Teams, pairings unveiled for 2014 City Securities Hall of Fame Classic
(New Castle) – The Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame proudly announces the fields for the 2014 City Securities Hall of Fame Classic tournaments to display the best teams, players, coaches, and fans in Indiana high school basketball on Friday, December 26 and Saturday, December 27 at the New Castle Fieldhouse.
2014 Girls’ City Securities Hall of Fame Classic
New Castle Fieldhouse – Friday, December 26, 2014
11:00 a.m. (ET) Mooresville vs. Center Grove
to follow Heritage Christian vs. Gary West
6:07 p.m. Consolation Game
to follow Championship Game
2014 Boys’ City Securities Hall of Fame Classic
New Castle Fieldhouse – Saturday, December 27, 2014
11:00 a.m. (ET) Southport vs. Batesville
to follow Brownsburg vs. Penn
6:07 p.m. Consolation Game
to follow Championship Game
The prestigious event will be held for the 31st time for girls and the 38th edition for the boys.
Selecting from the best teams in the state, the girls’ tournament has included 17 teams that went on to win a state championship that season, including 10 state champions and five state runner-up teams in the past twelve years alone. 2013 Girls Classic champion Bedford North Lawrence became the 7th team in history to win the Classic and an IHSAA class championship in the same season with their 4A championship on March 8.
On the boys side, 13 participating teams have gone on to win their state championship, with five more finishing as state runner-up that season. 2013 Boys Classic champion Greensburg became the fourth team in history to win the Classic and an IHSAA class championship in the same season with their 3A title victory on Saturday.
Tickets for the tournaments will be available through participating schools and the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in the 2014-15 school year.
ABOUT THE TEAMS
Girls:
Mooresville – The Pioneers expect to return all five starters from their 19-4 sectional championship team that also won a Mid-State Conference championship.
5’8” sophomore Lauren McBryar averaged 15.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. 5’9” junior Sarah Corbin averaged 12.6 points and a team-high 9.0 rebounds, while 5’7” classmate Kellie Cavanaugh averaged 6.5 points and 2.4 assists a game. 5’9’ sophomore forward Morgan Matt averaged 6.5 points and 2.9 rebounds, and 5’8” sophomore Taylor Baxter added 4.3 points per game.
The Pioneers have won 19 or more games five of the last six seasons and have claimed six consecutive sectional championships.
Head Coach Mark Hurt will enter his 17th year at Mooresville with a 288-90 record (.762) with the Pioneers. He has 350 victories overall in a 21-year career. He is the 9th winningest active Indiana high school girls coach and is the one of 27 coaches in Indiana high school girls basketball history to have reached 350 career wins.
Mooresville will make their 3rd appearance in the girls Classic. Hurt’s team was 2003 runners-up and participated in the 2009 event as well.
Center Grove – A youthful Trojans team amassed a 16-4 record (6-1 Metropolitan conference) with eyes toward even more success in the future. The Trojans return eight of the 10 members from their 2013-2014 squad.
5’10” junior Bri Gliesmann averaged 9.0 points and 4.7 rebounds, while 6’1” junior classmate Regan Wentland put up 8.5 points and 4.0 rebounds a game. 5’5” sophomore guard Lauren Rau averaged 7.7 points and 3.5 assists, while 6’2” junior Ali Line averaged 6.0 points and a team high of 6.0 rebounds per game.
Head coach Shawn Sanders has a 64-45 record going into his sixth year at Center Grove and has led the Trojans to a 31-10 record over the last two seasons. He led his 2010-2011 team to a sectional championship.
Center Grove makes their third appearance in the girls Classic. They were the 1996 Girls HOF Classic champions and the 2000 girls Classic runners-up. The Center Grove boys team won the 2010 Classic.
Heritage Christian – Returning four of five starters from their 27-1 2A state championship squad, the Eagles appear to be loaded once again.
5’10” sophomore guard Tyasha Harris led the team to a state championship victory averaging 15.8 points, 4.0 steals and 4.1 assists per game. 6’3” sophomore forward Darby Foresman averaged 12.5 points and 6.1 rebounds, while classmate Sydney Hall put up 9.7 points and 3.2 assists a game. 5’10” junior forward Peyton Fallis averaged 8.2 points and 2.0 assists per game.
Heritage Christian has a 51-4 record over the past two seasons and had the state’s 7th most potent offense last season, scoring 68.8 points per game. Their 27.3 margin of victory was the 6th best in the state this past season.
Heritage Christian has won five 2A championships in the past 8 years, all under head coach Rick Risinger. Risinger has a 203-37 (.846) record over his 10 seasons leading the program and has the highest winning percentage of any active coach in the state with 10 or more years of experience.
Heritage Christian makes their second appearance in the girls Classic. The Eagles were the 2006 consolation game winners.
Gary West– Losing just one senior, the Cougars return a strong roster of veterans after their 18-4 sectional championship season.
5’6” freshman guard Dana Evans led the team with 21.8 points and 3.8 assists per game. 5’6” junior Lexus Fox averaged 8.4 points and 5.1 rebounds, while 5’7” junior classmate Ashley Danzy put up 7.4 points per game. 5’5” junior guard Amari Ferguson averaged 6.5 points and dished out 4.3 assists, and 5’9” junior forward Tinon Hunter put up 5.6 points and a team-high 6.1 rebounds per game.
The Cougars have lost seven or fewer games for 14 consecutive years. Over that 14-year span, they are 260-69 (.790), with seven sectional championships, including a 2005 4A state runner-up finish.
Head coach Rodney Fisher has completed his 30th season at Gary West, where he is 481-125 (.794). His 600-182 (.767) career record makes him the 3rd winningest coach in Indiana high school girls history.
