2021 IndyStar Indiana Boys All-Stars named

14 players selected for squad that will face Kentucky in June

      Fourteen players have been selected for the 2021 IndyStar Indiana Boys All-Stars, All-Stars game director Mike Broughton announced Monday (April 19).

      Those chosen to the team will play three games in June — one exhibition game against the Indiana Junior All-Stars as well as home-and-home contests against the Kentucky All-Stars.

      Caleb Furst of Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian was named winner of the Indiana Mr. Basketball award on Friday (April 16). Furst will be joined by 13 other players on the 2021 Indiana Boys All-Star team. The remaining players, listed alphabetically, are Shamar Avance of Lawrence North, Brooks Barnhizer of Lafayette Jeff, Jalen Blackmon of Marion, Luke Brown of Blackford, Luke Goode of Homestead, Kooper Jacobi of Silver Creek, Trey Kaufman-Renn of Silver Creek, J.R. Konieczny of South Bend St. Joseph, Blake Sisley of Heritage Hills, Jayden Taylor of Perry Meridian, Pierce Thomas of Brownsburg, Brian Waddell of Carmel and Blake Wesley of South Bend Riley.

      The coaches for the 2021 All-Stars will be the same staff that was to guide the All-Stars a year ago, as the 2020 All-Star events were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The head coach will be Ryan Osborn of Carmel. He will be assisted by Mark Detweiler of Delta and Nate Hawkins of Heritage Hills.

       The 2021 IndyStar Indiana Miss Basketball, Jayla Smith of Lawrence North, and the rest of Girls All-Star team were announced last month. The full roster for the girls’ team is listed below, under the roster for the boys’ team.

        The Junior-Senior exhibition game is set for June 9 at Brownsburg High School. The first game against Kentucky will be June 11 at the Owensboro Sports Center in Owensboro, Ky. The final game against Kentucky will be June 12 at Southport Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The games in Indianapolis are at Southport because Bankers Life Fieldhouse is unavailable this summer because of another phase of renovations that will be occurring there.

      All three dates will be doubleheaders with the IndyStar Indiana Girls All-Stars.

      The Indiana Junior All-Stars will play just one game this year — June 9 against the seniors. There are no Junior All-Star games against Kentucky this year.

      The Indiana All-Stars program was founded in 1939 when the Indiana Boys All-Stars played the state champion Frankfort Hot Dogs. The series with Kentucky began in 1940, and the girls’ portion of the All-Stars was added in 1976. The Junior All-Stars, boys and girls, were added in 1996. The All-Star senior boys have played Kentucky in all but three years since 1940 — 1943 (World War II), 1944 (World War II) and 2020 (COVID-19 pandemic). The All-Star senior girls have played Kentucky every year since 1976, except 2020 (COVID-19 pandemic).

        The Indiana portion of the All-Star Games is organized and produced by the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association. The Indianapolis Star, with its IndyStar brand, is a title sponsor.

        Mr. Basketball is selected through a balloting process of coaches and media overseen by game organizers from the IBCA. The remainder of the team is finalized by Broughton after observing numerous games and events throughout the season, conferring with coaches, school officials and media across the state. Broughton also reviews votes submitted by coaches and media who each could recommend up to 10 players.

        A complete list of those chosen as 2021 IndyStar Indiana All-Stars follows.

Name, School, Height, Pos., PPG, College Choice

Shamar Avance, Lawrence North, 6-1, G, 17.3, undecided

Brooks Barnhizer, Lafayette Jeff, 6-7, G, 32.7, Northwestern

Jalen Blackmon, Marion, 6-2, G, 33.5, Grand Canyon

Luke Brown, Blackford, 6-2, G, 31.7, Stetson

Caleb Furst, Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, 6-10, F, 21.4, Purdue

Luke Goode, Homestead, 6-6, F, 19.4, Illinois

Kooper Jacobi, Silver Creek, 6-7, F, 21.2, Toledo

Trey Kaufman-Renn, Silver Creek, 6-9, F, 24.5, Purdue

J.R. Konieczny, South Bend St. Joseph, 6-7, G, 28.3, Notre Dame

Blake Sisley, Heritage Hills, 6-9, F, 22.6, Evansville

Jayden Taylor, Perry Meridian, 6-4, G, 25.5, Butler

Pierce Thomas, Brownsburg, 6-6, G, 18.8, Butler

Brian Waddell, Carmel, 6-7, G, 15.8, undecided

Blake Wesley, South Bend Riley, 6-5, G, 27.1, Notre Dame

           Head coach: Ryan Osborn, Carmel

           Assistant coaches: Mark Detweiler, Delta; Nate Hawkins, Heritage Hills

Name, School, Height, Pos., PPG, College Choice

Ally Becki, Brownsburg, 5-8, G, 18.0, Ball State

Madelyn Bischoff, Roncalli, 5-9, G, 21.4, Ball State

Courtney Blakely, Hammond Noll, 5-7, G, 31.7, Middle Tennessee State

Katie Burton, Fishers, 5-9, G, 21.9, St. John’s

Kaitlyn Costner, Penn, 5-6, G, 11.4, Ohio State

^ Bridget Dunn, Carmel, 6-3, F, 12.7, Kent State

Sydney Jaynes, Trinity Lutheran, 6-3, F, 19.0, Butler

Chloe McKnight, Bedford North Lawrence, 5-9, G, 13.7, Saint Francis (Ind.)

Meg Newman, North Central, 6-3, F, 10.4, Arizona State

Vanessa Shafford, Linton-Stockton, 5-9, G, 18.1, Southern Indiana

Brynn Shoup-Hill, Goshen, 6-3, F, 17.9, Dayton

Jayla Smith, Lawrence North, 6-0, G, 19.4, Purdue

Trinity Thompson, Michigan City, 6-0, F, 22.6, Northern Kentucky

Ariana Wiggins, Heritage Christian, 5-7, G, 27.6, Michigan

       Head coach: Jeff Allen, Bedford North Lawrence

       Assistant coaches: Donna Buckley, Noblesville; Doug Springer, Northridge

       ^ injured; unable to play in games

2021 IndyStar Indiana All-Star key dates

         Wednesday, June 9 — Junior-Senior All-Star game at Brownsburg High School (1000 S. Odell St., Brownsburg, IN 46112) — girls, 6:00 p.m.; boys, to follow; admission, $8 per person at the door.

         Friday, June 11 — Indiana at Owensboro SportsCenter (1215 Hickman Ave., Owensboro, KY 42301) — girls, 6:00 p.m.; boys, to follow. Ticket information TBA.

     Saturday, June 12 — Indiana vs. Kentucky at Southport Fieldhouse (971 E. Banta Rd., Indianapolis, IN 46227) — girls, 5:00 p.m.; boys, to follow. Ticket information, prices are $25 and $10. A link to purchase tickets online will be released later.