Lawrence North Wildcats (Indianapolis, IN)

[hoopsfan]

Originally Posted by GrizzlyBuck

Thanks for the inside info Hoopsfan, from all I've seen (just TV) and read about Greg, he is a great kid who will be a pleasure to be involved with (albeit only as a fan) for 1 (or hope, hope, hope more) year(s) as a B-ball Buckeye.

You are absolutely right -- but none of you can even imagine what a great kid he really is. Friends he has had for years -- those he himself considers his best friends -- he still to this day calls their parents by Mr. and Mrs. _____. His respect and polite manner are something you don't see often in kids, much less superstar athletes. Greg is one of those people you cannot help but like.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

IndyStar

3/4/06

AT TECH
Warren Central sets up tonight's battle with No. 1
Warriors will face Lawrence North in attempt to halt 40-game streak

With stars Greg Oden and Mike Conley off their games, top-ranked Lawrence North needed a lift from somewhere else.








It got it from Damian Windham, Chris Read and Stephan Van Treese. And several other spots.

"We know Greg and Mike can't play five on two," Windham said after his 12 points and nine rebounds helped Lawrence North overcome a sluggish first half to beat Manual 72-42 in the semifinals of the Class 4A Tech Sectional.

"We go out and play the best defense we can, run the break. We know Greg and Mike are going to get theirs. We're just trying to follow in their footsteps and win a state championship."

Thanks to a strong effort from its supporting cast, the two-time defending state champions improved to 24-0 and pushed their overall winning streak to 40 games, five short of the state record set by Crispus Attucks during the 1954-55 and 1955-56 seasons. Lawrence North, ranked No. 1 in the nation by Sports Illustrated, faces Warren Central (17-6) at 7:30 tonight in the sectional final.

Senior forward David Smith's 22 points led Warren Central to a 72-59 victory over Lawrence Central (12-10) in the second semifinal.

Lawrence North won 69-38 at Warren Central on Jan. 24.

"All we wanted to do was get an opportunity," Warren Central coach Scott Heady said. "They're a tremendous team. They've got two of the best players in the nation.

"For us to have any kind of a chance, we're going to have to shoot it well and pretty much play our best game of the year, no question."

Ohio State coach Thad Matta was in attendance with three future Buckeyes playing -- Oden, Conley and Warren Central sophomore guard Walter Offutt.

Oden, who played just 20 minutes, had 13 points, eight rebounds and three blocked shots. He got a technical foul for hanging on the rim when he missed an alley-oop, grabbed the rim with his right hand and reached for the rebound with his left. Conley had nine points, three steals and no assists.

For the final five minutes of the second quarter, Lawrence North coach Jack Keefer went with a second line, anchored by his two tall freshmen, 6-8 Van Treese and 6-6 Read. Read finished with six points and 10 rebounds, while Van Treese added six points and six rebounds.

"The kids we put in defensively did well and added the energy we needed," Keefer said. "I didn't think our starting group had the energy we always ask of them."

The Wildcats might have been in trouble if Manual (11-10) hadn't simply been so overmatched. The Redskins, with no starter taller than 6-4 and four 6-1 or shorter, were outrebounded 56-18.

"We need to be mentally tough to play our game every night," Keefer said. "We had spurts of that in the second half."

The second semifinal, tight throughout, was tied at 40 with 5:30 left in the third quarter. Warren Central scored the final six points of the period in building a 52-43 lead and never trailed again.

Senior guard Marcus Thomas had 15 points and Offutt added 14 points and a game-high seven rebounds.

Evansville-bound guard Darin Granger had 20 points on 8-for-14 shooting to lead Lawrence Central, which shot 73 percent in the first half but just 32 percent in the second half.

