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Friday night game article

When Forest Park and Evansville Mater Dei met on the basketball court earlier this year, the Wildcats dominated the Rangers for a 21-point victory.

While Mater Dei once again won the second time around, Forest Park was just a few plays away from a different result as they fell to the Wildcats 63-55 in the Class 2A sectional semifinal at Southridge.

“We had it down to three points a couple of times in the third and fourth quarter but we could never quite get over the hump,” Forest Park head coach David Welp said. “We just couldn’t make enough plays down the stretch.”

Mater Dei jumped out to a 12-5 lead to start the game but Curt Hopf helped trim the lead to 14-8 at the end of the first quarter.

The Wildcats (17-7) started the second quarter on a 7-0 run after a three-pointer from Jackson Hiester to make it 21-8 but the Rangers (15-10) went on a run of their own thanks to buckets from Hopf, Drew Howard and Reid Steffe to make it 23-16. A three-pointer from Garret Jochem made it 23-19 shortly after that but Mater Dei made one more bucket before halftime for a 25-19 advantage at the break.

After falling behind by 12 early in the third quarter, Forest Park rallied and brought the deficit back to just three points on a bucket from Steffe. However, Mater Dei once again extended the lead to make it 45-37 entering the fourth quarter.

The Rangers once again were within three points after a Steffe three-pointer midway through the fourth made it 51-48 but the Wildcats closed the game strong making eight shots from the free-throw line to seal the deal.

Curt Hopf led Forest Park with 21 points and six rebounds, Reid Steffe added 13 points and Drew Howard finished with 10 points and seven assists. Zach Schoenstein had a huge night for Mater Dei as he finished with a total of 30 points and six rebounds.

“Tonight, we maximized our possessions a lot better than we did in the first (meeting) and we took care of the basketball,” said Welp. “Our defense was much more improved than it was a month ago but we just came up a little short.”

Welp praised Forest Park’s group of seniors — Reid Steffe, Garret Jochem, Elliott Rothgerber, Garrett Betz, Aaron Hurst — for their continued work ethic and hustle they brought to the Forest Park program throughout their four years.

“I’m really proud of how committed they were for four years,” Welp said. “I appreciate their time and dedication to our program.”

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1 hour ago, Blackmon_for_3 said:

Local media guy for what it’s worth. 

1526B320-E996-4492-BAAB-22AD52D3DF5F.jpeg

Interesting. Already playing at a 2A school he moves down to 1A. Barr-Reeve is a good 1A program but I can't recall any D1 prospects coming out of there. 

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1 hour ago, HoosierFan1994 said:

Interesting. Already playing at a 2A school he moves down to 1A. Barr-Reeve is a good 1A program but I can't recall any D1 prospects coming out of there. 

No Barr-Reeve has never had a D-1 prospect. If he wanted to go further in the tournament Barr-Reeve makes sense from an exposure standpoint. I’m not sure what Forrest Park has returning but I thought they lost a lot of seniors. Right now Barr-Reeve would start 6’3”, 6’4”, 6’7”, and 6’8”. Not sure on who will get the 5th spot. Pretty good size for a 1A school. 

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2 hours ago, HoosierFan1994 said:

Interesting. Already playing at a 2A school he moves down to 1A. Barr-Reeve is a good 1A program but I can't recall any D1 prospects coming out of there. 

*great 1A program

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Evansville Courier & Press

 Curt Hopf, a basketball standout who has drawn interest from Indiana, Purdue and the University of Evansville, among others, has transferred to Barr-Reeve from Forest Park.

An athletic transfer report was filled out by both schools and Hopf was cleared by the IHSAA to participate in summer workouts with Barr-Reeve  – he began working out with the Vikings on Tuesday, said Barr-Reeve principal Jeff Doyle.

However, Barr-Reeve coach Josh Thompson and Doyle are unsure when the IHSAA will rule on Hopf's eligibility to play this winter.

“We may not know anything final until this fall,” Thompson said.

However, he did say the Hopfs plan to move from the Forest Park school district to the Barr-Reeve school district.

Hopf, a 6-foot-7 power forward, will be a junior this fall. He averaged 13 points and 6.5 rebounds for the Rangers, who finished 15-10 under first-year coach David Welp last winter. Hopf helped lead them to the state finals and a 25-5 record as a freshman under former coach Jeff Litherland.

