My View/Your View: Everyone has the right to their own opinion

Sitting around talking high school basketball at the 19th hole the other day, I found myself in a spirited conversation about the selection process of the girls and boys Indiana All-Star basketball teams. Actually, those in my group really felt the girls team was pretty well chosen, though I kind of thought that Fishers' Karli Harris had made a good case for possibly making the team. A good argument probably could have been made for Heritage Christian's Claire Freeman, too. Of course, five of the players chosen were from the Indianapolis area, led by Heritage Christian's Kelly Faris, so we were well represented for that matter. The only players I knew little about were Michigan City's Ta'Kenya Nixon, Fort Wayne's Lecretia Smith (Elmhurst) and Sydney Weinert (South) and Penn's Lily Svete. Not surprising, though, since northern and northwest Indiana players usually don't receive that much exposure, especially in the central part of the state. I came to grips with that in the mid-1970s to early 1980s when I was sports editor at the Michigan City News-Dispatch. Publicity can be hard to come by when you don't play games downstate or reach the State Finals. That's just the way it is, you know. Getting back to more Indiana All-Star selections, a coaching friend said he was surprised that there are so many point guards on the boys team this year. Four to be exact. That includes Rochester's Bruce Grimm Jr. Though known more for his scoring, as he exhibited in the Class 3A State Finals, at 6-foot, well, he's a point guard in all reality. Mr. Basketball Jordan Hulls, who's a terrific player, along with Evansville Harrison's 5-9 Kendall Brown and Fort Wayne North's 5-11 Justin Jordan, are the other point guards. Personally speaking, I thought the boys team was missing three obvious choices. North Central's top senior was 6-8 Justin Reid. Coach Doug Mitchell told me several weeks before the team was announced that he thought Reid was a lock to make it. That he felt his big man really deserved such an honor. I also thought as good as North Central was, a team that was arguably one of the top three or four teams in Class 4A, going 23-2 and losing twice to Lawrence North, that the Panthers deserved to have a presence on the All-Stars. One of the most athletic players overlooked for the All-Stars was Carmel's Morgan Newton. Yep, the same kid who was named Mr. Football in the fall. Another coaching friend said that even though Newton's scoring (17.5 points) and rebounding (9.2) numbers were right up there with some of the best, he thought that many of those voting only saw him as a football player. I'm sure his basketball coach, Mark Galloway, was somewhat disappointed that the Kentucky-bound quarterback won't be shooting jump shots in an All-Star uniform. It probably stands to reason that the Greyhounds losing in the sectional did not enhance his chances. The other player I thought was deserving was 6-10 Andrew Smith of Class 2A Covenant Christian. I saw him play only a few minutes against Guerin Catholic after he missed the first seven games of the season because of a leg or foot injury as I recall. He was rusty, but he had great hands and a big body and you could tell he was good and would have helped any team this season, including many top 4A programs. All the Butler-bound Smith did was average 23.3 points per game and lead the state in rebounding at 17.1. We all have opinions when it comes to honor teams. Sportswriters and sportscasters and coaches alike. Right or wrong.