Lawrence N. 72, Manual 42
Manual614157--42Lawrence North14162121--72
Manual -- Sawyers 0-2 0-0 0, Thomas 2-4 0-1 5, Britt 7-17 5-7 23, Brown 0-3 0-0 0, Anderson 14- 0-0 3, Pierce 1-3 0-2 3, Harris 2-7 0-0 5, Tigner 1-3 0-0 3, Young 0-3 0-0 0, Henson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-46 5-10 42.
Lawrence North -- Owen 0-2 2-2 2, McDonald 3-4 0-0 6, Conley 4-11 0-0 9, Windham 6-11 0-0 12, Oden 4-11 5-7 13, L.Smith 0-0 0-0 0, Jones 0-2 1-2 1, Smith 2-3 1-1 5, K. Thomas 1-2 1-2 3, Read 3-6 0-2 6, Van Treese 3-8 0-2 6, Isaac 3-4 2-3 9. Totals: 29-64 12-21 72.
3-point shooting -- Manual 9-28 (Britt 4-11, Pierce 1-2, Thomas 1-3, Harris 1-3, Tigner 1-2, Anderson 1-4, Young 0-3), Lawrence North 2-8 (Conley 1-4, Isaac 1-1, McDonald 0-1, Jones 0-1, Smith 0-1). Rebounds -- Manual 18 (Thomas 3, Harris 3, Britt 3), Lawrence North 56 (Read 10, Windham 9). Assists -- Manual 8 (Thomas 4), Lawrence North 13 (Owen 4). Turnovers -- Manual 22, Lawrence North 14. Total fouls -- Manual 15, Lawrence North 9. Fouled out -- None. Technical foul -- Oden.
Warren Central 72, Lawrence Central 59
Warren Central19151820--72Lawrence Central2315516--59
Warren Central -- Offutt 6-8 2-4 14, Rogers 3-4 2-4 10, Buggs 0-1 0-0 0, Thomas 4-7 4-6 15, Forte 0-1 0-0 0, Lane 0-0 0-0 0, Harvey 4-9 1-2 9, Smith 9-12 2-4 22, Hazelett 0-0 0-0, Clardy 1-1 0-0 2. Totals: 27-43 11-20 72.
Lawrence Central -- Hedrick 3-3 1-3 8, Granger 8-14 1-2 20, Bonds 1-4 0-1 2, Miller 0-2 0-2 0, Hormann 0-0 0-0 0, Baldwin 5-7 2-3 12, Geiger 0-0 0-0 0, Somerville 0-0 2-2 2, Billups 3-5 0-0 6. Totals: 24-47 6-13 59.
3-point shooting -- Warren Central 7-13 (Thomas 3, Rogers 2, Smith 2), Lawrence Central 5-17 (Granger 3, Hedrick, Williams). Rebounds -- Warren Central 29 (Offutt 7, Harvey 6), Lawrence Central 19 (Baldwin 4). Assists -- Warren Central 15 (Thomas 4), Lawrence Central 16 (Bonds 6). Turnovers -- Warren Central 12, Lawrence Central 13. Total fouls -- Warren Central 13, Lawrence Central 19. Fouled out -- None.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

IndyStar

3/5/06

lawrence north 64, Warren central 39

Wildcats return to form

After a pair of subpar outings, Lawrence North steps up its game to claim sectional crown

With hopes of a third consecutive state title, unbeaten Lawrence North is harsh when grading its performances. Winning its first two postseason games by a combined 46 points didn't rate good marks.

In Saturday's Class 4A sectional final at Tech, coach Jack Keefer and his players were looking for a quality of play more than a specific margin of victory.

"The last two games we had were so horrible we had to realize, 'Hey, we've got to get it together,' " senior point guard Mike Conley said after the Wildcats returned to the form they showed most of the season by handling Warren Central 64-39.

"I think we started playing our game a little bit and didn't let the triangle-and-two (defense) faze us."

The top-ranked Wildcats take a 25-0 record and 41-game winning streak into Saturday's regional at Hinkle Fieldhouse. Lawrence North faces Carmel (17-7) in the noon semifinal. No. 2 Pike (20-3) and Franklin (14-10) play at 10 a.m., and the winners play for the title at 8 p.m.

The Wildcats have beaten Carmel (68-49) and Pike (74-67 and 73-60) and haven't played Franklin. The 74-67 home victory over Pike on Feb. 21 remains Lawrence North's closest game of the year.

Warren Central, which was going for its first sectional title since 2000, ends the year 17-7. The Warriors played without Ohio State-bound sophomore Walter Offutt, who has not been playing back-to-back games while recovering from a knee injury.

Lawrence North moved past Marion (40 consecutive victories from 1984-86) for the second-longest winning streak in state history. The four victories the Wildcats need to win the state title would push the streak to 45, tying the 50-year-old state record set by Oscar Robertson-led Crispus Attucks.

Lawrence North shot 54 percent while holding Warren Central to 27 percent, including 3-for-27 from 3-point range.

"This was a wonderful effort on our part against a very good team," Keefer said. "Coach (Scott) Heady has brought that team a long way from when we played them the first time. I was surprised we were able to maintain that lead we got at the beginning, because at any given time they had the ability to come back on you."

