Takeaways from a full weekend of high school basketball at the River City Showcase

EVANSVILLE — Twelve games in three days. Now, it's time to unpack.

The fourth annual United Fidelity Bank River City Showcase concluded Saturday night at the University of Southern Indiana's Screaming Eagles Arena. This event is always a long yet informative weekend of high school basketball.

What did we learn this year? Quite a bit. For one, the showcase included girls basketball for the first time. And a few of the boys teams turned heads as they begin their season.

Here are several takeaways.

More: High school basketball: Scores, highlights from the River City Showcase

Girls basketball was a positive addition

In hindsight, it should've happened earlier. But it 100 percent added to the quality of the event.

Seven girls teams from the Courier & Press coverage area participated in those six games. They are among the top programs historically in Southern Indiana. And, frankly, they made for some of the best games.

Castle-La Lumiere and Forest Park-Memorial rank near the top. The Knights later put on a defensive clinic in a win over Martinsville. There was a lot of individual star power, too. Valpo recruit Ali Saunders scoring 26 for North Harrison, there were many Division I prospects on La Lumiere, and Washington's "big three" willed the Hatchets to a win.

Coaches spoke before the event about giving girls basketball a chance to be seen on a bigger stage. Hopefully, it continues.

"We were all nervous playing in a big arena," said Forest Park senior Ali Welp. "But playing in there was awesome. It meant a lot to us. We were all super pumped."

Reitz looks like one of the best boys teams

Preseason rankings are always a guess — an educated one, sure. But they're based on past performance. It's difficult to truly evaluate teams until we see them on the court.

Reitz was considered one of the top teams in the City coming into the season. Following its season-opener on Friday night, the argument carries more weight than it did a week ago.

The Panthers looked terrific in a 60-25 win over Vincennes Lincoln. They used their speed and length to force turnovers. There was a good balance between multiple options in the post in addition to Koston McReynolds along the perimeter or Ethan Higgs on the wing.

The defending SIAC and sectional champs backed up the preseason talk.

"I think we could be a bad mismatch problem for opponents," said senior Gavin Schippert. "We're starting two bigs, so they have to pick their poison there. I also think we have some great guards. We have really good potential."

When talking about the Panthers, it starts and ends with Schippert. The 6-7 forward rebounded nicely last season after injuring his knee as a sophomore. It's also obvious he's been living in the gym, now weighing 210 pounds.

He will be a problem for opponents. Not many in the area can match his size. He can also step out on the perimeter. Schippert scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds against the Alices. He was also a leader on the court, directing teammates where they needed to be.

"He's the ultimate teammate," said Reitz coach Michael Adams. "Works his butt off and fun to coach. Just a warrior and has been his whole career. (The season) is going to be a journey. Where can we take it? We have a lot of things we need to get better at, but it's a good way to start."

Castle's girls were already winning. Now Natalie Niehaus is back

It was the longest Natalie Niehaus had gone in her life without playing basketball.

The Castle senior sprained her ankle on Nov. 6, the morning of the volleyball state championship. She tried playing through it, but it swelled up like a balloon. She was sidelined for the start of basketball season.

Even with her on the bench, the Knights showed they can still win. And now the best player in the SIAC is back.

Castle is 7-3 following a loss to La Lumiere and a victory over Martinsville in the showcase. These were their second and third games with Niehaus, who came off the bench Thursday against Jasper.

"Natalie just brings so much composure and brings out confidence in the other girls," said Castle coach Bob Meier. "It's hard to describe. She's a competitor. She wanted out there two weeks ago."

The coach and his star player agreed her ankle is at best 75 percent. It's why she played sparingly against Jasper and came off the bench on Friday. Niehaus still had 17 points in the loss to La Lumiere, nearly willing the Knights to a comeback victory. She added 11 points on Saturday.

Her presence alone pushes Castle to a different level with her leadership and ballhandling against pressure. Both La Lumiere and Martinsville attempted to play zone. She was the one tasked to play in the middle or on the baseline.

"At the beginning, I was really nervous to re-sprain it," said Niehaus. "I'm getting more comfortable. It's starting to get better quickly."

The first seven games have shown how good the Knights could be in February. They beat Gibson Southern, Tecumseh and North without Niehaus. Their only losses were against Jeffersonville (season-opener without half the varsity roster) and to Edwardsville, an Illinois team.

Other players had to step up, like Jordan Coon and Devyn Barton. The Knights now go eight or nine deep on the court.

"We will be better for having to find a way to make things happen without that natural leader," said Meier. "It will give us more depth and confidence. Practices are already competitive. They'll continue to get more competitive, as she continues to get stronger."

Bosse needs to execute like this weekend to be 'special'

When Shane Burkhart dissected film from opening night, it reiterated everything he already knew.

The Bulldogs were 8 of 24 on layups in a 76-71 loss at Jasper. The core group of players — five or six Burkhart says need to play a different level for the team to be elite — were also 4-for-10 from the free-throw line.

