On The Court Basketball Previews

GARY WALLACE AT WARSAW

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

Coaches: John Hoover (Gary Wallace), Al Rhodes (Warsaw)

Records: Gary Wallace 5-4; Warsaw 9-1

Last game: Gary West 81, Gary Wallace 77; Warsaw 63, Penn 39

Last year: Gary Wallace 76, Warsaw 74

Matchup: The Tigers are winning games by an average of 15 points per game ... The Tigers dominated their tournament, beating 4-4 Lake Central 62-48 and beating 4-4 Penn 63-39. Warsaw was in control of both games by halftime. The Tigers saw one area of their game improve in the tournament: outside shooting. Chris Wiggins especially shined, hitting 15 of 25 field goals in the two games, including 7 of 15 three-pointers.

Hoover: "Like usual, we'll just try to play our regular game. We'll try to push the ball down the court and take a lot of shots. I don't know how effective we'll be since we haven't had much time to practice because of the weather. We're an outside shooting team, so that will be our focus. We are just going to go out and play to win. Other than that, I can't predict much."

Rhodes: "Gary Wallace is traditionally a very tough opponent for us when we come back from Christmas break. They mix up half-court and full-court defenses a lot. They are a very strong rebounding team. We will have trouble keeping them off the offensive board. We must take care of the basketball and keep them off the offensive board ... We are probably a better basketball team at this point than I thought we would be. Our inside play has been good, and we're getting more solid outside play. Our defense and rebounding have been very solid every game. The one category we have controlled every game is rebounding.

WHITKO AT MANCHESTER

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

Coaches: Fred Fields (Whitko), Gary Goshert (Manchester)

Records: Whitko 2-4, 1-1 TRC; Manchester 7-1, 3-0 TRC

Last game: Churubusco 63, Whitko 49; Manchester 92, Wabash 34

Last year: Manchester 35, Whitko 30

Matchup: Manchester lost the first game of the Wabash County Tournament and came back the next night to score 92 points against Wabash ... Manchester's offensive attack is headed by 6-3 senior Eric Swan ... For Whitko, Joe Grant is leading the area in rebounding with 7.5 per game ... Ben Mohr leads the Wildcats offensive attack ... The Wildcats haven't played a game in nearly a month.

Fields: "We have not been able to practice because we have not been in school, but we had a great Christmas break. We got into the gym every day for some conditioning, but now we've gone five days without anything. We're preparing for Manchester pretty much the way they are preparing for us. Manchester is a very good team, and now they've got Swan to add to the mix. They are a good team that's fun to watch. We'll try to contain all their weapons. We'll try to control Swan and the point guard and keep them from delivering the ball. We can't allow ourselves to get beat on putbacks. Garbage baskets are one of our biggest concerns right now."

Goshert: "At this point, the most important thing is that we polish up and get better at our own stuff because of our practice situation. Due to a lack of practice and school, our main focus will be on improving ourselves. Before the county tourney, we were taking things for granted and it caught up with us. In the consolation game, we tried to get back on track and concentrate on details. I feel that we got that accomplished, and we'll keep working on that. The game against Whitko is important beacause it's a conference game. I have a lot of respect for Whitko because of the tradition, and the rivalry is still big. Last year they changed their whole offense, so we know what to expect from them."

SOUTHWOOD AT TIPPECANOE VALLEY

Tip-Off: 7:30 p.m. Friday in Mentone

Coaches: Steve McClure (Southwood), Bill Patrick (Valley)

Records: Southwood 7-1, 1-1 TRC; Valley 5-3, 2-0 TRC

Last game: Southwood 61, Northfield 48; Valley 54, John Glenn 48

Last year: Southwood 66, Valley 62

Matchup: Southwood is coming off big victories over Manchester and Northfield in the Wabash County Tourney ... Paul Wright leads the Knights in scoring (22 ppg), rebounding (7.5 rpg), and assists (3 apg) ... Tom Wright and Levi Perigo also add three assists per game for Southwood ... The Knights' only loss in the TRC came to Manchester earlier in the season ... Valley is undefeated (2-0) in the TRC ... Brandon Eaton leads the Valley scoring charge with 15.6 point per game ... Jarvis Shepherd leads the Vikings with 3.9 assists per game and 2.1 steals per game while adding 12.6 points per game ... Eric Prater scores 6.8 points per game and pulls down an average of 6.4 rebounds per game.

