The IHSAA Boys Basketball Championships come to Conseco Fieldhouse Saturday and no Indianapolis area schools remain in the field. Nevertheless it promises to be a memorable weekend as each of the four championship games features an exciting story line.

 

Class A- No. 1 Jac-Cen-Del vs. No. 3 Triton

            The Eagle’s (24-2) enter their first state championship Saturday in school history as the No. 1 ranked team in class A and have only lost to one team all season (Batesville twice). However, the real story here is Triton who will be seeking its second consecutive title under Coach Jason Groves. The Trojan’s lost four starters from last year’s team.

            “We knew we had the pieces to the puzzle, it was just a question of how they would fit together,” Groves said of his expectations starting the 08’-09’ campaign.

            Triton is led by Colton Keel (15.9 points 8 rebounds), the lone mainstay from the last season’s state A state champions.

            Triton’s last two wins over No. 2 Bowman Academy and No. 6 Lafayette Central Catholic have come by a combine five points, but according to Groves those wins can be attributed to his teams postseason success in recent years.

            “We have played with a refuse to lose mentality and found ways to win,” he said. “That has come from our learning experience last year as these guys have come up (from junior varsity) and played well.”

            Jac-Cen-Del, who has a win over last weekend’s 3A semi-state participant Greensburg is led by Matt Gehl (20.1 points 7.7 rebounds).

            “Teams have tried to slow down the tempo against us,” Coach David Bradshaw said. “We have to be able to adjust.”

            Triton has held its opponents to 46 points per game on the season, sixth best in 1A.

 

Class 2A- No. 2 Fort Wayne Bishop Luers vs. Brownstown Central

            The Cinderella story of the 2009 state finals is the Brownstown Central Braves. The Braves have run off five straight victories on the way to the state title, the last two over ranked opponents, but Coach Dave Benter knows that a match-up against Luers (22-4) and arguably the state’s best player will be his teams toughest challenge of the year.

            “They are the most athletic team we have faced this season,” Benter said. “We have our work cut out for us. A lot of people had them penciled in as the state champion since the start of the year.”

            Luers’s Deshaun Thomas leads the state in scoring (30 points) and is No. 2 in rebounding (15 rebounds).

            “Deshaun has had a lot of expectations and he has come in working very hard,” Luers Head Coach James Blackmon said. “He has helped us rise to every expectation.”

            The Knights will look to win its second consecutive 2A title in as many seasons. Brownstown Central is making its third appearances in the championship game, the last being in 2004.

            Benter’s Braves have surpassed all of his expectations.

            “I always knew that we could be successful,” Benter said, “but I didn’t anticipate being 19-6 and playing for the state championship.”

 

Class 3A- No. 1 Princeton vs. No. 7 Rochester

            All but one player in the Princeton (28-0) line-up is between 6’ and 6’5. The Tiger’s are the No. 6 offensive team in Indiana (73.96 points). No one in the Rochester line-up sees significant playing time taller than 6’1 and the Zebra’s only have one player who averages in double figures (Bruce Grimm 25.2 points). On paper it looks like a mismatch, but Rochester and head coach Rob Malchow have been able to neutralize its disadvantage in height all year.

            “We have found ways to make plays when we have been down all tournament long,” Malchow said. “We have found a way to overcome things size wise and with our quickness in speed these guys have just been tremendous.”

            Rochester has trailed in the third quarter in two of its last three tournament games.

            The Zebra’s (23-3) three losses have been to 4A power Warsaw, and 3A sectional champions Whitko and Peru. Princeton will be an entirely different match-up for Malchow’s squad, as they comprise four double -digit scorers.

            “With four guys in double figures the key is our unselfishness,” Princeton Coach Tom Weeks said. “We could have a different leading scorer every night.”

            The key to the Tiger’s offensive assault is point guard Jalen Parker (14.3 points 5.6 assists).

            “Jalen is our little floor general he reads defenses and helps us do what we need to do to control the tempo,” Weeks said.

            Twin sophomores Rontray and Dontray Chavis average 17 and 12 points respectively for Princeton while senior Trevor George chips in 16 points per game.

 

Class 4A- No. 1 Bloomington South vs. No. 6 Fort Wayne Snider

            The culmination of “State Finals Saturday” will be a battle between the only two nationally ranked teams in Indiana. Not only are 25-0 Bloomington South and 25-1 Fort Wayne Snider ranked similarly, but also their styles of play are nearly identical Snider Head Coach Ray Sims said.

            “We play the same brand of basketball,” Sims said. “They have athletes, and believe me you do not reach the pinnacle of success they have without being a good basketball team.”

            Bloomington South has been ranked No. 1 in the state since December and they defeated Detroit Country Day, a national power, to jump to No. 3 in the USA Today National Rankings.

            According to South Head Coach J.R. Holmes, his team’s success has heavily relied on Mr. Basketball candidate Jordan Hulls (15.9 points 5.3 assists).

            “When Jordan was a sophomore he was a pure 3-point shooter and at the time that was good for us,” Holmes said. “Since the end of his junior year he has become an all around player and has vaulted to a Mr. Basketball level.”

            Erik Fromm, Darwin Davis, and Spencer Turner all average double figures for the Panthers, a team that has beaten its opponents by an average of 23.8 points this season. Snider’s average margin of victory is just 9 points per game.

            Despite the mismatch on paper Sims’s team has found a way to beat two straight top ten opponents (No. 9 Marion and No. 8 Munster) on the way to the title game.

            “Bloomington South has taken on all comers this season and they are a great basketball team,” Sims said. We just hope we can compete and stay in the game and represent Snider the way it should be represented.”