The Wildcats, who won 69-38 at Warren Central on Jan. 24, held the Warriors to one basket and three free throws over a 12-minute period from late in the first quarter to early in the third. Lawrence North led 33-15 at that point.

Senior center Greg Oden had 20 points and 13 rebounds. He added three blocked shots and four assists in 27 minutes.

"Coach Keefer came out and told us to play with instinct instead of playing all stiff," Oden said. "I think we got like that at the end of the year.

"Teams are playing that triangle-and-two and all those junk defenses, leaving people open. He said if you get the open shot, take it."

Teams had been focusing almost all of their attention on the Ohio State-bound duo of Oden and Conley, who was playing Saturday with a wrap on his non-shooting right wrist due to a large blister.

With more offensive aggressiveness from the three other starters -- Qadr Owen, Brandon McDonald and Damian Windham shot a combined 9-for-22 -- the game opened up inside at times.

"Two nights ago (against Arlington), we didn't even take the shots and they had three people on Greg," Keefer lamented. "Our kids did things better and timed things better. Greg was one-on-one several times, and he looks pretty special one-on-one."

Warren Central104916--39Lawrence North16132015--64
Warren Central -- Rogers 0-4 1-2 1, Buggs 0-6 0-0 0, Thomas 4-14 0-0 10, Harvey 3-8 3-4 9, Smith 3-8 1-2 8, Wright 1-1 0-0 0, D. Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Clardy 1-1 1-2 3, Forte 2-8 0-0 4. Totals: 15-56 6-10 39.
Lawrence North -- Owen 2-7 0-0 4, McDonald 4-8 0-0 9, Conley 4-8 4-6 14, Windham 3-7 0-0 6, Oden 9-10 2-5 20, Jones 0-1 0-0 0, Weigel 1-1 0-0 3, Smith 1-1 2-2 5, K. Thomas 0-0 0-0 0, Read 0-0 0-0 0, Van Treese 1-2 0-0 2, Isaac 0-1 1-2 1. Totals: 25-46 9-15 64.
3-point shooting -- Warren Central 3-27 (Rogers 0-1, Buggs 0-5, Thomas 2-6, D. Jones 0-1, Harvey 0-4, Smith 1-4, Forte 0-4), Lawrence North 5-12 (Conley 2-5, Smith 1-1, Weigel 1-1, McDonald 1-3, Owen 0-1, Isaac 0-1). Rebounds -- Warren Central 27 (Harvey 6), Lawrence North 39 (Oden 13). Assists -- Warren Central 7 (Buggs 2, Harvey 2), Lawrence North 20 (Conley 5, Owen 4, McDonald 4, Oden 4). Turnovers -- Warren Central 8, Lawrence North 14. Total fouls -- Warren Central 13, Lawrence North 7. Fouled out -- Harvey.

Call Star reporter Jeff Rabjohns at (317) 444-6183.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

IndyStar

3/6/06

LN-Carmel game will air on cable

The Lawrence North-Carmel regional semifinal Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse will be broadcast on the Indiana Cable Network, the Indiana High School Athletic Association announced today.




The second semifinal of the day, tipoff will be set for 12:07 p.m.

The Indiana Cable Network, Channels 14 and 96 in Indianapolis, is comprised of 41 cable stations statewide.

No. 2 Pike (20-3) and Franklin (14-10) play in the first game, and the winners meet in the 8 p.m. championship.

Lawrence North is ranked No. 1 in the nation by Sports Illustrated and has the country's top-ranked prep player in 7-0 center Greg Oden. The Wildcats have won the past two Class 4A state titles and have a 41-game winning streak, four short of the 50-year old state record set by Oscar Robertson-led Crispus Attucks.

Carmel (17-7) is in the regional for the first time since 1995.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

IndyStar

3/10/06

HIGH SCHOOLS

Abundance of transfers not proof of recruiting

Lawrence North, with stars Oden and Conley, aware of talk but denies any wrongdoing

The confiscated signs rested on a blue chair in the athletic office at Franklin Central High School. "Lawrence North's 2001 recruiting class," one read. "Mike Conley, 6-1 point guard, Arkansas. Greg Oden, 7-0 center, Terre Haute."

During another game, as the Lawrence North student section chanted, "Undefeated, undefeated," Center Grove coach Cliff Hawkins looked at the scorer's table and said, "Yeah, but we don't recruit."

