Prolific scorers pace IBCA Player of the Week honorees
Moore, Hemenway, Brooks, Phinisee, Lairy headline winners for week of Dec. 11-16
Four 50-point scorers and multiple record-setting performers headline the recipients in this week’s IBCA/Subway Player of the Week program.
Cloverdale senior Jalen Moore, Castle junior Alex Hemenway, Fort Wayne North junior Keion Brooks Jr. and McCutcheon senior Robert Phinisee all scored 50 or more points in a single game in a remarkable week of outstanding performances.
The quartet is joined by Evansville Bosse senior Mekhi Lairy as a fifth boys’ honoree for the week of Dec. 11-16. The girls’ winners are Gary Lighthouse senior Daijah Smith, Danville sophomore Ella Collier and Providence senior Hannah Wolford.
Brooks and Smith are honorees for District 1 in the recognition program coordinated by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association. Moore, Phinisee and Collier are winners for District 2. Hemenway, Lairy and Wolford are recipients in District 3.
Moore averaged 45.7 points and 6.3 rebounds, including a school-record-tying 53 points in one game, in a 3-0 week for the Cloverdale boys (6-2). The 5-9 guard opened with 48 points, seven rebounds, nine assists and two steals as the Clovers beat South Putnam 72-53. He followed with 36 points, three rebounds, three assists and seven steals ina 60-43 triumph over Brown County.
Moore capped his week with his 53-point explosion in an 80-64 victory over Greencastle, tying the school record set last season by Cooper Neese against Southmont. Moore added nine rebounds, five assists and four steals against the Tiger Cubs, hitting 19-of-33 shots, 3-of-9 3-pointers and 12-of-13 free throws. Over three games, he was 43-of-84 from the floor, 11-of-27 on 3s and 40-of-46 on free throws.
Hemenway had 34.0-point and 5.0-assist averages in leading the Castle boys (3-3) to two victories. The 6-4 guard scored 15 points with two rebounds and seven assists in a 71-53 triumph over Evansville Reitz. Hemenway then produced a school-record 53 points with nine rebounds and three assists as the Knights beat Dayton (Ohio) Thurgood Marshall 101-73 in the Bosse Winter Showcase.
Hemenway made 19-of-29 shots, 2-of-5 3-pointers and 13-of-13 free throws in his big game, which eclipsed the previous Castle school record of 52 points by Luke Sprague against Bowling Green (Ohio) on Dec. 28, 2007. For both games, Hemenway was 25-of-43, 3-of-11 from long range and 15-of-17 on free throws.
Brooks averaged 35.0 points and 10.5 rebounds in propelling the Fort Wayne North boys (6-2) to two triumphs. The 6-10 standout opened with a school-record 52 points plus 13 rebounds and four assists in a 102-81 decision over Fort Wayne Snider. He followed with 18 points, eight rebounds and two assists as the Legends edged Villa Angela-St. Joseph (Ohio) 80-79.
Against Snider, Brooks’ output broke the Fort Wayne North school record of 47 points set by Sean McGee against Fort Wayne South on Dec. 23, 2014. Brooks was 18-of-25 from the field, 3-of-5 on 3-pointers and 13-of-17 on free throws against Snider. Over both games, he shot 26-of-38, 3-of-7 on 3s and 15-of-19 on free throws.
Phinisee also averaged 35.0 points over two games as the McCutcheon boys improved to 6-2. The Indiana University recruit opened with 50 points as the Mavericks walloped Harrison (West Lafayette) 91-34 and followed with 20 points and five rebounds in a 58-31 victory at Winamac. The 6-1 guard made 21 shots from the field, four 3-pointers and 4-of-6 free throws against Harrison.
Phinisee’s 50-point effort was eight points shy of McCutcheon’s single-game school record of 58 points set by Chad Peckinpaugh against Fountain Central on Feb. 11, 1995. But Phinisee set the school career scoring record in the game, eclipsing the mark of 1,470 set by 2002 graduate Avery Sheets. Phinisee finished the week with 1,525 career points.
Lairy had norms of 28.0 points and 7.7 assists in three triumphs for the Evansville Bosse boys (6-0). The 5-9 guard opened with 33 points, six rebounds and 10 assists in an 85-59 victory over Evansville Memorial. The Miami of Ohio signee added 15 points, four rebounds and eight assists in limited minutes as the Bulldogs beat Washington 92-42. He then produced 36 points, six rebounds and five assists in a 74-64 decision over Culver Military in the Bosse Winter Showcase.
