IU/Butler/Notre Dame

Only better scenario for Blackford would be to get eastbrook instead of Madison grant but you truly couldn’t ask for a better opportunity ...if they don’t make it to their first regional on almost 30 years it’s totally on them

Also a good point ...hip injury almost cut into this season ...also welcome to the board !

Blackford best wabash 62-53 ...brown had 33 and I counted 5 assists ...one of the better wins

Very fair question ....most games luke is absolutely soaked and exhausted ....last night it looked like he didn’t even need to hit the showers. He only penetrated on drives in rare spots. It was senior night and it looked to me like they had a goal to get quite a few shots for Hurd And Dunnica ( who almost never played or shoot ) and then for Willmann to get a lot of points ( usually gets 6-10). Also you’d never hear him admit it out loud but I think he wants the state assist title bad this year and I counted 11 last night which included two WIDE open missed layups by the Hoover boy and one more by willmann ....Hurd and Elam missed more than 10 open 3’s off of perimeter passes from the double team. He could have very easily had 15-20 that game and I think that was the goal AND he knows he’s going to have much better guards chasing him tomorrow so he probably wasn’t as forceful driving the ball in a game he thought would be a W without him having to be aggressive. Don’t be shocked if you don’t see the exact same against Burris and Anderson prep next week....the kid understands psychology and I the has a chance to get some 15-20 point games for the role players he will give up his points and the points title if he thinks it will have Guys rolling into sectional and give them a better chance to win

I’ll ask about the plan for spring /summer ...And post back tonight or tomorrow ...Blackford is playing southern wells tonight in what will be a snoozer ...tomorrow at wabash which should be a solid game if anyone is in the area

Original question is fair and the answer I would guess is pretty close. I’d like to preface it by saying that tournament was one of the last two on schedule so he did play essentially the whole season. I’ve spoken with them and the sentiment I got was this: they didn’t pull him off the team but they he been told one thing for that particular tournament about how the team would function or he structured and after a coaching change that tournament was handled completely differently than as was discussed. When that was discussed post game the Indiana elite coordinators offered to send Luke to play an extra tourney with the 2020 gold team ( one year up one step down from platinum ) which is full of kids he played with previously. Keep in mind the truth is likely somewhere between each extreme that’s been presented but I agree with the response that he’s featured plenty in high school , if you’re expecting him to be a scoring feature on a team with Kaufman and konisczney as well as the volume they Thompson shoots I don’t see how there are enough shots to go around. I agree they wanted to see him work off ball some since he doesn’t do that in high school or much for 2021 ie platinum

Also Blackford will head south again next year for those of you in lower half of the state ....scheduled new Albany during Xmas break

14-23 in his last two games ....of those 23 I counted 5 total attempts from the actual three point line ...the rest were beyond college range with several being 25-30 feet ....of the 64 total minutes of the last two games he was double teamed starting at 30 -35 feet for around 54 of those 64 minutes

Finished with 38 on 7-13 from 3 ......Blackford wins by 4 ....I counted 7 assists but was dealing with a 4 year old so could be plus or minus

Halftime Blackford oak hill tied at 42 ....brown has 21with 5-8 from 3 .....I’ve counted 5 assists

https://www.kokomotribune.com/sports/local_sports/boys-bb-blackford-edges-nw-in-entertaining-clash/article_d6fcd98a-4d43-11ea-89c5-73488fa13654.html

That has gotta be correct I was close to that number ...I was trying to keep track of shots but did a poor job ....he didn’t score AS efficiently as Luke but darn close ...I don’t think he took 20 shots to get the 34 and if so not many more. He also couldn’t have been taller than 6’1 and he is absolutely explosive

He finished with 31 or 32 on 14 total shots ..:extremely efficient game ...Blackford won by 10 my four year old was acting up but I counted 6 assists

Brown has covered him whole game ...he has at least 24 that I have counted ...you should get the game on YouTube or watch the end recording Parker is an absolute athletic freak

Blackford leading 40-30 brown is 6-8 from 3 and 2-3 from 2. 23 points and 4 assists in the first half. Tayson Parker has my top ten Dunk of the year mark at around 6:50 of the second quarter

I would agree with the comparison that it will be interesting but I disagree about the first quarter last year ...the first quarter Blackford played a 2/3 zone and got behind 20 something to 6 ...Parker scored 16 points only 6/7 shooting before they switched to man defense where he became browns assignment ....Im more worried about tonight at northwestern I’m afraid Luke’s teammates are going to shrink a little in this atmosphere ...also Jerry Hoover ( as much as I love him ) has a habit of trying this box and one defense that really allows the other team to stretch the floor and get open 3’s and I have a terrible feeling instead of playing straight man he will put brown on Parker and put the others in a 2-2 box

Blackford at northwestern tonight ...gym only holds a little under 2000 so it will be backed ...if you’re going in person make sure to check if tickets are available as they did an online pre-sale. Tayson Parker is one of the more athletic players you’ll find in the state for northwestern and I’m betting you’ll see Blackford start the game with Luke guarding him man to man so if you’re curious to see how he defends a top notch athlete this would be a good one to catch live or on YouTube.

Create ...no ...he would have no issue ....defend yes that would be a problem in Archie’s system that would require special planning to offset (brown )......sparks I’ve watched at least once each season and sometimes more ...he has made strides but right now he couldn’t get up and down The floor for more than 5 minutes at a time with an Indiana Wesleyan ....if they kid gets more aggressive and really works on his conditioning he has potential ...very soft touch for his size and he showed me some improved quickness with his footwork this year I was impressed with

Love this post because I’m in the same school of thought for both players ...there is zero cost to putting a foot in the door and keeping tabs ...if they don’t develop then you don’t offer ...if they do grow or develop more you’ll be glad you had a line in the water. I think the difference is sparks has what you can’t teach or make up with hard work and that’s size. I have seen both more than 5 times ( brown almost every game ) and I personally feel brown is closer to being a power 6 player BUT browns deficiencies can’t be made up for at least through his own control ...if sparks got a persona trainer and a more aggressive mindset he could make a MAJOR jump where as brown is already maximizing his potential and he’s at the mercy of nature

I absolutely love the approach of looking for under-recruited talent and I love even more the idea of putting a “foot in the door “ ....it’s a low cost high reward scenario in the event the kid gets in better shape and grows anymore ...why WOULDNT you want to have a line to him in case he develops more ?! I am in the camp that doesn’t think he can be a big 10 post player but that doesn’t mean he won’t grow or get better so why write him off ? Same way I feel with brown ...

What I got back from folks in Randolph county I know was a mixed bag ...all said He’s a fairly good guy ( paraphrasing ) and is a good rah-rah type but the common knock was a question of the “ X’s and O’s” ability ....this was specifically brought up in regards to sparks feeling that he is under utilized or that not enough has been done to tailor the offense to the obvious strength or push him to be more aggressive ....For perspective I would say the individuals I spoke to are avid basketball fans but I don’t beliebe any of them had any coaching experience above the junior high level

Andrean wins 70-68 on last second shot ...Brown finishes with 36...fun game to watch

Halftime Blackford vs 2A defending state champ Andrean : Blackford 30 Andrean 20 brown has 20 points and 2 assists ...couple of steals and rebounds playing against a more athletic opponent

great New article today by Indy Star Gregg doyel ...it’s available online and will run in the paper tomorrow

Blessed to have that many options but I can see where it would be a tough decision ...by all accounts seems like a great young man