Plunkett to play in N-S all-star game

Friday, March 29, 2019
Allen Plunkett drives upcourt against North Putnam in county tournament action this season.
Banner Graphic/JOEY BENNETT

South Putnam senior Allen Plunkett is among an elite group of Indiana’s senior basketball players who will convene at John R. Wooden Gymnasium at Martinsville High School on April 6 for the 31st annual North/South Indiana All-Star Classic.

Plunkett, who finished his Eagle career this season as the school’s career scoring leader with 1,599 points, will play in the boys’ 3 p.m. game. The girls’ game starts at 1 p.m.

Plunkett, the 2019 Putnam County “Player of the Year,” is the only county player among the 48 chosen for the game.

Opponents of Putnam County teams who will be in the doubleheader include Monrovia’s Maxwell Newman, Western Boone’s Madison Jones and Indian Creek’s Caitlyn Snyder.

The boys’ game features several players who will play Division I basketball in college, including Indiana signees Trayce Jackson-Davis (Center Grove) and Armaan Franklin (Indianapolis Cathedral) along with three Purdue recruits— Brandon Newman (Valparaiso), Isaiah Thompson (Zionsville) and Mason Gillis (New Castle), an honorary player due to injury.

Four 2019 IHSAA state finalists also headline the roster — Jalen Windham of Class 4A runnerup Ben Davis, Zane Gross of AAA State Champion Silver Creek, Ethan Brittain-Watts of AAA Runner-up Culver Academies and Gabe Gladish of Class A runner-up Barr-Reeve.

Other D-I players include two Indiana State recruits — Cobie Barnes, Floyd Central and Jared Hankins, Lawrence North — along with Cameron Alford, Brownsburg (Alabama A&M), Brittain-Watts, Culver Academies (Boston), Aaron Etherington, Hamilton Southeastern (Toledo) and Alex Hemenway, Castle (Clemson) and Richmond’s Lucas Kroft (Ball State).

The boys roster spots two of the top three scorers in the state — Hemenway (28.4 ppg) and Wyatt Felling, Triton Central (26.4).

Nine girls’ players have also been named to the 2019 Indiana All-Star team highlighted by Indiana recruits Jorie Allen, Bedford North Lawrence and Shaila Beeler, Warren Central along with Ohio State bound Rikki Harris, North Central (Marion) and Ball State signee Sydney Freeman of Central Noble.

Five more Indiana All-Stars along with the state’s top two scorers and three in-state Division I recruits spotlight the girls roster. Rounding out the 2019 Indiana All-Stars are Carissa Garcia (Fort Wayne Concordia), Maddie Nolan (Zionsville), Hannah Noveroske (Michigan City), Cameron Tabor (New Castle) and honorary player Lilly Hatton (North Harrison), who is injured and can not participate.

Madison Jones, Western Boone led the state in scoring with a 28.3 ppg scoring average followed by Makinzi Meurer of North Knox, who was second at 24.9. Three standouts who will continue their basketball careers at Indiana D1 schools are Evansville-bound Jossie Hudson of Evansville Mater Dei plus Indiana State signees Alyssa Robben (East Central) and Hattie Westerfeld (Batesville).

Another notable is Grace Waggoner, a member of the 2019 IHSAA Class A State Runner-up Vincennes Rivet team. She will play at Indiana.

Tickets are $10 and can be purchased from Martinsville High School by calling (765) 342-5571 ext. 4026.

North-South All-Star Game rosters

GIRLS ROSTER (1 P.M.)
NAME, SCHOOL, HT, POSCOLLEGE
Jorie Allen, Bedford North Lawrence (6-1, F)Indiana
Jordyn Barga, Monroe Central (6-0, F)Ky. Wesleyan
Shaila Beeler, Warren Central (5-7, G)Indiana
Addisyn Blackwell, Bloomington South (5-4, G)Southern Indiana
Sydney Freeman, Central Noble (5-7, G)Ball State
Carissa Garcia, FW Concordia (5-7, G Northern Kentucky
Rikki Harris, North Central (5-11, GOhio State
Jossie Hudson, Evansville Mater Dei (6-1, F)Evansville
Grace Hunter, Bellmont (5-10, F)Northern Illinois
Gracie Johnson, Martinsville (5-1, G)Cumberland
Madison Jones, Western Boone (5-8, G)Davenport (Mich.)
Bethany Mackin, Martinsville (5-8, G)Shawnee State
Makinzi Meurer, North Knox (5-5, G)Evansville (track)
Maddie Nolan, Zionsville (5-10, G)Miami (OH)
Hannah Noveroske, Michigan City (6-4, C)Xavier
Alyssa Robben, East Central (6-4, C)Indiana State
Elise Scaggs, Mooresville (5-11, F)Davenport (Mich.)
Caitlyn Snyder, Indian Creek (5-10, F)Anderson
Samantha Matthews, Charlestown (5-7, G)Tampa
Cameron Tabor, New Castle (5-9, G)Davidson
Ella Thompson, Center Grove (5-7, G)Bentley
Emma Utterback, Center Grove (5-9, G)Vermont
Grace Waggoner, Vincennes Rivet (6-0, F)Indiana
Hattie Westerfeld, Batesville (6-3, F)Indiana State

Coaches - Jeff Allen (Bedford North Lawrence) Andy Heim (Bellmont), Jessi Johnson (Martinsville) and Andy Maguire (Zionsville)

BOYS ROSTER (3 P.M.)
NAME, SCHOOL, HT, POSCOLLEGE
Cameron Alford, Brownsburg (6-2, G)Alabama A&M
Cobie Barnes, Floyd Central (6-6, F)Indiana State
Ethan Brittain-Watts, Culver Academies (6-1, G)Boston U.
Josh Bryan, Delta (6-3, G)Undecided
Drew Comer, Greensburg (6-4, F)Bellarmine
Aaron Etherington, Hamilton Southeastern (6-7, F)Toledo
Wyatt Felling, Triton Central (6-0, G)Undecided
Armaan Franklin, Indianapolis Cathedral (6-5, G)Indiana
Gabe Gladish, Barr-Reeve (6-1, G)Undecided
Zane Gross, Silver Creek (6-2, G)Rose-Hulman
Jared Hankins, Lawrence North (6-4, G)Indiana State
Alex Hemenway, Castle (6-4, G)Clemson
Trayce Jackson-Davis, Center Grove (6-10, F)Indiana
Lucas Kroft, Richmond (6-5, F)Ball State
Zach Kuhn, Shelbyville (6-4, G)Army-West Point
Isiah Moore, Warren Central (5-10, G)IU-East
Brandon Newman, Valparaiso (6-4, G)Purdue
Maxwell Newman, Monrovia (6-7, F)Bethel
Allen Plunkett, South Putnam (6-5, F)DePauw
Sam Skaggs, Logansport (6-0, G)Undecided
Reid Staggs, Martinsville (5-11, G)Undecided
Tyler Stead, Martinsville (6-5, F)Southern Indiana
Isaiah Thompson, Zionsville (6-0, G)Purdue
Jalen Windham, Ben Davis (6-5, G)Undecided

Coaches - Bobby Carter (Mooresville), Barak Coolman (Valparaiso), Brandon Hoffman (Silver Creek) and Kip Staggs (Martinsville)