Lairy became Bosse’s career leading scorer in the Memorial game, finishing the week with 1,611 points and surpassing the previous school mark of 1,559 points by 1967 graduate Larry Weatherford. Over the three games, Lairy hit 30-of-48 shots, 10-of-15 3-pointers and 14-of-15 free throws.
Smith averaged 34.0 points, 9.5 rebounds and 7.5 assists in leading the Gary Lighthouse Prep Academy girls (7-2) to two victories. The 5-11 guard scored 32 poitns with nine rebounds, four assists and five steals in an 86-27 rout of Hammond. The Indiana State recruit followed with a triple-double of 36 points, 10 rebounds, 11 assists and eight steals as the Lions whipped Hammond Gavit 87-32. Over both games, Smith made 30-of-53 field goals, 7-of-18 3-pointers and 1-of-2 free throws.
Collier netted 27 points in a pair of games with a perfect shooting performance in one of them for the Danville girls (8-3). The 5-11 guard scored 27 points – going 9-of-9 from the field, 7-of-7 on 3-pointers and 2-of-2 from the line – with three rebounds, one assist and two steals in a 57-39 victory over Decatur Central. Collier then tallied 27 points with three rebounds, three assists and five steals as the Warriors topped Lebanon 74-33. Over both games, she was 21-of-23 on field goals, 8-of-9 on 3-pointers and 4-of-5 on free throws.
Wolford tossed in school-record 36 points for the Providence girls in their only game of the week, a 70-56 setback to New Albany. The 5-8 guard added six rebounds, six assists and two steals as the Pioneers dropped to 5-5. Wolford hit 12-of-21 shots, including 5-of-6 3-pointers, plus 7-of-12 free throws in the game.
This is the 10th season for the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association Player of the Week program and the sixth season it is presented by Subway Restaurants of Indiana, a banner sponsor of the IBCA. Subway, in its seventh season as an IBCA sponsor, encourages athletes to “train hard and eat fresh.”
Player of the Week winners are chosen each week from each of the IHSAA’s three districts. Girls’ winners will be chosen from now through the week following Feb. 24. Boys’ winners will be chosen starting in three weeks and through the week following March 24.
Other nominees for Week 7 (2017-18)
           District 1 boys – Cade Albers, Westville; Damezi Anderson, South Bend Riley; Noah Applegate, Penn; Jeremy Davison, Leo; Noah Dur, Lowell; Jordan Higgins, River Forest; Colin Kenney, Marquette Catholic; Malik Miller, Hammond; Darrell Reed, Hammond Clark; Amari Sherrod, Bowman Academy; Peyton Trexler, Southwood; Connor Utley, Northridge; Jake Wadding, Chesterton; Trey Waddups, Pioneer; River West, Whitko; Craig Young, Fort Wayne Wayne.
District 1 girls – Taylor Austin, Lake Station; Hannah Barnes, Fort Wayne Snider; Addison Bayman, Woodlan; Izzy Bednarowski, Munster; Leigha Brown, DeKalb; ShaEttine Butler, Hammond Morton; Taniece Chapman, Fort Wayne South; Savannah Feenstra, NorthWood; Carissa Garcia, Fort Wayne Concordia; Addy Miller, Tippecanoe Valley; Emma Nolan, Marquette Catholic; Hannah Noveroske, Michigan City; Riley Ott, LaPorte; Lindsey Stokes, Kankakee Valley; Sydney Van Meter, Rensselaer Central; Sarah Weston, Westville.
           District 2 boys – Cody Albin, Bishop Chatard; Avery Beaver, Lafayette Jeff; Josh Bryan, Delta; Nathan Childress, Zionsville; Thomas Fanning, South Putnam; Will Geiger, Norwell; Mason Gillis, New Castle; J.D. Hoover, Blackford; Bennie Patterson, Tri-County; Spencer Reist, Brebeuf Jesuit; Wyatt Rudy, Madison-Grant; Jonah Switzer, Lafayette Central Catholic; Dean Tate, Warren Central; Peyton West, Wapahani; Jalen Windham, Ben Davis; Colin York, Greencastle.
