My View/Your View: So who is No.1?

Talk of who should wear No. 1 as Indiana's Mr. Basketball has been on the lips and minds of many sports buffs the past week or so. Obviously, opinions vary. I personally do not see an overwhelming favorite. Yet, such talk could reach fever pitch Saturday in the Southport Semistate. Guard Jordan Hulls, of unbeaten Bloomington South, might be the front runner at this stage of the game. If so, then Saturday's semistate would be an ideal venue for him to put a stamp on his candidacy. Maybe even an exclamation point. The 6-foot Hulls has game as both point guard and a shooting guard, and the fact he's headed to Indiana University could help him. Still, when it comes to Mr. Basketball, there are a few scenarios to consider. Based on what I saw in the Hinkle Regional, Purdue-bound Patrick Bade made somewhat of a statement for such postseason accolades. The 6-8 forward delivered a 47-point performance, 25 points coming against perennial powerhouse Lawrence North, and may have put himself in the mix for Mr. Basketball. Bade, who's in a system where many people touch the ball, has stepped up his game when needed, especially when the Flashes have had some off-target shooting nights from their guards, namely senior Casey Coons, who's a threat beyond the arc, and improving sophomore Kyle James. Had heavily favored Lawrence North advanced as was expected, I think 6-9 center Stephan Van Treese could have been a strong candidate. "He doesn't shoot much,'' said his coach, Jack Keefer, "but he's steady (12.2 points, 9.2 rebounds, 2.2 blocks), and I don't think there's any big man who runs the floor better than he does.'' Van Treese, to me, should at least be an Indiana All-Star. Same for Carmel's Morgan Newton (17.6 points, 8.5 rebounds, 3.8 assists), arguably the state's best athlete? Not advancing out of the sectional didn't help Newton's resume for Mr. Basketball consideration, but what a story it would be if the 6-4 kid known more for football was named Mr. Basketball. I mean, our state has never had the same person named both Mr. Football and Mr. Basketball. When asked about such a possibility, his coach, Mark Galloway, told me after his opening win in the Noblesville Sectional, "He's definitely one of the top 12 players in the state. If we're talking three weeks from now ... well ..." Galloway was referring to the possibility of the Greyhounds reaching the State Finals and that the Kentucky-bound quarterback would have played a major role, much like he has all season, a role that might have made an even better case for him. "People don't realize just how good he is,'' said Galloway. "He likes football and basketball about the same, and he's obviously a great athlete. Tom Crean (IU's basketball coach) even told Morgan he could play both sports if he'd come to Bloomington. I coached a corps of junior all-stars last year, and I can tell you there's no one more athletic than Morgan.'' It could all go back to the fact Newton was on a team that failed to win a sectional, though the Greyhounds did reach the final game and lost to Hamilton Southeastern, which turned out to be a formidable opponent in the regional. To my knowledge, the last player named Mr. Basketball despite not winning the sectional was Noblesville's Tom Coverdale in 1998. Some other strong possibilities in no particular order: - Tipton's 6-8 Derek Elston, a 19-plus scorer and a strong rebounder who's headed to IU. - Batesville's 6-4 Colt Ryan, who scored a game-high 52 points this season, and will play at Evansville. - North Montgomery's 6-5 D.J. Byrd, who's headed for Purdue. - Marion's 6-6 Scott Wood, a consistent 25-point scorer who'll play at N.C. State. - Winchester's 6-4 Tyler Koch, who will attend Wright State. So, who's No. 1? I have no idea. The Mr. Basketball race is as close as I can recall. One reason it is so wide open, I believe, may be because the best player in the state isn't even a senior. Make that the best I saw this year were juniors - Lawrence North's Dominique Ferguson and North Central's Terone Johnson, who've committed to Kentucky and Purdue, respectively. Again, that's just my opinion. Any thoughts? Let me know. To contact Mark Morrow, post a comment or e-mail him at mediamarko@sbcglobal.net.