Noah Smith shines, Luke Ertel sits and 10 more takeaways from Charlie Hughes Shootout Day 1
CARMEL – If Noah Smith can stack more days like Friday, the recruitment of the Plainfield basketball senior is bound to really take off.
Playing in front of college coaches at the Charlie Hughes Shootout, the 6-8, 205-pound Smith went for 29 points in a 92-88 win over Silver Creek and 28 points in an 89-85 loss to South Bend St. Joseph.
'Noah has improved tremendously since the end of last season,' Plainfield coach Andy Weaver said. 'He put on some strength, some weight, and the thing is his game translates definitely to the next level with his skill set. I think people will see his game rise to another level.'
Smith, a core Junior Indiana All-Star last season after averaging 16.8 points and 7.8 rebounds, has several scholarship offers already, including DePaul, East Carolina, Toledo and Xavier. Purdue assistant Brandon Brantley was one of the coaches keeping tabs on Smith on Friday. Virginia Tech is another school that has been in contact recently, along with Ball State, Indiana State and Belmont.
'I've been talking to DePaul a lot,' Smith said. 'Pretty soon I'm going to be taking an official visit. I've been talking to Purdue a lot. I went to the Purdue camp (last Friday) and I played pretty good. (The Purdue coaches) said they love my game. They were here at both my games today.'
It is not difficult to see how Smith's game would translate to the next level. He shot 5-for-6 from the 3-point line in a game at the Purdue team camp and again shot it well from the perimeter on Friday. Smith was a 32% 3-point shooter during his junior season.
'I feel like I've been shooting a lot better,' Smith said. 'Obviously I'm the tallest guy on our team, so I'll be playing the 5 (as a senior) but I'll still be on the perimeter and taking it from there. (Colleges) see me as a 3 or 4. That's where I've been playing in AAU.'
In the transfer portal era, it is more difficult for high school players to get recruited. Anyone watching Smith on Friday — and Indiana coach Darian DeVries was among them — had to be impressed.
'A couple of college coaches have told me they talk to fewer high school kids than they used to, obviously with what's been happening in college basketball,' Weaver said. 'But with Noah's skill, basketball IQ and size and length, his best basketball is in front of him. And he's playing good basketball currently, too. But without question, colleges should be all over him.'
Mt. Vernon star guard Luke Ertel saw his Charlie Hughes Shootout last all of 88 seconds.
The Purdue recruit, who sat out two days of games at last week's NBPA Top 100 camp after spraining his right ankle, rehabbed to get himself ready for the four games at this weekend's shootout. But Mt. Vernon's game against Crown Point had barely started when he turned it again and came out.
'I have to make sure I'm healthy,' said Ertel, who jumped more than 50 spots to No. 54 in the latest 247Sports recruiting rankings for the 2026 class. 'There's no point in trying to do something. This whole week has been a process of trying to rehab and get ready for this but after that happened (Friday) it's just kind of like, 'Let's get better for July.' It's a big bummer because it's my senior year and I didn't want to miss it.'
With Ertel out, Mt. Vernon lost 59-53 to Crown Point and 51-42 to Gary 21st Century.
'The other teams brought great energy and we really didn't match it,' Ertel said.
∎ Lawrence North transfer Jamar Thomas is going to be a nice addition for Mt. Vernon. Thomas, a senior, had 17 points in the loss to Gary 21st Century.
'He's another playmaker who can drive to the hoop and create for others,' Ertel said.
∎ South Bend St. Joseph, last year's Class 3A state champion, is moving up to Class 4A via the tournament success factor. But do not sleep on St. Joseph as a legit title contender. Elijah King went for 26 points and Nick Shrewsberry added 22 in a 92-88 win over Plainfield. St. Joseph then knocked off Lawrence North 70-65. A couple more good tests coming on Saturday against Carmel and Fishers.
∎ Justin Curry went for 31 points in Noblesville's 63-45 win over Penn. The Millers also defeated Gary 21st Century 66-44.
∎ Good showing Friday for Crown Point, which got 22 points from 6-6 senior Dikembe Shaw and 18 from Mason Darrell in a 59-53 win over Mt. Vernon. Crown Point also knocked off Parke Heritage 53-44. The Bulldogs will play Lawrence North and Fishers on Saturday at Carmel.
∎ In addition to Noah Smith, Plainfield got a massive day from junior guard Harper Baker-Lands, who had 20 points in the first quarter (31 for the game) in a 92-88 win over Silver Creek. Baker-Lands had 32 points in an 89-85 loss to South Bend St. Joseph. Landon Gilliatt had 17 points in the loss to St. Joseph and drilled six 3-pointers against Silver Creek.
∎ Princeton rallied for a 57-54 win over Franklin Central, breaking a tie on two Edwin Holmes free throws with 4 seconds remaining. Holmes, a 6-7 senior, finished with 25 points. Quintyn Voltz, who averaged a team-high 12.0 points and 2.2 assists last year at Decatur Central, has transferred to Princeton.
∎ Brownsburg got a strong performance from junior guard Branden Sharpe in a 71-64 win over Shelbyville. Sharpe, a top prospect in football, finished with 16 points to hold off Shelbyville, which was led by 20 points from Caden Claxton. Brownsburg also defeated Kokomo 78-59. North Central transfer Chrishon Woodward should fit in nicely for the Bulldogs. Woodward had 16 points in the win over Kokomo.
∎ I did not see Westview play last year, but I like the look of junior guard Austin Schlabach. Bouncy athlete who can score. Westview is coming off an 18-8 sectional championship season.
∎ Tyler Crews of Gary West Side is a player to watch. Crews, a 6-10 senior, has an offer from Southern Utah and a lot of potential. His teammate, senior guard Reggie Hinton, had one of the most impressive dunks of the day in the win over Kokomo.
∎ Silver Creek is going to be a handful in Class 3A. Dane Caldwell had 26 points in the 92-88 loss to Plainfield and Brandon Hunter added 19. The Dragons also a lost a close one to Lawrence North, 67-62.
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