District 2 girls – Taylor Boruff, Northwestern; Meghan Busick, Bellmont; Shelby Caldwell, Jay County; Emma Fisher, Benton Central; Rikki Harris, North Central; Blaine Kelly, Alexandria; Emily Kiser, Noblesville; Katherine Lang, Delphi; Kylie Martin, West Lafayette; Cherelle Newsom, Ben Davis; Maddie Nolan, Zionsville; Kathryn Perry, Shenandoah; Elizabeth Reece, Yorktown; Audrey Reed, Sheridan; Taylor Westgate, Oak Hill; Michaela White, Pike.
           District 3 boys – Jacob Babcock, Paoli; Murray Becher, Heritage Hills; Terrence Browning-Sloan, Rock Creek; Drew Comer, Greensburg; Robin Duncan, Evansville Harrison; Jon Eineman, Mooresville; Gabe Gladish, Barr-Reeve; Zach Kuhn, Shelbyville; Romeo Langford, New Albany; Hayden Langkabel, Morristown; Bryant Nalley, Pike Central; Wes Obermeier, Gibson Southern; Kolten Sanford, Evansville North; Collin Sayler, West Vigo; Reid Staggs, Martinsville; De’Avion Washington, Terre Haute South.
District 3 girls – Mackenzie Blazek, Whiteland; Jenna Borger, Columbus North; Maya Chandler, Triton Central; Nan Garcia, Jeffersonville; Hope Griffith, New Washington; Cassidy Hardin, Center Grove; Lilly Hatton, North Harrison; Hya Haywood, Evansville Central; Tabatha Klem, Gibson Southern; Maycee Lange, Vincennes Lincoln; Hailee Robbins, Franklin; Hannah Shrieves, Washington; Lilly Simon, Jac-Cen-Del; Hannah Sisk, Princeton; Kelsy Taylor, New Albany; Grace Waggoner, Vincennes Rivet; Kyra Whitaker, Greensburg.
2017-18 winners
           Oct. 31-Nov. 4 – District 1 girls: Leigha Brown, DeKalb. District 2 girls: Cassidy Crawford, Tipton; and Madison Layden, Northwestern. District 3 girls: Hya Haywood, Evansville Central.
Nov. 6-11 – District 1 girls: Karlee Feldman, Bremen. District 2 girls: Tomi Taiwo, Carmel. District 3 girls: Abby Wahl, Heritage Hills.
Nov. 13-18 – District 1 girls: Emma Nolan, Marquette Catholic. District 2 girls: Trinity Brady, Lawrence North; and Madeline Lawrence, Winchester. District 3 girls: Alison Hein, Vincennes Lincoln.
Nov. 20-25 – District 1 boys: Damezi Anderson, South Bend Riley. District 1 girls: Keegan Sullivan, South Bend St. Joseph. District 2 boys: Robert Phinisee, McCutcheon; and Garrett Pumphrey, Cambridge City Lincoln. District 2 girls: Mallory Hawkins, South Vermillion. District 3 boys: Romeo Langford, New Albany. District 3 girls: Juliana Kemper, Lawrenceburg.
Nov. 27-Dec. 2 – District 1 boys: Charlie Yoder, Westview. District 1 girls: Courtney Krol, Chesterton. District 2 boys: Luke Richardson, Lapel. District 2 girls: Sydney Tucker, Frankton. District 3 boys: Romeo Langford, New Albany. District 3 girls: Addisyn Blackwell, Bloomington South.
Dec. 4-9 – District 1 boys: Dominique Smith, Lake Station. District 1 girls: Timberlynn Thomas, South Bend Washington. District 2 boys: Edreece Redmond II, Bishop Chatard. District 2 girls: Maddie Nolan, Zionsville, and Audrey Reed, Sheridan. District 3 boys: Braeden Beard, Tell City. District 3 girls: Mackenzie Blazek, Whiteland.
Dec. 11-16 – District 1 boys: Keion Brooks Jr., Fort Wayne North. District 1 girls: Daijah Smith, Gary Lighthouse. District 2 boys: Jalen Moore, Cloverdale, and Robert Phinisee, McCutcheon. District 2 girls: Ella Collier, Danville. District 3 boys: Alex Hemenway, Castle, and Mekhi Lairy, Evansville Bosse. District 3 girls: Hannah Wolford, Providence.