2019 Indiana All-Star Series Set

The annual Indiana All-Star series is just a few weeks away and it is a celebration of the four-year prep careers for graduating high school seniors. It almost always has at least one Purdue player involved and this year it is pretty much a showcase for the future of Purdue basketball, both men’s and women’s. All three 2019 men’s basketball commits were named Indiana All-Stars. In addition to that, 2020 commitment Jaden Ivey was named to the “Core Group” of the junior All-Star team, meaning he will participate in all of the junior All-Star activities.

On the girls side, Purdue has no recruits in the 2019 group, but Madison Layden, one of the favorites for Miss Basketball in 2020 at Northwestern HS, was named to the junior core group. Ra’Shaya Kyle, a 4-star 6’6” post from Marion was named to the Red Group for the junior All-Stars. Layden averaged 21.9 points per game this last year and has led Northwestern to consecutive Class 3A State titles. She and teammate Kendall Bostic (headed to Michigan State) have been so good that Northwestern will played the 2019-20 season up a class in 4A and they very well could win that as well. Kyle averaged 15.5 points per game this past year and led Marion to a 23-5 record, where they lost to Northwestern in the semi-state.

Here is the schedule for All-Star Week:

The are five girl-boy doubleheaders involving the Indiana All-Stars and Indiana Junior All-Stars that will be played from June 2 through June 8. Those games include:

Sunday, June 2 — Junior All-Stars vs. Kentucky Junior All-Stars at Mercy Academy (5801 Fegenbush Lane, Louisville, KY 40228) — girls, time 4:00 p.m.; boys, to follow (Core Group, plus Blue Group); admission, $10, at the door. (These games are juniors only) Ivey and Layden participating.

Monday, June 3 — Junior All-Stars vs. Kentucky Junior All-Stars at Jeffersonville High School (2315 Allison Lane, Jeffersonville, IN 47130) — girls, 6:00 p.m.; boys, to follow (Core Group, plus White Group); admission, $6 at the door. (These games are juniors only) Ivey and Layden participating.

Wednesday, June 5 — Junior-Senior All-Star game at New Castle High School (801 Parkview Dr., New Castle, IN 47362) — girls, 6:00 p.m.; boys, to follow (Core Group, plus Red Group); admission, $8 at the door. (These games are Indiana juniors vs. Indiana seniors) Newman, Thompson, Ivey, Layden, and Kyle participating. Gillis is still limited due to injury.

Friday, June 7 — Indiana at Kentucky at Knights Hall, Bellarmine University (2000 Norris Place, Louisville, KY 40205) — girls, 6:00 p.m.; boys, to follow. (These games are seniors only) Newman and Thompson participating. Gillis is still limited due to injury.

Saturday, June 8 — Indiana vs. Kentucky at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (125 S. Pennsylvania St., Indianapolis, IN 26204) — girls, 5:00 p.m.; boys, to follow. (These games are seniors only) Newman and Thompson participating. Gillis is still limited due to injury.

I was honored to receive a ballot and help select this year’s teams, and with that I was able to get a full stat breakdown of our three 2019 signees for their entire careers.

Mason Gillis - New Castle HS (Did not play in 2018-19 due to injury)

• 1,251 career points
• 15.8 points per game
• 58% FG
• 43.4% 3FG
• 10.5 rebounds per game
• 2.0 blocks per game
• 0.9 steals per game
• Career high scoring: 33 vs. Muncie Central in 2017-18

Brandon Newman - Valparaiso HS

• 1,577 career points
• 19.5 points per game
• 50.3% FG
• 39% 3FG
• 7.4 rebounds per game
• 1.4 assists per game
• Career high scoring: 49 vs. Concord in 2018-19 (school record)

Isaiah Thompson - Zionsville High School

• 2,139 career points (tied for 27th in state history)
• 21.0 points per game
• 42.9% FG
• 38.6% 3FG (went 294 of 762 in his career, while Newman only shot 333 threes and Gillis 99)
• 2.2 rebounds per game
• 2.9 assists per game
• Career high scoring: 44 vs. Lafayette Harrison in 2018-19 (school record)
• Holds virtually every Zionsville HS scoring record