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 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.
