money All-Indiana college basketball team: The best D-1 men's players from the Hoosier State.
At least 150 Indiana products are on Division I men's basketball rosters, scattered across the country — from Air Force to Youngstown State. While a little light on star power this year, the Hoosier State has some nice depth in the backcourt for our annual All-Indiana team.
Remember, these are players who played high school basketball in Indiana, not just players who play at Indiana colleges.
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FIRST TEAM
C Trayce Jackson-Davis, IU (Center Grove)
A preseason All-American and preseason Big Ten player of the year, Jackson-Davis is back after a third-straight season earning All-Big Ten honors. Jackson-Davis is the first IU player to be named Big Ten preseason player of the year since Cody Zeller (2012-13). He has 1,588 career points and 797 career rebounds and has averaged 16.9 points and 8.5 rebounds for his career. His 18.3 points per game and 8.1 rebounds per game last season rank him second among Big Ten returners in both categories behind Michigan's Hunter Dickinson.
F Jack Nunge, Xavier (Castle)
Nunge, who transferred to Xavier from Iowa during the 2021 offseason, was arguably the Musketeers' best player last season. He led Xavier in scoring (13.4) and rebounding (7.4), and he was the only Musketeer named to the All-Big East team with an honorable mention.
F Keion Brooks, Washington (La Lumiere/Fort Wayne North Side)
Brooks averaged 10.8 points and 4.4 rebounds a game for Kentucky before transferring to the Pacific Northwest this offseason. He started 33 times for the Wildcats with 17 double-figure scoring games and produced career bests in points (357), rebounds (145), assists (33), blocks (21), steals (23) and field-goal percentage (49.1%). He led the Huskies with 19 points in an exhibition win over Alaska Fairbanks.
G Tony Perkins, Iowa (Lawrence North)
Perkins is primed for a breakout season. His inclusion into the starting lineup midway through the season gave the Hawkeyes a much-needed jolt (Iowa went 12-3 in games Perkins started). He’s a winner. Those who watched him at LN know it, too. His stats are modest (7.4 ppg, 2.4 rpg, 1.6 apg), but he makes your team better.
G Nijel Pack, Miami (Lawrence Central)
His high-profile NIL deal was the realization to many how much the college game was changing. Pack got a two-year deal worth $800,000 after transferring from Kansas State to Miami (much to the chagrin of Purdue fans). You don’t get that kind of scratch unless you’re worth it. And Pack is worth it. He averaged 17.4 points, 3.8 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game as a sophomore and was considered one of the top prizes in this year’s transfer portal.
SECOND TEAM
C Payton Sparks, Ball State (Winchester)
A third-team All-Mid-American Conference pick, Sparks got plenty of interest after entering the transfer portal. Cardinals fans — and first-year coach Michael Lewis, especially — are thrilled with Sparks’ decision to stay in Muncie. He led Ball State in points (13.5) and rebounds (8.5) and started all 31 games. His 418 points were third-most in program history by a freshman behind Bonzi Wells (474) and Ray McCallum (463).
F Jalen Johnson, Milwaukee (Manual)
A two-time HBCU All-American at Alabama A&M before transferring this offseason, Johnson earned first-team All-SWAC honors after averaging 16.0 points and 7.3 rebounds a game last season. Last year he had 17 games of 15 points or more, including a career-high 30 at Cincinnati, as well as seven double-doubles. Johnson should get an opportunity right away under first-year coach Bart Lundy, who is replacing nine scholarship players from last year’s roster.
F Sydney Curry, Louisville (Fort Wayne Northrop)
This is more of a projection pick, but Curry, who started 12 of 28 games and averaged 7.1 points and 4.4 rebounds for Louisville last year, really came on late in the year, averaging 17.6 points and 9.0 rebounds in his last five games, and has looked promising in preseason scrimmages. Once a Kansas recruit, Curry went the JUCO route at John A. Logan College (Ill.) before arriving at Louisville, and took some time to settle but should hit the ground running this season.
