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Indianapolis Star
05-06-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Indiana All-Stars: Assessing juniors' effort, Luke Ertel shines again, 6 more who impressed
Thoughts, observations and analysis of Indiana All-Stars week as the attention turns to the rivalry games vs. the Kentucky All-Stars on Friday and Saturday. By the way, I'm still calling this 'Fourth and Long' even if all the topics this week are basketball: There are corners of the high school basketball Internet where the modus operandi seems to be complaining about how things used to be better than they are now … all the time. Nostalgia is a tricky thing. We tend to romanticize the past and forget the bad stuff. I do it. We all do. One thing I hear often in relation to the Indiana All-Stars is that 'people don't care anymore.' Or 'players don't care like they used to.' And I'm not here to tell you fans are going to pack Gainbridge Fieldhouse to the rafters for the Indiana All-Stars vs. Kentucky like they use to fill Market Square Arena or Freedom Hall like the good ol' days. We are not living in that world anymore. Indiana All-Stars boys history: Which schools have most? Players list by school But anyone who walked away after watching Wednesday night's Indiana All-Stars vs. the Juniors game would be lying if they said it looked like the result did not matter to the players. Sure, maybe some more than others. But the best players, and you can certainly put Junior All-Stars Luke Ertel (Mt. Vernon) and Dikembe Shaw (Crown Point) in that group, were battling to the finish in the Juniors' 117-114 victory. There were 40 fouls called. One technical. Basically, the opposite of the NBA All-Star game. 'That was a competitive, physical game,' said All-Stars coach Marc Urban (Chesterton). 'The juniors and the seniors, I felt like both teams really competed. The juniors gave us as good of a look as they possibly could. It will give us something to watch and hopefully we'll play a little bit harder and have a little bit more fight and find a way to get a win down there at Kentucky.' What else can you say about Luke Ertel? The Mt. Vernon guard scored 35 points (I received a message Thursday that the box score from last night, which had him with 36, was incorrect). But the Purdue recruit still broke the record for a Junior All-Star in the game vs. the seniors, which was previous held by Greg Oden and Eric Gordon. Pretty good company, huh? Ertel went for 35 points on just 13 field-goal attempts. He was 5-for-7 from the 3-point line and connected on all 14 of his free-throw attempts. Ertel also had nine rebounds, four assists and two steals and had just three of the team's 19 turnovers despite handling the ball the bulk of the game. This was after his 36-point, 13-assist, nine-rebound game in the Junior All-Stars win over the Kentucky Juniors on Sunday at Charlestown. I got a chuckle out of Crown Point's Shaw, who plays with Ertel with Indiana Elite, talking about how the point guard would go all-out even if he was 'going against first graders.' That pretty much sums it up. I don't think the effort is so much who he is playing against or bragging rights, necessarily. Ertel just loves to play. He is competitive and wants to win, regardless of the opponent. I know a lot of people want to compare him to Braden Smith, which I completely understand with both being Purdue point guards from local high schools. Smith, the 2022 Mr. Basketball out of Westfield, was an incredible passer even early in high school and obviously could shoot the lights out. He was maybe a little more bouncy than the lefty Ertel, who is great using angles and seeing plays develop before the rest of us. The common trait: They are both killer competitors. I'm not sure anyone can top Smith's ability to find every shred of motivation possible to get himself going. But Ertel is at least on the same branch of the family tree in that regard. I would guard against putting too much pressure on Ertel to be 'the next Smith.' Keep in mind Braden Smith is the reigning Big Ten Player of the Year, after all. But Purdue fans should be excited. This is the non-Luke Ertel category, FYI. ∎ Dikembe Shaw, Crown Point: The 6-7 Shaw was outstanding in the Juniors' victory over the Indiana All-Stars, going for 24 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the 3-point line. He took just nine shots. Shaw fouled out with about seven minutes left in the game and the Juniors down by seven. His recruitment will be interesting. He has offers from Indiana State, IU Indy, Miami (Ohio) and Toledo, but there are high-major programs like DePaul, Indiana, Northwestern and Purdue interested. ∎ Kai McGrew, Fishers: The 6-9 McGrew, who transferred from Lawrence North to Fishers for his senior year, is always making plays around the basket — on offense and defense. He had a big blocked shot of Tre Singleton in the final seconds on what could have been the go-ahead basket. He also scored the go-ahead basket on the previous possession on an alley-oop from Terrence Hayes Jr. of Gary 21st Century with an athletic play that he made look easier than it was. McGrew is more than a post player. He can step out and shoot (1-for-2 from 3) and makes free throws. McGrew finished with 11 