Every year the discordant note rings loudly across high school sports:

accusations of "recruiting," of high-powered teams illegally luring top athletes from other schools. They've been leveled at Ben Davis and Warren Central football, at Cathedral volleyball, at Carmel swimming. And -- for nearly two decades -- at Lawrence North boys basketball.

Now, with the Wildcats within four victories of a state record-tying third consecutive state title -- thanks in large part to two players, Oden and Conley, who moved into the Lawrence district the summer before eighth grade -- the recruiting roar has reached a fever pitch. The Star receives scores of e-mails and phone calls charging Lawrence North with recruiting.

Chants and accusatory signs are common in opposing stands.

The most commonly heard accusation goes like this: There have been three NBA-level 7-footers in Indiana high school basketball over the past 20 years -- Oden, John Stewart and Eric Montross. None grew up in Lawrence (which is untrue). All attended Lawrence North.

An analysis of transfers and recruiting in Indiana high school sports, and of Lawrence North in particular, found no evidence that the Wildcats boys basketball team has done anything counter to Indiana High School Athletic Association rules in building a program that has won three state titles in the past 17 years.

According to the current and past two IHSAA commissioners, who date to 1983, there has been only one transfer into the program who was denied eligibility. That occurred in the late 1990s, and had nothing to do with the school.

Gene Cato, commissioner from 1983-95, said he "had complaints enter the office" about Lawrence North during his tenure, but "when we started checking them out, people weren't willing to talk." None of the three past and present IHSAA leaders said they heard more complaints about LN than other top sports schools.

Jack Keefer, the only coach in the 30 years Lawrence North has existed, staunchly denies any wrongdoing.

"Far out in the state, they think all of Indianapolis recruits. The locals think we recruit," he said. " . . . I'm not worried about anything because I haven't done anything."

In the case of Montross, he grew up in the Lawrence district and attended Craig Middle School, which feeds into Lawrence North. He transferred to Park Tudor to repeat eighth grade, stayed for his freshman season and then returned to Lawrence North.

Of the dozens of people interviewed for this story, none offered specific details about inappropriate acts by the Wildcats that could be verified.

Yet the grumbling continues. Many coaches and fans point to the large number of transfers and middle school "move-ins" that Lawrence North has had over the years. Others say that not getting caught doesn't prove anything because recruiting is so difficult for the IHSAA to govern.

And that last part the IHSAA acknowledges to be true.

The whole situation underscores how muddy and ugly the issue of changing schools in prep sports can be, and how seriously people take it. Fingers are pointed at high school coaches, at travel-team coaches, at scholarship-eyeing parents. At its worst, it inspires enmity between schools, even cities.

Few think it will clear up anytime soon.

"It's always gone on," Bill Shepherd, who coached and administered athletics in Indiana for parts of six decades, including a 12-year stint on the IHSAA Board of Directors, said of illegal recruiting. "It went on when I was on the IHSAA Board, but in individual cases, you have to have proof of it.

"No matter what anyone does, it's always going to happen."

Heavily regulated

There are 10 pages of rules pertaining to athletic transfers and contact with an athlete prior to high school in the IHSAA bylaws, but the basic principles are simple: Changing schools based on athletics isn't allowed. And while an athlete can change districts prior to high school for any reason, including sports, no one in any way associated with the high school athletic department is allowed to have "undue influence" on that decision.

The majority of transfer requests in Indiana -- 2,912 of 3,159 last year, 92 percent -- are deemed within the rules. Most are because of a family moving, which is common in a transient society. Suburban and township schools, such as LN, tend to benefit more than inner-city schools.

The transfer requests that are denied -- 56 last year -- are mostly because of improper contact between the school and the athlete, or questions of residence. (This isn't an issue with private schools, which have no districts.
Their coaches are still governed by the contact rules.)

With athletes who haven't reached high school, though, the scene is almost ungovernable, as the three commissioners acknowledged.

Coaches are prohibited from contacting prospective players outside their district, and aren't supposed to attend their games. But in reality it's not difficult to see the best players play, especially in nonschool competition such as travel or club teams.

Also, it's extremely difficult to prove "undue influence" as long as those involved aren't overt about it. The IHSAA said it keeps no statistics of penalties for this because it happens so seldom. Since 1991, three boys basketball teams have been banned from the postseason for violations relating to recruiting.

As Cato said, "You don't have to sit in (the commissioner's chair) very long to realize you cannot legislate honesty."

