Tori Schickel averaged 15.3 points, 7.6 rebounds and 2.5 blocks. 5-3- sophomore guard Ashlynn Spahn averaged 4.1 points per game, but hit five three-pointers for a team-high 15 points in their overtime 2A state championship win over Fort Wayne Bishop Luers. 5-10- junior Beth Fischer averaged 4.0 points and 3.1 rebounds.
During their 2011-12 success, the Wildcats captured their first girls basketball regional, semi-state and state championships.
Mater Dei head coach Steve Goans is in his 2nd stint as the girls head coach at his alma mater. Leading the program from 1980-1989, he returned to the role in 2007. In 14 years, he is 153-118 as head girls basketball coach and was also an assistant on Mater Dei-s 2001 boys 3A state runner-up team.
Evansville Mater Dei makes their first ever appearance in either the girls or boys Classic.
Logansport – The Berries will return sophomore star Whitney Jennings (University of Iowa) and three other starters from their 20-4 North Central Conference champion team in 2012-13.
The 5-5- sophomore point guard averaged 25.4 points, 7.0 assists, 3.7 steals and 3.2 rebounds as she surpassed the 1,000 career point mark this season. Her 5-8- junior sister, Rachel Jennings, averaged 11.5 points, while 5-10- freshman center NaKeya Penny averaged 11.0 points and 4.8 rebounds and 5-10- junior forward Kiley Victor averaged 4.7 points and a team-high 7.6 rebounds.
The Berries have won 16 or more games for six straight seasons and have a 92-22 (.807) record over the last five years.
Logansport coach Jerry Hoover has completed 10 years with the girls program and has 30 years as a high school boys and girls head coach. He has 358 career wins, 122 at Logansport.
Logansport makes their first ever appearance in either the girls or boys Classic.
Boys
Cathedral – The Irish return a majority of their 2011 Indianapolis City Tournament champion team, including seven seniors-to-be, that finished the season 20-4.
6-6- junior Collin Hartman (committed to Indiana University) averaged roughly 12 points and six rebounds per game, was named 1st team all-city, is a member of the 2012 Core Junior All-Star team and will be a Team USA participant in the Albert Schweitzer Games in Germany this April. 6-2- freshman guard Jalen Coleman averaged over 11 points per game, while 6-0- junior point guard Mo Evans averaged over eight points and over six assists per game. 6-3- junior Josh Sullen averaged over six points and nearly five rebounds per game.
The Irish have won 17 or more games in 10 of the last 12 seasons and their .771 winning percentage in that span is 8th best in Indiana.
Cathedral coach Andy Fagan has completed his 2nd year with the Irish, with a 37-8 record in that span. He is 71-40 in a five year varsity head coaching career.
Cathedral makes their 3rd appearance in the boys Classic. The Irish are 4-0 all-time in the event, winning championships in 1982 and 2006. Both times the Irish have participated, they have defeated New Castle in championship game victories. In 1982, guard Scott Hicks scored 32 points in leading the Irish to the championship over Steve Alford-s New Castle Trojans, while the 2006 squad, led by MVP Stephen Thomas, defeated Valparaiso in the semifinals before topping the Trojans, featuring Zach Hahn and Chase Stigall, for the 2006 crown.
Jay County – The Patriots will return all five starters and seven of their top eight players for the 2012-13 season.
5-11- junior guard Brock McFarland paced the Patriots at 13.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game, while also averaging 2.9 assists. 6-1- junior guard Kegan Comer averaged 12.7 points and a team-high 4.6 assists, 6-5- junior center Scott Schwieterman scored 9.6 points per game and gathered 5.8 rebounds, 6-2- junior forward Tyler Back averaged 4.6 points and 5-10- sophomore Trey Teagle averaged 3.7 points.
Jay County completed their 11th winning season in a row with an 18-4 campaign in 2011-12 and have won 15 or more games in eight of the last 10 seasons. The Patriots gave up a state-best 35.0 points per game and opponents shot just 33% against them.
Patriots head coach Craig Teagle has won 199 games at the school, including leading the school to the 2006 3A state runner-up finish. With a career record of 275-172, he was chosen as head coach of the 2012 Indiana All-Star team that twice defeated Kentucky in June.