Did Bosse lose to a good Jasper team? Absolutely. But the Bulldogs didn't execute to their potential.

They were much closer to it this weekend. Following a 97-point game against Boonville on Friday, Bosse beat Forest Park 82-62 at USI on Saturday.

"The way we play, at the skill level that we have, we have to make two-foot shots and from the free-throw line," said Burkhart. "The last two games we were substantially better."

Not many will play at the speed of the Bulldogs. This was apparent. Their guards push the ball up the court and look for open 3-pointers. Matthew Wagner was terrific with 22 points while directing the offense. Jameer Ajibade (12 points) had positive moments and Taray Howell continued to knock down shots.

Bosse showed its depth. Deylan Fox-Boone scored 14 off the bench. Adonimi Parker had another good showing with 11 points. The Bulldogs comfortably went nine deep.

Aside from the opening quarter in both games, Burkhart saw good basketball. Another mental test comes Tuesday against Owensboro Catholic, a team the Bulldogs beat in triple-overtime last year before a tailspin to end the season.

The Bosse team we saw this weekend? That's the team to watch out for.

"We're different when we play right," said Burkhart. "I really feel like this group is special. The last two years have not been great for us. The reality is I have not been good and I haven't been able to coach these guys the way they need to be coached. It's still a learning process for some of them."

Castle's boys can't be overlooked this year

The preseason talk surrounding the Knights was never meant as a slight. It was simply facts.

Their top five scorers graduated. Their starting point guard, Jackson Mitchell, is sitting on the bench for the next several weeks following ankle surgery. There were simply too many unknowns and other teams had more answers than questions.

We did find out one thing about the Knights this weekend: they're going to fight and play hard. It could lead to a better season than many presumed. Just look at a 67-54 win over a talented Madisonville-North Hopkins (Ky.) team to finish the showcase.

Castle had trailed by double digits in the first quarter.

"The one thing you don't have to worry about is those guys playing hard," said Castle coach Brian Gibson. "The great thing about them is they believe they're good. They've been waiting for their moment on varsity. Now, they're taking advantage of it. And when Jackson comes back in a few weeks, look out."

This effort at Screaming Eagles Arena turned heads. The Knights probably wouldn't win in a pickup game against the Maroons. They could out-work them, though.

And how about Weston Aigner (25 points) and Caleb Niehaus (21)? These two led the charge through grit and determination. It was impressive to behold as Castle chipped away at the lead and then slowly pulled away. Dylan Watson (10 points) also gave the Knights several good minutes off the bench in a game they weren't sure he would play following the death of a family member.

The players couldn't help but feel overlooked prior to the season. No longer. Not after Saturday night.

"We took that to heart," said Aigner. "We go into practice and play hard. We just need to play as a team and feed the ball around to guys who need the ball. Play our game and don't get drawn into what the other team wants us to do."

Best individual performance

There was a lot of talent throughout the weekend, but this is an easy call: Jeffersonville senior Brandon Rayzer-Moore made the game look just as easy against North.

He scored 33 points, which were the most of any player across three days, and unofficially grabbed 10 rebounds in a 62-47 victory. Rayzer-Moore never forced the issue and made over 50 percent of his shots. He's a talented player who put together a fantastic effort.

Honorable mention: Saunders (North Harrison), Drew Howard (Forest Park), Wagner (Bosse), Jahni Summers (Harrison), Wesley Celichowski (Floyd Central), Aigner (Castle).

Other random thoughts

Forest Park's girls going to be a tough out simply by never giving up. Memorial had the lead for most of their game, but the Rangers kept fighting back. With Amber Tretter, Lydia Betz, Carley Begle and Welp, the starting lineup is solid.

Harrison's boys are close. The record doesn't reflect how talented the Warriors could be. But this weekend, they lost to New Albany and Floyd Central who are traditionally two of the best programs in Southern Indiana. Harrison could have won both, particularly the overtime battle against the Highlanders.

Central's boys showed something in the second half that could make it a successful team. Shots were not falling (only two made 3-pointers), but the defense was a plus.

Also, shoutout to Pike Central for bringing a pep band. It adds to the high school basketball experience to have live music than the sound system (no offense).

Follow Courier & Press sports reporter Kyle Sokeland on Twitter @kylesokeland.

River City Showcase scores

Thursday

Washington 51, Mater Dei 38 (girls)

Central 56, Pike Central 40 (boys)

Friday

Reitz 60, Vincennes Lincoln 25 (boys)

Jeffersonville 61, North 47 (boys)

La Lumiere 53, Castle 49 (girls)

Saturday

Gibson Southern 64, North Harrison 53 (girls)

Silver Creek 46, North 39 (girls)

Bosse 82, Forest Park 62 (boys)

Forest Park 48, Memorial 45 (girls)

Floyd Central 64, Harrison 60, OT (boys)

Castle 64, Martinsville 18 (girls)

Castle 67, Madisonville-North Hopkins 54 (boys)

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Takeaways from the fourth annual River City Showcase