By Brady Extin | The Times-Post
MADISON COUNTY — The annual IBCA/IHSAA Boys Basketball Team Showcase, in memory of Charlie Hughes, took place this past weekend in Carmel and Westfield.
A record 156 teams, including both Pendleton Heights and Lapel, competed in the event hosted by the basketball coaches association and the high school sanctioning body.
The number of teams for this year’s “Charlie Hughes” exceeded last year’s record of 132.
Hughes, who passed away in 2014, was a longtime behind-the-scenes worker for youth basketball and coordinator of the high school basketball showcase each year.
The event is, for many programs, a wrap-up of summer play. It is also a showcase for college scouts to watch Indiana talent. Coaches from NCAA Division I, Division II, Division III, NAIA and NJCAA were all in attendance, scouting future players.
The IBCA and the IHSAA partnered to make the Showcase a “scholastic event” under NCAA and National Federation of State High School Associations rules, thereby making the events open for NCAA Division I coaches to attend in person for purposes of evaluating prospective players. Only events sanctioned by the IHSAA and IBCA may have NCAA Division I coaches attend during this “scholastic recruiting period.”
A girls showcase took place for the first time the previous weekend at Hamilton Southeastern and Mt. Vernon. It included 72 teams, including Pendleton Heights and Lapel.
At the boys showcase, Lapel and Pendleton Heights had good showings.
With both teams finishing under .500 this past season, the showcase was a chance to see how the young teams have progressed and how they stack up with other teams across the state.
After opening-game losses, the two teams closed out the showcase with three straight wins.
The Bulldogs dropped their first game on Saturday, 59-42 to Princeton. They followed up the loss with a 55-42 win against Central Noble later in the day, and then on Sunday, they defeated Mooresville 60-52 and Indianapolis Arsenal Tech 64-57.
The Arabians’ path was the same.
On Friday, they lost their opening game against Evansville North 60-51 but defeated Evansville Memorial 63-51 later in the day. On Saturday, they knocked off Evansville Reitz 59-51 and Carroll (Flora) 79-39.
At the girls showcase, Pendleton Heights also recorded a 3-1 record over the four-game stretch.
They opened with a 57-44 win versus McCutcheon. After dropping their second game of the day 49-45 against Washington, they bounced back the following day with a 56-43 win against Cathedral and a 60-29 trouncing of Portage.
For the Lapel girls, the showcase was an opportunity to see how the state runner-ups stack up with statewide competition as they prepare to build off last year’s success.
They opened the showcase with a 62-47 loss to Silver Creek and a 63-53 loss to Crown Point, but bounced back the following day with a 65-50 win against Austin and a 49-48 win versus Reitz Memorial.