2 weeks Ago By The Star Press
Basketball season in Indiana is a special time of year, and the 2024-25 season in East Central Indiana was no different.Two teams in the area upheld their recent patterns of success, as Class 3A Delta and Class 2A Wapahani both made their third consecutive trips to semi-state. Meanwhile, Daleville won a sectional title for the first time since 2010 to set up a conference rivalry matchup in regionals with Monroe Central.
The Golden Bears would go on to defeat the Broncos to claim just their second regional title ever.There were many other memorable moments during the regular season too. The second edition of the Muncie Fieldhouse Classic was a great success, and Wapahani made a dominant run in the Delaware County Tournament for its sixth county crown in the last 13 years.
Later in the season, Wes-Del senior Josiah Love made history by becoming the school's all-time leading scorer, finishing his career with 1,318 points.There were many memorable moments, teams and players from the Muncie-area in the 2024-25 hoops season, but one team's success stood out to earn special recognition from The Star Press.More: Remembering Jennifer Southerland, an 'incredibly joyful' Delta mother and supporterMore: Jillian Barr headlines 2024-25 Star Press Girls Basketball All-Area team.
Who else made it?Monroe Central has won both The Star Press Boys Basketball Player and Coach of the Year honors. Senior Easton Foster is Player of the Year, while Brian Klein is the Coach of the Year.Foster was one of the most efficient scorers in all of Class 1A basketball, averaging 21 points per game on 62% field goal shooting.
With his elite height and length, Foster was tough for anybody to stop, and even when they did, he was an excellent distributor. Foster's willingness to get his teammates involved opened up the Golden Bears' offense and prevented them from being one-dimensional. He was also an active defender averaging over five "stocks" (steals + blocks) per game.
Foster led the Golden Bears in every major statistical category with averages of 21 points, 10 rebounds, 3.8 assists, 2.2 steals and 3.
2 blocks per game. He finished his Monroe Central career as a sectional and regional champion and as the seventh-highest scorer in school history with 1,257 career points. Foster is also on the Monroe Central track and golf teams in the spring.
In his first season coaching the team, Klein led Monroe Central to heights the Golden Bears had not reached in 15 years with a regional title. Monroe Central went 15-6 in the regular season before dominating its sectional, winning each game by double digits. The Golden Bears overcame a red-hot Daleville team in the regional round before falling to Kouts in semi-state.
Klein has a career record of 277-217. This year's regional title was the first of his career.All 16 players that were nominated in our Player of the Year poll made The Star Press All-Area teams, which was split into four teams of five.
The Star Press staff decided which players made each team. Without further ado, here is our full All-Area boys basketball teams for the 2024-25 season:2024-25 Star Press All-Area Boys Basketball TeamPlayers are listed in alphabetical order.First TeamCamden Bell, junior, Wapahani: 18 ppg, 4.
8 rpg, 2.3 apg, 1.1 spg, 55% FGEaston Foster, senior, Monroe Central: 21 ppg, 10 rpg, 3.
8 apg, 2.2 spg, 3.2 bpg, 62% FGJordan Furney, senior, Delta: 12.
9 ppg, 4 rpg, 3.1 apg, 2 spg, 0.7 bpg, 44% FGJosiah Love, senior, Wes-Del: 23.
7 ppg, 4.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.
5 spg, 51% FGNate Luce, senior, Wapahani: 15.3 ppg, 4 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.
6 spg, 46% FGSecond TeamEli Andrews, junior, Wapahani: 11 ppg, 5.3 rpg, 3.8 apg, 1.
3 spg, 0.9 bpg, 48% FGGage Baker, senior, Blackford: 15.5 ppg, 4.
8 rpg, 2.6 apg, 2.3 spg, 0.
7 bpg, 44% FGAiden Coffey, junior, Shenandoah: 15.4 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.
3 apg, 1.5 spg, 45% FGBronson Edwards, senior, Delta: 11.3 ppg, 5.
8 rpg, 2 apg, 1.7 spg, 0.6 bpg, 54% FGHunter Suchyna, senior, Daleville: 20.
5 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.7 apg, 2.
4 spg, 0.3 bpg, 43% FGThird TeamJabin Barnes, junior, Yorktown: 9 ppg, 5 rpg, 1.8 apg, 0.
9 spg, 54% FGBrody Clifford, sophomore, Cowan: 12.2 ppg, 5.7 rpg, 2.
6 apg, 1.5 spg, 41% FGTucker Griffin, senior, Jay County: 12.1 ppg, 4 rpg, 3.
2 apg, 2 spg, 48% FGLandon Thompson, senior, New Castle: 16.3 ppg, 8.6 rpg, 2.
2 apg, 1 spg, 0.5 bpg, 55% FGBrock Zickgraf, senior, Wapahani: 9 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 1.
6 apg, 0.9 spg, 67% FGFourth TeamTyler Bennett, senior, Muncie Burris: 10.5 ppg, 6.
6 rpg, 0.7 apg, 0.9 spg, 37% FGCarter Fraze, senior, Winchester Community: 11.
3 ppg, 4.2 rpg, 1.6 apg, 1.
3 spg, 43% FGJaxson Johnson, freshman, Muncie Central: 11.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.
8 apg, 1 spg, 40% FGLamar Schwartz, sophomore, Union (Modoc): 15.3 ppg, 8.1 rpg, 4 apg, 2.
1 spg, 1.8 bpg, 40% FGBrayden Swoveland, sophomore, Blue River Valley: stats N/A; Mid-Eastern Conference all-conference selectionAll-Defense TeamEli Andrews, junior, WapahaniJordan Furney, senior, DeltaEaston Foster, senior, Monroe CentralJustus Ullom, senior, Monroe CentralCooper Sexton, senior, Daleville2024-25 Star Press Boys Basketball AwardsPlayer of the Year: Easton Foster, senior, Monroe CentralCoach of the Year: Brian Klein, Monroe CentralDefensive Player of the Year: FosterFreshman of the Year: Amarian Leggett, BlackfordSixth Player of the Year: Ta'Shaun Beatty, junior, Monroe CentralFan Vote Player of the Year: FosterContact Cade Hampton via email at [email protected].
com or on X, formerly known as Twitter, @CadeHamp10.This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: The 2024-25 Star Press Boys Basketball All-Area team is here.