The Hopfs could not be reached for comment by the Courier & Press on Friday.

Forest Park Athletics Director Doug Louden did not return a voice mail message and a text message left by the Courier & Press.

“From a basketball standpoint, the Lord has blessed this young man with physical ability,” Thompson said. “He is a very skilled player.”

Like most young players, Hopf needs to add strength, Thompson said.

“I see great ability to shoot for his size and he has great ability to put it on the floor and get to the basket,” Thompson said.

As a coach, one thing that impresses him is Hopf's eagerness to play defense.

“He can definitely guard one through four and at the high school level, he can guard a five as well,” Thompson said.

Hopf has also been contacted by Iowa and Nebraska, among others, in addition to IU, Purdue and UE, Thompson said.

If ruled eligible, Hopf could be the missing link separating Barr-Reeve from a Class A state championship. The Vikings lost 60-43 to Fort Wayne Blackhawk in the title game last March in finishing 26-3 in Thompson’s first year as coach. Barr-Reeve will return two starters:  point guard Brycen Graber and 6-8 center Keegan O’Neill.

It will be the discontinuation of a Hopf legacy of excellence at Forest Park. Older brothers Clint and Brandon sparked the Rangers to back-to-back 2A state championships in 2005 and ’06. Clint went on to play for UE from 2007-11.

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Curt Hopf ruled ineligible by IHSAA to play for Barr-Reeve

Curt Hopf, who has drawn interest from Indiana, Purdue and the University of Evansville, among others, has been ruled ineligible by the IHSAA to play for Barr-Reeve High School’s boys’ basketball team this winter.

When pressed for details, IHSAA sports information director Jason Wille said Friday: “We don’t issue statements on transfer cases.”              

Hopf transferred to Barr-Reeve from Forest Park in June.

“He has been ruled ineligible. He now will have to go through the IHSAA appeals process,” said Barr-Reeve coach Josh Thompson. “We won’t know anything further until October.”

An athletic transfer report was filled out by both schools and Hopf was cleared by the IHSAA to participate in summer workouts with Barr-Reeve.

Hopf, a 6-foot-7 junior, averaged 16.2 points and 8.6 rebounds for the Rangers, who finished 15-10 under first-year coach David Welp last season. Hopf helped lead Forest Park to the state finals and a 25-5 record as a freshman under former coach Jeff Litherland.

Forest Park athletics director Doug Louden said on Friday afternoon that he could not comment at this time on the situation.

Hopf has also been contacted by Iowa and Nebraska, among others, in addition to IU, Purdue and UE, Thompson said.

Barr-Reeve lost 60-43 to Fort Wayne Blackhawk in the Class A championship game last March.

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Evansville Courier & Press -

Curt Hopf apparently won't be playing for Barr-Reeve's boys' basketball team this winter.

"We were informed via email that Curt and his family were denied in their appeal to the IHSAA," Barr-Reeve coach Josh Thompson told the Courier & Press in a text on Thursday morning. "Curt and his family will continue to pursue the next step in the process."

Thompson did not immediately return a phone message from the Courier & Press seeking further comment.

Hopf, who has drawn interest from Indiana, Purdue and the University of Evansville, among others, was ruled ineligible by the IHSAA to play for Barr-Reeve in August. He and his family then appealed.

When pressed for details at that time, IHSAA sports information director Jason Wille said: “We don’t issue statements on transfer cases.”              

Hopf transferred to Barr-Reeve from Forest Park in June. An athletic transfer report was filled out by both schools and Hopf was cleared by the IHSAA to participate in summer workouts with Barr-Reeve.

Hopf, a 6-foot-7 junior, averaged 16.2 points and 8.6 rebounds for the Rangers, who finished 15-10 under first-year coach David Welp last season. Hopf helped lead Forest Park to the state finals and a 25-5 record as a freshman under former coach Jeff Litherland.

Hopf has also been contacted by Iowa and Nebraska, among others, in addition to IU, Purdue and UE, Thompson said.

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1 hour ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

It’s been a long time since I’ve seen a case like this. Usually parents and coaches vet this kind of stuff before making a switch. I’m surprised he doesn’t just transfer to a prep school and salvage what he can. 

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