On The Court

Fort Wayne North at Warsaw

Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Warsaw

Coaches: Glenn Heaton (F.W. North), Al Rhodes (Warsaw)

Records: F.W. North 2-1, Warsaw 4-0

Last game: H. North 67, F.W. North 58; Warsaw 58, Valparaiso 34

Last year: Warsaw 68, F.W. North 66

Matchup: This could be the best game in the area this year ... Both teams will be coming off conference games the night before ... Warsaw's balanced offensive attack is led by Zach Nelson (13.8 ppg., 5.5 rpg.) and Steve Siebenmorgen (13.5 ppg., 7.0 rpg.) ... Vernard Hollins paces the Redskins with 26 ppg. ...North Side was ranked No. 1 in the Fort Wayne area in the preseason by one newspaper.

Heaton: "The major thing for us is playing Harding Friday makes it difficult to get ready for a fine Warsaw team at their place. Warsaw is an excellent team, possibly the best they've had in a few years. The first thing you have to worry about is their inside game. They are very big and strong. Secondly, we have to take care of the ball, have no turnovers and play great defense. Warsaw doesn't make many big mistakes or take bad shots. If you do, you won't be in the game very long."

Rhodes: "North Side has a good combination of size with a 6-9 player in the middle and guards. This is a tough weekend for us in terms of a conference game Friday we can't look past and then this big game Saturday. North Side will mix up half-court man to man and zone defenses, along with some full-court pressure. This may be a weekend where we will see Wawasee and North Side come at us with full-court defensive pressure. I believe that's a mistake because of the improvement our point guards have made, along with our passing ability. Vernard Hollins and Quincy Rutledge, North Side's two guards, provide the majority of the offense. Ross McGregor at 6-9 inside causes problems defensively. North Side has a nice combination of inside-outside players."

Whitko at Plymouth

Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Plymouth

Coaches: Fred Fields (Whitko), Jack Edison (Plymouth)

Records: Whitko 2-1, Plymouth 3-0

Last Game: Plymouth 54, Penn 45; Whitko 42, Central Noble 36, OT

Matchup: Ben Mohr leads the Wildcats, averaging 17 ppg and nabbing 2.3 spg. ... Shane Henderson adds 8 ppg and 2.3 apg. ... Joe Grant averages 7.7 ppg and 6.7 rpg for the Wildcats ... Joe Grindle leads Plymouth in both scoring and rebounds.

John Strayer (Whitko assistant coach): "We know Plymouth is a tough team. Right now we are taking things one game at a time. We've watched a few Plymouth game tapes, and we know that their inside game will cause some trouble for us. Right now our weakness is rebounding. We need to be patient and take what the defense gives us. We'll need key players to step up for us."

Edison: Edison did not return phone calls.

Homestead at Manchester

Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. Saturday in North Manchester

Coaches: Tony Lavorato (Homestead), Gary Goshert (Manchester)

Records: Homestead 0-1, Manchester 2-1

Last Game: FW South Side 50, Homestead 38; Manchester 84, SouthWood 66

Matchup: Manchester has three players that average double figures in scoring ... Eric Swan averages 24.3 ppg and has grabbed 5 spg. in three games ... Rex Reimer averages 18.7 ppg, 5.3 apg, and 2 spg ... Lee Shafer adds 10.7 ppg along with 4 apg ... Steve Fawcett leads the Squire rebounding attack with 4.3 per game ...

Goshert: "Homestead played in the state football championship game a few weeks ago, so their first game was last week against Fort Wayne South Side. They have three starters back from last year. Their point guard, Ryan Moyer, is a returning letterman who was on that runner-up football team, and so is Pete Lohman, their go-to man from a perimeter standpoint. Ryan Morris is their three-guard, four-guard forward type who is a 6-2 returning senior. Those are the only three seniors on the team, and they are experienced and talented. They also have Mike Rinehart, a 6-6 sophomore who is strong and a threat offensively. They are experienced players and ball handlers. They play hard, and we'll have our hands full with them. We'll need to concentrate on the defensive end of the floor. We'll defend the big kid inside and try to control the perimeter. They can shoot from the arc and dribble penetrate. With a 6-6 kid, they'll be tough to defend. Offensively, we'll need to take care of the basketball and be more consistent on both ends of the court offensively and defensively."

Lavorato: Lavorato did not return phone calls.

NorthWood at Fairfield

Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Goshen

Coaches: Dan Gunn (NorthWood), Scott Miller (Fairfield)

Records: NorthWood 0-0, Fairfield 3-0

Last game: Fairfield 62, Prairie Heights 49

Matchup: Fairfield's Ryan Thwaits is averaging 18.6 points per game and is one of the team's leading rebounders with 29 ... Matt Shultz and Chad Garber also add to the Falcon offensive attack, adding 6.3 and 14.3 points per game respectively ... Dan Patterson has 20 total rebounds and averages 8.3 points per game ... NorthWood will be playing its second game of the year after getting a late start due to football's successful season ... Charlie Roeder, Nic Bradley and Aaron Huber are returning to the court for the Panthers ... Last year, Huber averaged 9.2 ppg, Bradley averaged 6.1 ppg and Roeder averaged 5.2 ppg ... 6-4 Chad Martin also returns for the NorthWood squad after averaging 2.7 ppg last season.

Miller: "NorthWood is real big and very athletic. They have a very talented group of athletes who have had much success, and those players bring an athleticism and fire to the basketball team. Roeder, Huber and Martin are all returning from last year, and they're all very athletic kids. They will be a big challenge for us. We must be able to defend the post by committee as much as possible. NorthWood will have runs where they will score many offensive points. We also need to be able to play through those runs. We'll need to execute our offense as well."

Gunn: "They have Thwaits returning, and he is one heck of a player. His ability helps others around him be better as well. Shultz is a good shooter off the bench. This is a typical Fairfield team. They handle the ball well, and they have good shooters and offensive rebounders. We'll try to keep the pressure on their offensive shooters. Thwaits drives the lane a lot, and we'll try to take that lane away and eliminate the drives."