by Andy Amey
Tribune-Star

The Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference boys basketball race this season is following a tough act.

Last year the MIC had the state's top-ranked team until Lawrence North lost its final regular-season game at Terre Haute North. Then, after the Wildcats' John Stewart suffered a tragic death in regional competition, conference co-champion Indianapolis North Central took over the leadership role and became Class 4A state champions.

Huge graduation losses hit almost every conference school, which would seemingly indicate that this could be a down year for the league.

Probably not.

"We lost a lot of people, and so did North Central and Center Grove," noted Coach Jim Jones of North, the MIC's other regional champion in 1999, "but Lawrence North has a lot of people back, Ben Davis has some good people back and so does Warren Central, and [Terre Haute] South has most of their kids back."

"I don't know if top to bottom it will be like it was last year," said Coach Scott Heady of Warren Central, which finished in sixth place yet was three baskets away from finishing third, "but the conference was very good last year."

"There's a lot of parity this year," said Coach Steve Witty of Ben Davis, whose team is ranked sixth in the state by Hoosier Basketball Magazine. "Probably Lawrence North [is the favorite], but Terre Haute North ought to be pretty good and Center Grove and Warren Central had reserve teams [last year] that were very strong."

"Ben Davis will rebound from a non-Ben Davis season," predicted Coach Pete Smith of Carmel, "but Lawrence North will be very strong, I don't think Terre Haute North will miss too much of a beat, and Terre Haute South should be improved."

"Ben Davis will be the team to beat, and Warren had an awfully good JV team," said Coach Doug Mitchell of North Central, "but with the coaching as good as it is in this league, you can never rule out anybody."

"Ben Davis will be awfully good, North Central will be tough and Center Grove had a great B team," said Coach Pat Rady of South.

"So many [teams] lost so much, [the conference race] is probably kind of an open affair," said Coach Jack Keefer of Lawrence North, "but I like my team; I think we've got a good shot."

"South has some players back and Lawrence North will still be pretty strong," said Coach Bill Zych of Center Grove. "This year it's a little more open, but I think experience counts a great deal and unfortunately we'll be on the short end of that."

The conference girls race would appear on the surface to be a little more cut-and-dried. Defending champion Ben Davis, led by junior stars Ashley Allen and Shyra Ely and senior glue Sara Strahm, go into the season as the state's top-ranked girls team.

"For the most part it will be Ben Davis and the rest of us," predicted Coach Joe Lentz of Center Grove, whose Trojans were conference runners-up last year. "I think North Central will be better and Terre Haute North will be improved. South will be very different than the last couple of years."

"It's not even a question," said Coach Alan Veach of North. "Ben Davis is the best in the state. Center Grove always has a tough team, but the other six of us? Flip a coin."

"The conference is always tough," cautioned Coach Stan Benge of Ben Davis. "Center Grove will be good again, I think North Central will be good, Carmel will be better and South will be better than people think."

Prospects for the eastern six teams in the league look like this.

Ben Davis -- Witty mentioned just two prospects for the Giants (15-8, 3-4 last year) -- 6-5 junior Aaron Patterson, already being touted as a potential all-stater, and 6-3 senior C.J. Hill.

"Our JV was 18-2, and there are a lot of good juniors up from that team," he added, however. Among the sophomore prospects is also 6-2 James Banks, one of three all-conference quarterback prospects who also plays basketball and a player both North and South have already seen plenty of this year.

Carmel -- Although just 5-16 and 1-6 last year, Smith sees his Greyhounds as being much improved.

"It was difficult for our older players last year to change bad habits," he said. "With the summer we've had, we'll be very competitive, but size and speed are major issues."

Returning regulars include 5-10 junior Travis Houghton, 6-4 senior Jeff Browne and 5-8 senior Andy Warren, while 6-1 sophomore Zach Richards, 6-2 senior Art Fisher and 6-2 junior Michael Logar figure to help.