Gary West makes their first ever appearance in either the girls or boys Classic.
Boys:
Southport – The Cardinals expect to return their entire starting five from their 15-8 season.
6’10” sophomore Joey Brunk averaged 15.0 points and 8.2 rebounds per game. Junior guard Malik Bennett averaged 14.4 points, 5.9 assists and 3.6 rebounds per game. 6’3” freshman Paul Scruggs put up 13.6 points and 7.1 rebounds a game. 6’4” sophomore Luke Johnston averaged 4.5 points, while 6’3” classmate Elijah Walton added 4.4 points a game.
Southport was the most improved team in the state this past season, recording a 14 wins more than their 1-18 mark during the 2012-13 season. Their 2013-14 campaign was their first winning season in five years.
Kyle Simpson (16-27) will enter his third season as head coach at Southport.
Southport makes their second appearance in the boys Classic. The Cardinals won the 1990 consolation game.
Batesville – The Bulldogs finished their 2013-14 season 18-4 and 7-1 in the Eastern Indiana Conference – their only conference loss being to two-time defending 3A state champion, Greensburg.
Batesville has two strong junior veterans returning. 6’6” junior Bryan Hoeing led the Bulldogs in both points and rebounding averaging 19.1 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. 6’5” junior classmate Blake Walsman averaged 12.0 points and 4.5 rebounds a game. Their JV completed this season 14-6.
The Bulldogs have recorded nine consecutive winning seasons and have won 15 or more games 16 of the last 21 years.
Under head coach Aaron Garrett, the Bulldogs are 108-28 (.794) in six seasons, including a 2011 3A semi-state appearance.
The Batesville boys program makes its’ third appearance in the boys Classic. They won the 1996 championship led by star Michael Menser and were the 2006 Classic Runners-Up. The Batesville girls team won the 1989 Classic.
Brownsburg – Coming off a 21-3 sectional championship season, the Bulldogs (8-1 Hoosier Crossroads Conference) bring back considerable talent for the 2014-15 season.
6’3” junior K.J. Walton led the team averaging 17.8 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. 6’2” junior Darrian Ringo averaged 10.5 points and a team-high 4.9 assists a game. 6’4” junior Jordache Mavunga averaged 5.8 points and 3.8 rebounds, and 6’2” junior classmate Tyler Houston added 3.4 points per game.
The Bulldogs won 12 straight games leading into their regional loss to Pike and ended the season ranked AP 4A #5 and IBCA #7. Giving up just 43.8 points a game, their defense ranked 10th in the state this season.
Completing his 1st season at Brownsburg, head coach Steve Lynch has a career record of 124-55 (.693) in eight seasons and has led his teams to back-to-back sectional titles (Mt. Vernon in 2013 and Brownsburg in 2014).
The Brownsburg boys team make their 2nd ever appearance in the boys Classic. They were the 1991 Classic runners-up. Lynch is no stranger to the Classic, having led his Mt. Vernon team to the 2009 championship. The Brownsburg girls won the 2010 girls Classic.
Penn – Led by a trio of juniors, the 23-2 Kingsmen marked the program’s winningest season in the past six years with a sectional championship.
6’1” junior guard Jordan Geist led the team averaging 17.1 points and 4.1 assists, while 6’0” junior guard Billy Doslak put up 12.5 points and 2.7 assists a game. 6’2” junior guard Ryan Lutz averaged 8.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game. Penn may also gain help from a 19-1 JV team that won 18 consecutive games to end their season.
The Kingsmen are 40-7 over the past two seasons, including a 2013-14 Northern Indiana Conference championship.
Penn is led by Hall of Fame coach Al Rhodes. In six seasons at his alma mater, his teams are 85-51. In 33 years overall, Rhodes has a 539-243 (.689) record. Rhodes was a 1970 graduate of Penn High School, coached the 1984 Warsaw state champions and was inducted into the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in 2010.
Penn makes their first appearance in the boys Classic. Penn’s girls team won the 2011 Girls Classic. Rhodes has previous success in the Classic – his Warsaw team won the 1994 championship, defeating Madison and eventual state champion Ben Davis on December 28, 1994.
History:
21 young women who went on to win Indiana’s Miss Basketball title have participated in the girls Classic, including each of the last six Miss Basketball winners (Skylar Diggins, Courtney Moses, Bria Goss, Jessica Rupright, Stephanie Mavunga and Whitney Jennings). 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.
13 of Indiana’s top 18 girls high school basketball career scoring leaders have participated in the girls Classic.
23 men who went on to win Indiana’s Mr. Basketball title have participated in the boys Classic, including seven of the last nine award winners. 23 men to have played in the Classic have been named McDonald’s All-Americans, while 14 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, Gary Harris and Luke, Tyler and Cody Zeller, among others.
33 Hall of Fame inductees have led a team as head coach in the boys Classic.
Sponsor:
For the 18th consecutive season, City Securities Corporation is the title sponsor of the event. Founded in 1924, City Securities Corporation is the oldest and largest independent, full-service investment firm in Indiana. Having financed more projects for Indiana schools and municipalities than any other firm in history, City Securities has, quite literally, helped build the State of Indiana. Since 1980, the firm has helped underwrite over $45 billion for state and local projects. Today, City Securities is still a leader in municipal bonds (underwriting 50% of all competitive and negotiated bids), but is also so much more – offering full-service personal investment advisors, as well as expertise in corporate and public finance. A wholly-owned subsidiary of City Financial Corporation, City Securities is headquartered in downtown Indianapolis, Ind.
Television:
The Classic will once again be televised in Central Indiana by the Hall of Fame’s partner, WHMB TV-40. Details of the broadcast schedule will be made at a later date.