McClure: "Valley has good athletes and has had a good program for several years. When you add Bill Patrick to the mix, they get even better. Coach Patrick has the unique ability to bring out a team and get them to play as close to their potential as possible. Since we have not had the chance to get on the court, we must do what we can mentally. We have a motto this season, and it applies to this situation: 'We try to take an unusual situation and make it unusually good by exercising a positive attitude.' To be successful in this game, we need to get back into the mindset we had in the county tourney. We also need to execute on both ends of the floor. It will be difficult to play on the road, but with the unforeseen problems we are having with the weather, there's no doubt we'll have our hands full."

Patrick: "We have not had much of a chance to prepare for this game because we have not had practice due to the weather. Southwood is one of the better teams we've played this year. They are 7-1, and they won their county tounamnet at Manchester. They beat Manchester and Northfield, two TRC teams in that tourney. Paul Wright is averaging over 20 points per game, and he does an excellent job of scoring. They are quick, and McClure plays about nine guys in most games. Their size and quickness will be a problem. They play a 2-2-1 zone press and do a good job on the boards at both ends of the court. To compete with them, we will need to handle the press and keep them in a half-court mindset. We'll be okay if we keep the score in the 60s and not get into a situation where it's a high-scoring game. We want to keep Wright somewhere around 20 points, and hopefully we can contain the rest of their players."

NORTHWOOD AT NORTHRIDGE

Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. in Middlebury

Coaches: Dan Gunn (NorthWood), Steve Austin (Northridge)

Records: NorthWood 3-3, 1-0 NLC; Northridge 5-4, 0-1 NLC

Last game: Northridge 59, NorthWood 46

Last year: Northridge 57, NorthWood 48

Matchup: These two conference rivals are certainly not strangers to each other. Both teams' last games came in the Goshen Holiday Tourney, against each other ... Aaron Thomas leads the Northridge Raiders with 18 points and six rebounds per game ... Todd Pletcher and Jayme Fazi contribute nearly 10 and nine points each.

Gunn: "(Northridge) has one of the better post players in the area with Thomas. If you expect to beat Northridge, you have to defend Thomas. Fazi is a terrific rebounder, and the last time we played them, Weirich played really well. I think after missing four or five days of practice I don't know what to expect. It's possible we could play them again (sectionals). We certainly know more about them this time."

Austin: "We'll probably play them the same way. Because of the lack of practice, outside shooting will be a struggle. We have to keep them off the boards. Last time (Charlie) Roeder was sick and didn't play, but he's a key for them. For us, number one, we have to rebound overall as a team. Number two, we have to have good shot selection; I think we shot 71 percent last time. Number three, we have to execute offensively."

Wawasee at Plymouth

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

Coaches: Jerry Davis (Wawasee), Jack Edison (Plymouth)

Records: Wawasee 0-8, 0-1 NLC; Plymouth 8-0, 0-0 NLC

Last game: Plymouth 75, LaVille 51; Goshen 73, Wawasee 62

Last year: Plymouth 80, Wawasee 57

Matchup: Plymouth outscores its opponents by an average of 26.6 points per game ... Joel Grindle and Nick Chaney pace the Pilgrims' offensive attack with 16.4 and 15 points per game ... Chaney also leads the team in assists ... The Warriors look to Andrew Warner, Jeremy High and Chris Lambert to lead them to their first victory of the season.

Davis: "Preparation is very different right now. We've been off for five days, and (Tuesday) was the first day the guys could even get to the gym. Conditioning is a concern. Plymouth is an experienced basketball team, and this year is a typical Plymouth team. Grindle is a good scorer and Chaney is an excellent point guard. We'll try to defend their outside shooting and Grindle. We'll also try to beat them on the offensive boards. Plymouth is a tough conference opponent that plays with intensity."

Edison: "I've seen them play a couple of times. I saw them against Riley. I was impressed with their post players, Warner and Nethaway, and then High comes in. They can all play the perimeter or go inside. They have some depth. I think (Josh) Zolman started one game, and he can come off the bench. They have a hard-nosed defense that Jerry is noted for. They have a very disciplined offense. Lambert is very agressive, and he can make things happen on both ends of the floor, and that's a reason for us to be concerned. Handling the ball and a reduction of turnovers against their defense will be a big key. They shoot well from the perimeter. We have to contest every shot we can."