Center Grove -- "We graduated nine seniors, so we're basically starting over," Zych said, "but our JV won 17 games with three freshmen on it."

Derrick Pulse, a 6-3 senior, is the only returning regular for the Trojans (16-5, 5-2). Help figures to come from 6-3 junior Matt Goodpaster, 5-10 junior Adam Bishop, 6-1 sophomore Eric McClurg, 6-7 sophomore Kyle Coffey and 6-4 sophomore Joel Hobson.

Lawrence North -- Another of the great quarterbacks who are two-sport stars is 6-3 junior Chris Hill, a deadly 3-point shooter who is one of two returning starters for the Wildcats (24-2, 6-1).

Andy Means, a 6-5 senior, also returns as do reserves Jesse McClung, a 6-0 junior, and 6-6 senior Fred Long. Hakeem Abdullah, a 5-9 junior, and 6-6 sophomore Angelo Smith are others to watch.

North Central -- "We graduated nine seniors, but I love the kids I've got coming back," said Mitchell, who thinks 6-4 senior Nick Gardner could be an Indiana All-Star for the Panthers (25-5, 6-1).

Donald Yates, also 6-4, is one of the best juniors in the state, Mitchell added, and 6-3 Doug Moore adds more senior leadership.

Warren Central -- The towering front line is gone from the Warriors (11-9, 2-5), who will be led by 6-0 junior point guard Terren Wilson.

Two seniors, 6-1 Max Manes and 6-3 Justin Beriault, have varsity experience and 6-9 junior Will Caudle will get a lot of it real soon.

"We have a chance to be pretty good, but we have a lot of question marks," Heady said.

Ben Davis -- The 6-2 Ely and the 5-10 Allen combined for 37 points per game last year for the Giants (25-2, 7-0), with Ely considered the nation's best junior by one publication, and the 5-10 Strahm still might be the team's most valuable player because of her toughness and versatility.

Sophomore Amber Johnson, half of the Giants' point-guard platoon, has a knee injury but her fellow sophomore Megan Jones is still there at that spot. There are plenty of other players too.

Carmel -- Last year's Greyhounds (6-15, 2-5) had the first losing season in a decade, and Coach Judi Warren isn't planning on another for a while.

No double-figure scorers return, but 6-0 senior Katherine Seright, 5-8 senior Leah Boehme and 5-4 junior Brandi Hollingsworth all averaged more than eight points and are among seven returning letterwinners.

Center Grove -- Lentz has to replace two guards, including All-Star and four-year starter Emily Butler, from last year's Trojans (17-6, 6-1) but has a solid front line in 6-0 senior Jessica Bochner, 6-1 junior Jennifer Gandolph and 6-1 sophomore Ashley Buckingham. Bochner was all-MIC.

Two 5-8 juniors, Katie Boone and Sarah Eckart, have some starting experience while 5-10 senior Julie Cord and 5-11 junior Angie Epps have experience and 5-11 junior Maria Ruhane is a future prospect.

Lawrence North -- The Wildcats (6-15, 2-5) keep improving under Coach Jodie Whitaker, a former Indiana All-Star.

A list of six letterwinners is led by 5-7 senior Lindsay Fisher and 5-9 senior Lindsay Lockhart.

North Central -- Coach Alan Vickrey built powerhouse teams at Brebeuf and may be on the verge of another with the Panthers (9-12, 2-5), who have nine returning veterans.

North Central's pressure defense requires a lot of players, but one that's usually on the floor is 5-8 junior Shyra Samuels (12 points, seven rebounds per game).

Warren Central -- Hopes for improvement over last year's records of 5-16 and 1-6 dimmed somewhat when sisters Rachel and Ruthanne Clark moved after combining for 19 points a game last year.

Coach Susan McKinney-Wilcox still has a pair of starters back in 5-8 sophomore Ashley Mays (10 points per game) and 5-6 senior Niki Adamson.

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