SCOUTING REPORT
A brief look at each of the boys basketball sectionals involving Johnson County teams:
Class 4A Bloomington North Sectional
Players to watch: Bloomington North — Luke Lindeman, Connor O’Guinn; Bloomington South — Vince Moutardier; Center Grove — Jalen Bundy, Peyton Byrd, Michael Ephraim, Joey Schmitz, Will Spellman; Greenwood — Parker Doolin, Benjamin Hommell, Jake Mosemann, Isaac O’Neal; Mooresville — A.J. DeFur, Tyronne Elmore
Sagarin ratings: Center Grove 92.03 (10th in Indiana, ninth in Class 4A), Bloomington North 81.29 (52nd overall, 40th in 4A), Bloomington South 76.42 (97th overall, 64th in 4A), Greenwood 71.48 (131st overall, 72nd in 4A), Mooresville 70.82 (139th overall, 75th in 4A), Martinsville 59.25 (253rd overall, 97th in 4A)
Against the field: Center Grove 5-0, Bloomington North 3-1, Bloomington South 1-1, Greenwood 1-3, Mooresville 1-3, Martinsville 1-4
Outlook: Tenth-ranked Center Grove enters competition as the favorite, though the prospect of facing Bloomington South and the state’s leader in career coaching victories (J.R. Holmes) in Saturday night’s title game remains very real. The Panthers must first get past a Greenwood squad that won three of its final four regular-season games and is playing with confidence. The Trojans open with Mooresville and would face Bloomington North in a semifinal; Center Grove defeated those teams already this season by 15 and 11 points, respectively.
Class 4A East Central Sectional
Players to watch: Columbus East — Keaton Lawson, Carter Patterson; Columbus North — Caleb Ferguson, Garrett Long; East Central — Dylan Maxwell, Carson Pieczonka; Franklin — Micah Davis, Grant Hunter, Kolt Nelson, Wyatt Nickleson, Ryder Street; Shelbyville — Caden Claxton, Mar Nicholson; Whiteland — Akol Akol, Jazz Banwait, Ethan Edwards, Wiatt McLaughlin, Gavin Stubbe
Sagarin ratings: Franklin 87.54 (22nd in Indiana, 20th in Class 4A), Whiteland 78.25 (74th overall, 53rd in 4A), Shelbyville 71.39 (133rd overall, 73rd in 4A), Columbus North 67.34 (189th overall, 89th in 4A). East Central 67.46 (190th overall, 90th in 4A), Columbus East 66.82 (193rd overall, 91st in 4A)
Against the field: Franklin 3-1, Whiteland 4-2, East Central 2-2, Columbus East 2-3, Columbus North 1-2, Shelbyville 1-3
Outlook: As much as Whiteland wants a third game this season against county rival Franklin — and vice versa — the Warriors can ill afford to look past tonight’s first-round game against Shelbyville. That said, after the county squads exchanged three-point victories in the regular season, settling things on a neutral court some 75 miles from home would make for suspenseful theatre given the stakes. Whiteland downed Shelbyville by 11 points early in the season, but that guarantees absolutely nothing at this juncture given the growth both teams have made.
Class 3A Owen Valley Sectional
Players to watch: Edgewood — Jacob Boggs, Mialin White; Indian Creek — Adam Crouch, Bobby Emberton, Brayden Lowhorn, Carter Modlin, Trent Volz; Northview — Christian Bryan, Brayden Goff; Owen Valley — Derrek Atkinson, Caden Gonser
Sagarin ratings: Indian Creek 69.38 (155th in Indiana, 44th in Class 3A), Northview 68.26 (170th overall, 49th in 3A), Edgewood 67.26 (186th overall, 56th in 3A), South Vermillion 65.03 (203rd overall, 64th in 3A), West Vigo 62.73 (227th overall, 75th in 3A), Owen Valley 53.18 (307th overall, 93rd in 3A), Brown County 46.27 (346th overall, 101st in 3A)
Against the field: Northview 4-1, South Vermillion 2-1, Indian Creek 3-2, West Vigo 3-3, Owen Valley 3-3, Edgewood 2-4, Brown County 1-4
Outlook: Indian Creek’s path to a second consecutive regional berth features obstacles, starting with Wednesday’s opener with South Vermillion, a team the Braves eliminated in last season’s sectional title contest, 52-46. The schools didn’t play during this regular season. Should Indian Creek advance, it would face Edgewood, which the Braves defeated by four points in December.
Class A Indianapolis Lutheran Sectional
Players to watch: Central Christian — Mason Allen, Ky Baker; Indianapolis Lutheran — Cayden Loescher, L.J. Ward; Greenwood Christian — Max Booher, Noah Reed, Jordan Taulman; Tindley — Damon Van Horn, Kenneth Lampley
Sagarin ratings: Indianapolis Lutheran 71.01 (137th in Indiana, sixth in Class A), GCA 70.32 (143rd overall, seventh in A), Tindley 68.63 (165th overall, 10th in A), Victory College Prep 35.49 (382nd overall, 79th in A), Providence Cristo Rey 25.62 (398th overall, 94th in A), Eminence 24.11 (399th overall, 95th in A), Central Christian 20.09 (402nd overall, 97th in A)
Against the field: Tindley 3-0, GCA 1-0, Victory College Prep 3-1, Eminence 3-1, Providence Cristo Rey 1-3, Indianapolis Lutheran 0-1, Central Christian 0-5
Outlook: Defending Class A state champion Lutheran has its work cut out, as the Saints could be facing Tindley in the semifinals. On paper, Greenwood Christian has the simpler path to a spot in the championship game — its side of the bracket features three of the state’s weakest teams — but the Cougars haven’t won a sectional since 2020. Lutheran has cut the nets inside its own gymnasium the past two seasons after close title-game victories over GCA.
Class A Edinburgh Sectional
Players to watch: Edinburgh — Austin Brockman, Rylan Londeree, Connor Ramey, Lucas Seegers, Bailey Totten; Morristown — Kellen Crim, Colin Kieninger; South Decatur — Taylen Absher, Jacob Scruggs; Waldron — Matthew Campbell, Lucas Shaw
Sagarin ratings: Oldenburg Academy 58.61 (261st in Indiana, 27th in Class A), South Decatur 55.65 (287th overall, 38th in A), Jac-Cen-Del 54.52 (296th overall, 42nd in A), Waldron 54.50 (297th overall, 43rd in A), Edinburgh 51.74 (317th overall, 51st in A), Morristown 42.49 (362nd overall, 67th in A), Southwestern 40.16 (369th overall, 73rd in A)
Against the field: Jac-Cen-Del 3-1, South Decatur 4-2, Oldenburg Academy 4-2, Edinburgh 4-3, Waldron 4-3, Morristown 2-4, Southwestern 1-7
Outlook: The Lancers host what might be one of the most wide-open sectionals in any class. Five of the teams are within 25 spots of each other in the Sagarin ratings in Class A, including Edinburgh, which plays the second game on Wednesday against South Decatur. The Lancers lost to the Cougars in January, 64-60.
