INDIANAPOLIS – On a team full of stars — that is the name of the team, after all, the Indiana All-Stars — it can be difficult to find the right chemistry and right mix of players.
It happened to the boys Indiana All-Stars on Saturday night at Southport Fieldhouse. There were long stretches of starts and stops. Indiana, looking for a sweep of Kentucky in the annual series that dates to 1940, could not deliver the knockout punch to the scrappy underdog from the Bluegrass state.
“It was hard for the players to get into a rhythm,” said All-Stars coach Ryan Osborn of Carmel. “When they got it (cut to a three-point Indiana lead), we started sticking with a group and they developed a rhythm and went on a run a built a lead.”
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That group included IndyStar Mr. Basketball Caleb Furst of Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, who was named most valuable player after a 14-point, 17-rebound effort. With the 86-70 win, Indiana improved its overall series lead to 101-44 over Kentucky and is 27-3 since 2005.
“He’s obviously very talented and very steady,” Osborn said of the 6-10 Purdue recruit. “You know what you are going to get from him. I felt like Kentucky went at him a little bit and he responded and had a great second half.”
Furst and crew had to do it in the second half without 6-9 Purdue recruit Trey Kaufman-Renn. The Silver Creek star appeared to injury a finger on his right hand in the final minute of the first half. He returned to the bench early in the second half with his hand wrapped and did not return to action, finishing with 10 points and six rebounds.
But the Indiana All-Stars did find a group that clicked: Furst, Blackford’s Luke Brown, Lawrence North’s Shamar Avance, Perry Meridian’s Jayden Taylor and South Bend Riley’s Blake Wesley. That team played together for more than 10 minutes in the second half, pushing a three-point lead to a 79-57 advantage with a little more than four minutes remaining.
Avance came off the bench to finish with 13 points and 10 rebounds. Wesley added 12 points and Taylor and Brown had the same stat line: 10 points, four rebounds and four assists.
“It’s a good feeling to go out with a win, with a great group of guys that can really play,” Avance said. “It made it exciting. At that time, that group knew each other’s strengths and got it to the guys where they could make plays.”
Cam Pope, a Jacksonville State recruit from Louisville Male, led Kentucky with 19 points and Northern Kentucky recruit Sam Vinson added 18 points. Kentucky was outrebounded by 27 and outscored 46-30 in the paint. But the Indiana All-Stars, hurt by 35% shooting, were unable to shake Kentucky until that second-half run.
It was not for a lack of effort, however. Osborn lit into the All-Stars after falling behind 10-4 in the opening minutes. Osborn called timeout. It looked like a Carmel game in March instead of an All-Stars game in June.
“You go into a week with a group that is extremely talented,” Osborn said. “You look at the roster and there are a lot of high-major basketball players who will play at the next level and play against some of the top players in the country. We knew we were going to get offense. They can create and score. But we wanted them to take some pride in the defensive end, too.”
Brown said the message was received — not only in the game but throughout the week. Many of the players on the team are reporting to college on Sunday.
“I think it’s good,” Brown said. “A lot of us are used to being the guy and you’re not getting subbed for missing a shot or making a bad play. I think it really prepared us for these upcoming weeks of college. I love coach Osborn and think it is really going to help us in the future.”
The game opened with Lafayette Jeff’s Brooks Barnhizer on the court as a starter. Barnhizer, who is recovering from postseason surgery to repair a stress fracture on his foot, was allowed to score a layup and be part of the All-Stars team before he was subbed out of the game for Homestead’s Luke Goode.
It was the first Indiana-Kentucky game played at Southport Fieldhouse. The game, moved due to renovations at Bankers Life Fieldhouse, was a final hurrah for the players as high schoolers. For 30-45 minutes after the game, family members lingered on the court, taking pictures and chatting with the All-Stars.
“This is a dream come true,” Taylor said. “You can only do this once. I’m just so happy to be part of this great group of guys and coaches. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime thing.”
Call Star reporter Kyle Neddenriep at (317) 444-6649.
INDIANA ALL-STARS 86, KENTUCKY ALL-STARS 70
KENTUCKY — Ben Johnson 3-11 2-2 9, Dashaun Jackson 4-11 1-2 10, Sekou Kalle 3-6 2-2 8, Ayden Mudd 2-7 0-2 4, Sam Vinson 5-15 7-9 18, Cam Pope 9-23 0-0 19, Darius Washington 0-3 0-0 0, Devin Perry 0-4 0-0 0, Mason Moore 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 27-82 12-17 70.
INDIANA — Caleb Furst 6-13 2-3 14, Luke Brown 3-6 2-2 10, Trey Kaufman-Renn 4-7 2-3 10, Blake Wesley 4-13 3-4 12, Brooks Barnhizer 1-1 0-0 2, Luke Goode 2-11 0-0 5, Shamar Avance 6-11 0-2 13, Brian Waddell 0-4 1-2 1, J.R. Konieczny 0-4 0-0 0, Jalen Blackmon 0-7 1-2 1, Jayden Taylor 4-8 2-2 10, Blake Sisley 0-3 0-0 0, Kooper Jacobi 3-6 0-0 6, Pierce Thomas 1-2 0-0 2. Totals: 34-96 13-20 86.
Halftime: Indiana 36-31; 3-point goals: Indiana 5-18, Kentucky 4-29 (Johnson, Vinson, Jackson, Pope); Rebounds: Indiana 75 (Furst 17), Kentucky 48 (Kalle 11); Assists: Indiana 18 (Brown 4, Taylor 4), Kentucky 11 (Johnson 4).