Lots of transfers

In the past 22 years there have been at least 14 transfers into the Wildcats program, far exceeding the numbers found in the same time period for three other top area boys basketball teams -- Pike with eight, Ben Davis with five and Cathedral with five. Lawrence North transfers included such players as Stewart, Chaz Spicer and Jesse McClung.

There also have been key players move into the Lawrence district during middle school. In addition to Oden and Conley, there was Todd Leary, a starter alongside Montross on the 1989 state title team.

None of those players said Keefer or anyone else on the Wildcats recruited them. Some, including Oden and Conley, said basketball didn't affect their decision; their parents just happened to move to the district.

Keefer said basketball was a factor for some players who moved to the district in middle school.

"We have a great atmosphere, a great school," he said. "We've put big kid after big kid after big kid in college, and they've done well in college.

"If somebody's moving to town, I think you're almost stupid if you don't ask who are the programs and coaches that favor a big kid. I certainly don't have to go out and convince people to come here.

"We've got a 6-9 eighth-grader. Why is he here? Well, because Greg Oden is here."

Keefer said he didn't know about Oden and Conley until they were playing at Craig Middle School in eighth grade. By then Oden was nearly 6-10 and was considered the top player in the nation in his class.

"Somebody (from Craig) came and said, 'We have got an unbelievable player down in the junior high,' and I go down there and we had two unbelievable players in the junior high (Oden and Conley)," Keefer said. "I'm not an AAU guru. I've probably been to five AAU games in my entire life. For me to know who the players are, I'd really have to do some studying."

The Conleys moved to Indianapolis in 1999 before Mike entered sixth grade, initially renting in the Pike district. The first house they attempted to buy, during the summer before Oden and Conley entered eighth grade, was in the Lawrence Central district, but it was purchased before the Conleys' offer went through. Soon after, they bought a house in the Lawrence North district.

Oden, who was born in Buffalo, N.Y., moved from Terre Haute to Indianapolis with his mother the same summer.

"It wasn't my choice; it was my mom's choice," said Oden, whose mother is a rehabilitation technician.

Mike Conley Sr., father of the Wildcats guard, said he didn't talk to anyone at Lawrence North until after his wife found the house they eventually bought. He said the plan was for Oden and Mike to attend high school together, but that it happened at Lawrence North wasn't planned. Oden and Conley are best friends, and have played on a travel team coached by Conley Sr. since the sixth grade.

"Us being involved in each other's family had nothing to do with Jack Keefer or basketball," Conley Sr. said. "That was going to happen if Greg didn't play another day of basketball."

Jimmy Smith of the Terre Haute Boys & Girls Club, where Oden first played when he moved to that city, said Lawrence North was not involved in bringing Oden to Indianapolis.

"That's a misnomer," Smith said. "It was a better situation for his mom. . . . For selfish reasons, I wish Greg wouldn't have left, but it's a better situation for him and his family."

School shopping

Still, Keefer and many other coaches acknowledge there are forces at work that, even if they don't break the letter of the IHSAA rules, certainly push the envelope of the spirit.

It's not uncommon, Keefer said, for parents to "shop" their kids around, looking for the best sports situation, one that might help lead to a scholarship.

As long as the proper procedures are followed -- a prospective student has to talk to the principal first, and convince him or her that the move would not be about sports -- that's allowed.

Lawrence North senior guard Evar Jones, who played last year at Marion, moved to Indianapolis when his mother got a new job. He said he picked Lawrence North because of basketball.

At Carmel, three of this season's varsity players have played at other schools.

There also is the perceived growing influence of travel-team basketball.
Indiana University freshman Joey Shaw transferred high schools in Arizona to play his senior year with his travel-team teammates. Marques Johnson, a Tennessee recruit, transfered from Fort Wayne Snider to Fort Wayne South. After being ruled ineligible at South, he returned to Snider to play his senior season.

Lawrence North's 2005-06 roster

A look at the primary varsity boys basketball roster used this season by Lawrence North, including the player's name, year in school and his first year in the Lawrence district.

PlayerClassFirst yearTerron BibbsJuniorSixth gradeQadr OwenJuniorEighth gradeBrandon McDonaldSeniorFifth gradeLarry SmithFresh.First gradeMike ConleySeniorEighth gradeEvar JonesSeniorSenior yearJason WeigelSeniorKindergartenWesley SmithJuniorKindergartenDamian WindhamJuniorEighth gradeKamal ThomasJuniorEighth gradeChris ReadFresh.KindergartenStephan Van TreeseFresh.KindergartenGreg OdenSeniorEighth grade