Under the radar: The 8 best Fort Wayne boys basketball players that aren't being talked about enough

As basketball season is officially kicking off, the hype train is in full steam for a lot of area talents. Caleb Swanigan will have his choice of schools to attend, almost anywhere, while teammate Dana Batt is headed D1, as is Carroll’s Chandler White. Brachen Hazen of Columbia City, Jordan Geist of Homestead, Reggie Tharp of Concordia, and Keonte Jenkins of Horizon Christian are all can’t miss prospects.

And there are many more. But with that many more, there often is a wall. Fort Wayne is deep. There is a top, middle and a bottom. The top gets talked about, a lot. And I am just as guilty as anyone. But that middle group, maybe not the current elite, it is as deep as it has been in Fort Wayne for a long, long time. 8 of those players are my focus today.

The 8 guys that nobody is talking about, but surely should be.

Nick Thomas – South Side

Mostly because South Side has struggled in recent years, there isn’t much talk about Archer players. But there are a lot of really solid performers at South. One of them, probably not discussed because of the shadow of his older brother Nate, is Nick Thomas. Nate was the South Side leader last year, but he has headed off to college to leave younger brother Nick to hold his own. And can he ever. Nick is an unassuming guy, not in size or stature, but in demeanor. But, he can run the court like a wing and battle for position and rebounds with a lot of bigs. You can tell he prides himself on it even. While South has some talent and some young talent at that, Nick is going to be a key factor in any potential success this season.

Avery Fath

Fath is a name you probably don’t know at all actually if you are a casual fan. But if you pay attention to the local scene, you should know it. He’s easily a top 10, if not top five player in the area in the Class of 2016 (only clearly behind Hazen, Tharp, Surface, Kyle Mallers and Dylan Barrow IMO). The kid is the pure definition of composure. At 5’9” he isn’t the most physically imposing, but he reads the floor well and is a great point guard that doesn’t need to be “score first” or “pass first.” If you are open, he will find you. If he is open, he will find the basket. He wants the ball in his hand to make the majority of the decisions and unlike a lot of kids his age, he is capable of doing so on a strong level.

Richard Robertson and Jagger Surface - Northrop

I firmly believe Robertson could have competed full time on varsity a year ago as a freshman. He has razor sharp instincts on the court and has the ability to spread the game out. He and Surface are very different players, built very differently but do a lot of the same things (in their own unique ways). Northrop has a lot of ability all around, but these two are great at getting to the basket. That will help them both: A) create their own shots off the dribble and B) drive and kick the ball back out, possibly to each other because they are both knock down shooters. Surface has all the swag and confidence you need from a great floor general and Robertson has the work ethic to rival most in the SAC.

Terrell Crews – North Side

Last year, the squad was deep with seniors and this year, it is the transfers that get the attention at North. But I won’t forget about the younger Crews, who was a key role player in that unbelievable Redskins team a year ago. Let us not forget that the team didn’t dip when he came into the game. He is a hustler, who gets after the ball on defense. How his offense develops, we will see but he can be a finesse defender and one I don’t think will be hurt too bad in the long run by new hand check rules. He may not be North’s best overall player, but he has a lot of talent pumping through his blood.

Richard Bufkin-Scott – Wayne

There aren’t a lot of natural bruiser players left in the area. Chalk that up to what you want. Are kids babied? Is there too much crying? Too much fighting? Richard is just a hard nosed, ‘yes coach,’ go get it done type of a kid. He doesn’t have a ton of flash, but he doesn’t need it. If you don’t know where he is on the court, chances are, he’s probably about to block you out to grab a rebound. He’s tough to defend inside because he doesn’t care if he runs you over. Add in a decent mid-range jumper and he’ll be helpful in Wayne’s rebuild.

Dana Batt – Homestead

Yeah, yeah, I’m cheating a little bit here. But transfers and that potential McDonalds All-American on his team have sent Batt down the focus line a little bit. Too much? Well no, he’s still a 6’8’’ Division 1 prospect, so how much can you ignore him? Batt has developed a lot over the summer and is tough inside, making opponents fight for every last rebound. He’s a rare high school big in that he wants to post up naturally and then work on offensive post moves to get to the basket. He has a nasty post and spin and creates great space for him to do work and he’s a finisher: dunk, lay-up, put back, it doesn’t matter. Considering that a lot of team’s best attempt to slow Homestead is to double Swanigan in the post, Batt could get a lot of great looks this year.

Kyle Hartman – Bishop Dwenger

I am actually surprised how little you hear about this guy as the season begins. In my opinion, he was Dwenger’s best player last year. He’s allusive on the offensive end and can shoot the ball with a touch as good as any player in this area. Dwenger is always going to be a tough match up, always. Hartman will be a killer for them and could ruin a lot of nights for a lot of other guys. He’s a true fundamentalist player. He’s got talent around him. Ryan Christman is always good for some big shots and I will rave about a sophomore who may or may not see varsity action in Campbell Donovan, but Hartman is the glue, the model of consistency for a program that strives for consistency.