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BENNETT'S MINUTES: Neese, Moore enjoy matchup
NEW ALBANY — The biggest buzz surrounding Tuesday night’s exhibition game between the Indiana All-Stars and the Junior All-Stars was that the junior squad was able to pull off a win without the services of hometown star Romeo Langford, who was out of the country.
For Putnam County fans, the biggest highlight was the first-ever in-game matchup between recent Cloverdale graduate Cooper Neese and senior-to-be Jalen Moore.
Neese and Moore were two of the state’s top four scorers last winter as the Clovers won their third straight sectional title, and found themselves guarding each other on occasion on Tuesday night.
Neese finished with nine points, six rebounds, five assists and two steals — shooting 4 of 11 from the field (1 of 5 from 3-point range).
Moore scored seven points and handed out two assists, shooting 1 of 4 from the field (1 of 2 from 3-point range) and hitting all four of his free throws. He also clearly took a charge in the lane that was ruled otherwise by officials.
They both enjoyed the matchup, although Moore enjoyed it a little bit more since his team came away with the win.
“It was fun, and it was different” Moore said. “We haven’t really played against each other, except in scrimmages with our team. Everybody wanted to compete and everybody wanted to win.”
Moore found himself against some bigger and more physical defenders than usual, but rose to the challenge.
“I never back down,” he said. “My summer has gone great so far. I’ve worked hard on my game, and I think I’ve gotten better with my quickness and strength.”
Neese enjoyed the first three days of his all-star experience, reporting with the team on Sunday to Marian University.
While the junior team was playing without one of the nation’s top-ranked players in the class of 2018, the senior team was also short-handed.
Five of the original 13 players chosen for the team were not in action on Tuesday.
Forwards Zach Gunn of Hamilton Southeastern and Jermaine Couisnard of East Chicago Central are injured, and sharpshooter Sasha Stefanovic of Crown Point was attending his graduation ceremony.
Malik Williams (a seven-footer headed to Louisville) and Jaylen Butz (a 6-10 rebounder bound for DePaul) both dropped off the team due to their graduation ceremonies this Saturday in Fort Wayne.
The senior squad still has a lot of talent, but is also without two of the nation’s more elite seniors in Jaren Jackson (formerly of Park Tudor, headed to Michigan State) and Paul Scruggs (formerly of Southport, headed to Xavier). Both transferred to prep schools for their senior year, making them ineligible for the all-star squad.
Regardless, Neese knows the players remaining will need to pick up their games in order to extend a 16-game winning streak over Kentucky in the series that begins on Saturday in Indianapolis.
“It’s been fun and a cool experience,” he said. “Getting to see what their games are like and trying to improve what you do.”
Neese has also enjoyed working with the coaches of the team.
“They are all good coaches and I’ve learned a lot,” he said.
The senior team led 56-50 at halftime, but the deeper junior squad wore down its older counterparts in the second half.
“Everybody could tell we were tired,” Neese said. “We’ve had two-a-days ever since we got up there, and everybody was complaining about ‘jelly legs’ all night. Fatigue was a big factor. They hit a lot, and we didn’t.”
Mr. Basketball Kris Wilkes led the senior team with 33 points, while Damezi Anderson of South Bend Riley led the juniors with 24. De’Avion Washington of Terre Haute South added 21 for the juniors.
Neese has identified that his defensive improvement will likely dictate how much he plays this winter in his freshman year at Butler, and while his shooting was below normal he worked harder than anyone on the other end of the court.
“I’m just trying to improve on it and keep working hard at it,” he said. “When my shot’s not falling, I have to turn to another part of my game.”
Neese was glad his team would have practice opportunities for three days following Tuesday’s game, including another exhibition on Thursday night at Plainfield, to get ready for Kentucky.
“Our assist numbers went down in the second half, and we have to work on that,” he said. “I think we helped a little too much, and they hit a lot of shots. They had a lot of good talent.”
Neese didn’t show any negative effects of a broken toe suffered late last week. He enjoyed playing against Moore
“It’s fun,” he said. “We went against each other in practice all the time, but this was the first time in a real game. He’s family, so it’s a big thing. I hope he enjoyed it as well.”
Neese thought Moore played well.
“He was aggressive when he came in,” he said. “When you get in games like this, the refs let you play a little more. He played well.”