Junior All

Jun 09, 2023

INDIANAPOLIS -- The youngsters have bragging rights.

The boys Junior All-Stars knocked off the Indiana All-Stars 105-100 Wednesday night at Cathedral High School, holding off the seniors in the final minute. Franklin guard Micah Davis finished with 26 points and Brownstown Central's Jack Benter had 20 of his 24 in the second half for the Juniors.

The All-Stars will play Friday in Owensboro, Ky., against the Kentucky All-Stars, then return home Saturday to play the second game of the doubleheader against Kentucky at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

Here are 10 takeaways from Wednesday's game:

The first comment after the game from All-Stars coach Don Carlisle of Ben Davis was on the play of Franklin's 6-2 Davis, who scored his 26 points on 12-for-20 shooting and added seven rebounds, five assists and three steals in nearly 30 minutes.

"He played great," Carlisle said.

Davis was disappointed with his eight turnovers, but was able to penetrate against the All-Stars and created trouble in the open court. The lefty has offers from Ball State, Purdue Fort Wayne and IUPUI. He said Virginia and Notre Dame are high-major programs that have reached out recently.

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"I could have taken care of the ball (better)," Davis said. "But I like how we played a fast pace. That's the game I like to play."

Davis averaged 17.3 points, 5.1 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game as a junior at Franklin and goes into his final summer prior to his senior year looking to make an impression.

"Passing and getting to the hole are my strengths," he said. "I need to work on my shooting. I have to work my butt off to get (the college coaches) eyes on me and keep doing what I’m doing."

Davis said he is planning an official visit to Purdue Fort Wayne in the near future.

For Carlisle and his two All-Stars, Zane Doughty and Sheridan Sharp, it was their first loss together since the end of the 2021-22 season against Cathedral in the regional championship.

The All-Stars led 98-96 with 2 minutes left, but were unable to hold the lead. Davis scored on a drive, then Kokomo's 6-10 Flory Bidunga scored on a putback dunk to put the Juniors ahead to stay.

Bidunga finished with 18 points, 21 rebounds and six blocked shots and played 37 minutes, 40 seconds of the 40-minute game.

"I thought we executed at times and did what we were supposed to do," Carlisle said. "But Micah Davis, Flory and K.J. (Windham) played really well. I thought we got selfish a little bit at times. We only had three practices with the group so we just have to play together a little bit more. It wasn't organized all the time. I would have lost my mind if some of these plays would have happened at Ben Davis."

The All-Stars were without Cathedral's Xavier Booker (Michigan State), Linton-Stockton's Joey Hart (undecided) and Carmel's Sam Orme (Belmont) on Wednesday night.

Indiana All-Star director Mike Broughton said Booker, who will report to Michigan State Thursday, will not play this week. Hart, who has turf toe, is expected to attend the game Saturday but not play. Broughton expects the 6-9 Orme to be with the team this weekend. He was at Belmont early in the week for registration.

Sharp played a shade over 30 minutes, the most on the 10-man roster.

Brownsburg's Kanon Catchings and Fort Wayne North Side's Brauntae Johnson did not play for the Junior All-Stars. Chesterton's Justin Sims filled in for the Juniors, who had an 11-palyer roster.

The 6-5 Benter, a Purdue recruit and big-time scorer at Brownstown Central, got hot in the second half.

Benter was 0-for-5 from the 3-point line going into halftime as the Juniors trailed, 45-43. But he was 5-for-7 from the arc in the second half and finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds.

"We didn't shoot the ball well and we didn't play the best last time," Benter said of the Junior All-Stars loss to the Kentucky Juniors on Sunday in Jeffersonville. "So we were going to make an effort to come back and win this one. It's nice beat the seniors."

Benter said he "came out with confidence and let it fly" in the second half. He also posted up once in the second half with the 6-10 Bidunga making the entry pass.

"When you start hitting, that's all you are thinking about is getting the ball and hitting the next one," Benter said.

Benter averaged 28.7 points per game as a junior at Brownstown Central, the highest season mark of any player in Wednesday's game other than IndyStar Mr. Basketball Markus Burton (30.2 ppg).

Myles Colvin was playing on the opposition Wednesday, but said it was good to see a fellow future Boilermaker get it going.

"It's always good to see my friends and future teammates do well and show their talent across the state and country," he said.

Burton had a mixed bag of a game.

The Penn guard and IndyStar Mr. Basketball led his team with 23 points on 8-for-16 shooting and also pitched in five rebounds, two assists and two steals.

But it felt a little empty after the All-Stars gave away a late lead.

"Overall, I feel like we played pretty well," Burton said. "But we’re all great players. It's hard for us to play together with us all knowing we can score the ball and all can shoot it. Credit to the juniors, they played hard and had a few players score double digits. But this is pretty fun group and no one is jealous. This is a tough one but we’ll get back at it Friday."

Bidunga, the 6-10 Kokomo star, arrived in Indiana on Wednesday morning after he was named Pangos All-American Camp MVP in Las Vegas a day earlier.

"I got some sleep," Bidunga said with a smile, "and now I’m here."

Though he was not exactly fully rested, Bidunga left a big impression on Wednesday's result on both ends of the floor. After the game, as the basket was being raised, he showed he had a little bit left in the tank and tried to dunk as the basket raised to 11 feet and beyond.

Bidunga's 18 points, 21 rebounds and six blocked shots were a major factor in the win. He went head-to-head much of the game with Ben Davis’ Doughty, as he did in the Wildkats’ Class 4A state championship loss.

"He's a pretty competent player, pretty strong," Bidunga said. "It's always a pleasure working with somebody great so you can get better, too."

Heritage Christian's Colvin, a 6-6 Purdue recruit, played well last year for the Juniors and put together another strong game with 18 points on 7-for-11 shooting with three rebounds, two steals and two assists.

"I think a lot of people around the city know what I can do," Colvin said. "But it's always fun showcasing my ability against other top talent."

Colvin said the chemistry was a little off Wednesday, especially down the stretch. But that is part of the process of getting ready for the games against Kentucky this weekend.

"I think at times you could see that we were struggling to mesh well," he said. "The majority of the game we did pretty well, but there were some key moments we ended up not meshing well and it cost us a little bit. When you lose a game by a couple possessions, those are little things you can change."

Outside of Benter, it was not necessarily a great night for perimeter shooting.

The Juniors were just 4-for-18 from the 3-point line without Benter's numbers factored in. Windham was 2-for-3 on 3s and finished with 19 points.

The All-Stars were 11-for-31 from 3. Crown Point's A.J. Lux was 2-for-4, along with Bloomington North's JQ Roberts and Penn's Burton. Zionsville's Logan Imes was 2-for-6.

The Juniors, led by Bidguna and Benter, outrebounded the All-Stars 54-42. Davis and Bidunga each had six offensive rebounds, which helped contribute to 26 second-chance points.

The All-Stars also missed 10 free throws, shooting 21-for-31.

Carlisle on what he hopes to get out of practice Thursday before the trip to Owensboro, Ky.:

"Everyone is an alpha on their respective teams and all of them go get a bucket when they need to. The hardest part is to get them more together to win in a limited amount of time and try to get them to play the way I envision them playing without having that relationship with them over time."