G Craig Porter Jr., Wichita State (Terre Haute South)
Porter became the first player in American Athletic Conference history to finish in top-10 in the league in assists (3.6) and blocks (1.1). He averaged 7.3 points and 4.9 rebounds as the Shockers' starting point guard and Wichita State coach Isaac Brown calls Porter, "the heart and soul of our team."
G Cooper Neese, Indiana State (Cloverdale)
One of the state's all-time leading prep scorers, Neese produced a nice uptick in production last season, improving his scoring numbers from 9.5 points per game to a team-high 15.0. He added 4.3 rebounds a game for Josh Schertz's Sycamores and has already eclipsed 1,000 career points. He earned third-team All-Missouri Valley Conference honors as well as all-conference Most Improved accolades.
THIRD TEAM
F Mason Gillis, Purdue (New Castle)
The Boilermakers' glue-guy, Gillis did a little bit of everything last season, starting Purdue's final 25 games. He averaged 6.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.1 assists, though his contributions go far beyond the stat sheet. Per Purdue's top-notch media relations team, Gillis was 1-of-9 players nationally to shoot at least 48% from the field, 40% from 3-point range and 85% from the free-throw line, while averaging at least 6.0 points per game.
F Dre Davis, Seton Hall (Lawrence Central)
Davis spent his first two years at Louisville, averaging 7.4 points and 3.1 rebounds in 23 minutes per game and is challenging for a spot in the starting lineup — “he’s got a toughness about him that I like,” new Pirates coach Shaheen Holloway told the Asbury Park Press.
G Jarron Coleman, Ball State (Cathedral)
Coleman, the 2020 MAC Freshman of the Year, transferred to Missouri in 2021 after spending three years (one as a redshirt) at Ball State. After the Tigers fired coach Cuonzo Martin, Coleman hit the transfer portal and returned to Muncie this offseason. He started 21 of 31 games for Mizzou, averaging 8.6 points, 3.4 rebounds to go along with a team-best 86 assists.
G Jalen Moore, Oakland (Cloverdale)
A two-time All-Horizon League first team selection, Moore was second in the nation in assists last season (7.7 per game) after leading Division I in assists in 2020-21 (8.4 per game). Last season, he averaged 15.5 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game, and scored a team-high 25 against Michigan State.
G Armaan Franklin, Virginia (Cathedral)
It was an up-and-down season for the IU transfer. He scored in double figures 21 times last season, averaging 11.1 points per game, but Franklin struggled shooting (39% from the field and just 29.6% from 3) as the Cavaliers missed the NCAA tournament. He finished the year with back-to-back 17-point performances in the NIT, including a combined 10-of-18 from behind the arc, so perhaps he can take that momentum into a bounce-back for UVA in 2022-23.
BONUS PICK: F Ali Ali, Butler (East Noble)
Last season, Ali led the Zips to their first NCAA tournament in nine years and led Akron in points per game (13.9), assists (2.6) and 3-point percentage (.407). He made the Mid-American Conference all-tournament team, in which he scored 47 points in three games, and All-MAC second team.
Honorable mention
GUARDS: Juston Betz, Bellarmine (Providence); Luke Bumbalough, Ball State (New Castle); Trey Galloway, Indiana (Culver Academies); Deandre Gholston, Missouri (Gary 21st Century); Jake Heidbreder, Air Force (Floyd Central); Connor Hickman, Bradley (Bloomington South); Eric Hunter Jr., Butler (Tindley); Mekhi Lairy, Miami of Ohio (Evansville Bosse); Dylan Penn, Vermont (Evansville Memorial); Roman Penn, Drake (Hammond Bishop Noll); Jayden Taylor, Butler (Perry Meridian); D.J. Wilkins, Drake (Merrillville); Charlie Yoder, Incarnate Word (Westview).
FORWARDS: Kevin Easley Jr., Duquesne (Lawrence North); Caleb Furst, Purdue (Blackhawk Christian); Curt Hopf, Bellarmine (Barr-Reeve).
CENTER: Ra Kpedi, Purdue Fort Wayne (Lawrence North).
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: College basketball: Best Division I players from Indiana high schools