Jay County makes their 2nd appearance in the boys Classic. They defeated Jeffersonville then lost to Richmond in the December 1987 event to finish as runner-up. The Jay County girls were runners-up in the 2009 event.
Indianapolis Tech – Coming off their best season in 22 years, the Tech Titans have plenty of promise for the 2012-13 season and beyond. They expect to return their top five scorers, including a class of four sophomores, for next season.
The Titans have been paced by 6-10- sophomore Trey Lyles, who averaged 21.0 points, 14.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.3 blocks per game. Lyles was named the Indianapolis City Player of the Year this season and was named MaxPreps- National Freshman of the Year a season ago. 6-0- junior guard Leo Williams averaged 8.0 points, 6-5- sophomore guard Michael Jones averaged 7.7 points, 6-3- sophomore Jeremie Tyler averaged 7.5 points and sophomore Josh Whitfield averaged 6.1 points.
The Titans were 16-5 this past season; they had won 17 games the previous three seasons combined. They finished 6-0 in IPSAC play, winning their first conference title since 2003.
Head coach Jason Delaney completed his first season as head coach at Tech; he has won 97 games in eight seasons as a varsity head coach including leading Waldron to a 27-0 1A state championship effort in 2004.
Tech makes their first ever appearance in either the boys or girls Classic. They are just the second Indianapolis Public Schools program to play in the boys Classic; the first since Howe played in the 2nd ever event (1978-79 season).
Fort Wayne Northrop – Led by the dynamic Scott twins, the Bruins have won two consecutive sectional championships and return three starters as they gear up for another big season.
Leading their efforts, 6-2- junior guard Bryson Scott (Purdue University) has scored 1,400 career points (21.2 ppg). The Indiana Junior All-Star averaged 25.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 3.2 steals, 3.1 assists and shot 53% from the field this season. Twin brother 6-0- Brenton Scott (Indiana State University) has scored over 1,000 points in his career coming off a season in which he averaged 16.0 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.9 steals. 5-11- sophomore starter Jacoby Claypool averaged 3.8 points and 3.2 assists. 6-3- junior Cory Womack averaged 4.1 points and will be joined by 6-2- junior Spencer Cowherd and 6-2- junior Antonio Richmond as varsity returners.
Northrop is 38-11 over the last two seasons with back-to-back regional appearances.
Head Coach Barak Coolman is 61-30 in four seasons as head coach. He assisted Hall of Fame inductee Al Rhodes at Northrop before being named head coach.
Fort Wayne Northrop makes their first appearance in the boys Classic. Their girls program won the December 1986 event in the midst of their record-setting 57-game winning streak. Northrop is the first member of the Summit Athletic Conference to appear in the boys Classic since Fort Wayne North appeared in the inaugural two tournaments in 1977 and 1978.
History:
19 young women who went on to win Indiana-s Miss Basketball title have participated in the girls Classic, including each of the last four Miss Basketball winners (Skylar Diggins, Courtney Moses, Bria Goss and Jessica Rupright). Girls legends who have played in the Classic include Stephanie White, Katie Gearlds, Shanna Zolman, Lisa Shepherd, Abby Conklin, April McDivitt, Kelly Faris, Jennifer Jacoby, Jodie Whitaker, Shrya Ely and Tiffany Gooden, among others.
11 of Indiana-s top 16 girls high school basketball career scoring leaders have participated in the girls Classic.
21 young men who went on to win Indiana-s Mr. Basketball title have participated in the boys Classic, including five of the last seven award winners. 22 men to have played in the Classic have been named McDonald-s All-Americans, while 13 have been NBA Draft picks.
Legends to have competed in the boys Classic include Damon Bailey, Steve Alford, Glenn Robinson, Shawn Kemp, Greg Oden, Mike Conley, Zach Randolph, Eric Montross, Sean May, Delray Brooks, Tom Coverdale, Michael Menser, Pat Graham, Troy Lewis, Woody Austin, Josh McRoberts, and Luke, Tyler and Cody Zeller, among others.
33 Hall of Fame inductees have led a team as head coach in the boys Classic.