When you watch the No. 1 North Central High School basketball team play, the first thing you notice is the quickness, athleticism and play-making ability of their 5’10” and 160 pound point guard Ronnie Johnson.
Johnson has committed to play basketball at Purdue University next year and has started his senior year with his sights set on Conseco Fieldhouse. In two games last week Johnson scored 31 points (Dec. 2) against Richmond High School and 17 points (Dec. 3) against Gary Lew Wallace High School. The schedule and tests get tougher for Johnson and the Panthers with back to back games against Carmel (Dec. 9) and Bowman Academy (Dec. 10).
Dec. 9 Games to see:
No. 5 Lawrence Central at No. 6 Pike
Lawrence Central has a lot of experience and is led by Indiana recruit senior Jeremy Hollowell. The 3-0 Bears will need all of their experience in a hostile environment. The Pike Red Devils are led by sharp shooter R.J. Hunter and speedy point guard Zavier Turner. Both teams like to push the ball up the court, so this promises to be an up-tempo, high-scoring game.
No. 3 Cathedral at Tech
The young Tech Titans are coming off two tough losses on back to back nights against Lawrence Central and Carmel. In both games the Titans showed flashes of why everyone is expecting them to be a tough team by the end of the season.
Cathedral has star players like Indiana recruit Colin Hartman and freshman guard Jalen Coleman, but role player Jared Drew is making consistent big plays for the Irish. This will be the first of many battles involving these two teams this year.
No. 1 North Central at Carmel
The North Central Panthers are a battle tested team and never seem to get rattled. With Purdue recruit Ronnie Johnson at point guard and senior Patrick Ingram handling the ball, the Panthers don’t look like they have missed a beat.
The Carmel Greyhounds have shot the ball efficiently and played good team ball. They will have to play their best to upset the Panthers.