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. ∎ Brennan Miller, Lawrence North: The 6-9 Miller did most of his damage in the second half, finishing with 12 points on 5-for-12 shooting with seven rebounds and three assists. Miller was on the court during the finishing flurry, making a basket to bring the Junior All-Stars within one point in the final minute and making two clutch free throws to put his team up three. ∎ Justin Curry, Noblesville: The 6-3 Curry made a pair of 3s early in the game and finished with 12 points, three rebounds and two assists. He was 3-for-5 from the 3-point line for the night. ∎ Noah Smith, Plainfield: I thought the 6-8 Smith played really well and was a little surprised he was not out there a little more, though in these all-star games it can be tough to manage all the minutes. Smith finished 4-for-5 from the field, missing his only 3-point attempt, to put up eight points and three rebounds. ∎ Terrence Hayes Jr., Gary 21st Century: The 6-1 Hayes did not have numbers that blow you away (five points, four rebounds, three assists), but he was on the court down the stretch and making plays His alley-oop lob to McGrew for go-ahead bucket was a little risky, but it was on the mark and worked. Hayes makes things happen. Fort Wayne native and former Purdue guard Rapheal Davis posted a line on social media Tuesday that seemed to pick up a bit of traction and made its way to my texts. Davis wrote this on Twitter: 'Indiana High School Basketball has taken a step back.' Davis, who works as an analyst for the Big Ten Network, played at Fort Wayne South Side and La Lumiere before going to Purdue out of the 2012 graduating class. I'm old enough to have watched him play in high school and, of course, at Purdue, where he was a team leader and outstanding defense player. So, Davis has played at a high level and is certainly entitled to his opinion. That nine-word tweet is vague, though I take it to mean the talent level has fallen off. If that is his opinion, that is his opinion. But I will say this: I don't think we can judge a class on the front end anymore. The scholarship offers from college programs for the 2012 class is an altogether different world from the 2025 class. The transfer portal has changed things dramatically. I look at a player like Junior All-Star Dikembe Shaw of Crown Point (6-7, can shoot from the perimeter) and wonder how many offers he would have if this was 6, 7, 10 years ago. There is no way to know, of course, but my guess is he would have more than Indiana State, IU Indy, Miami (Ohio) and Toledo. I think Jeffersonville's Michael Cooper, a Wright State commit, is a high-major guard. These are anecdotal opinions but a better assessment of the 2025 class as a whole will come in four or five years, when we see how these players progress in college and, potentially, use the transfer portal to work their way up. Saying 'the 2012 class had X number of high-major recruits compared to the 2025 class' is apples and oranges coming out of high school now. Check back in four or five years.
Indianapolis Star
05-06-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
'There's a lot of bragging rights.' Ertel goes for record 36 points as Juniors beat All-Stars
GREENFIELD — Other than the 80-plus degree temperature outside, it felt like March at Greenfield-Central High School on Wednesday night. The boys Indiana All-Stars were tested, pushed and eventually lost to the Junior All-Stars 117-114 in a game that was as physical and hard played as one at the end of the high school basketball season. Mt. Vernon's Luke Ertel was again the catalyst for the Junior All-Stars, setting a junior record vs. the seniors with 36 points. 'I obviously don't go around watching other all-star games around the country but, I mean, that was about as competitive of an all-star game as you could possibly get,' All-Stars coach Marc Urban of Chesterton said. 'The energy of the crowd was good. We just have to figure out how to play harder, longer. And make those tougher plays more consistently.' It appeared the senior All-Stars had put themselves in position to finally get some distance from the Juniors after Jeffersonville's Michael Cooper keyed a run to put the All-Stars ahead 92-83 with 8:50 left. A little more than a minute later, Crown Point's Dikembe Shaw fouled out for the Juniors, leaving the game with 26 points. Game over? No. The fun was just beginning. 'There's a lot of bragging rights,' Shaw said. The Junior All-Stars kept coming, tying the game on a shot by Ertel, who matched his point total in the win over the Kentucky Junior All-Stars on Sunday at Charlestown. The Juniors took a six-point lead with 3:45 left after the senior All-Stars were whistled for a technical. But the senior All-Stars were not done, getting it tied at 108-108 on a basket by Brady Koehler with 1:16 left. After Justin Curry made one of two free throws to put the Juniors ahead by one point, Ben Davis' Mark Zackery IV scored and IndyStar Mr. Basketball Braylon Mullins, playing his final game on his home floor, made two free throws with 28.9 seconds left to give the All-Stars a 112-109 lead. Then it really got crazy. Terrence Hayes Jr. of Gary 21st Century drove the lane, narrowly avoiding a travel call, and turned and whipped a pass to Lawernce North's Brennan Miller under the basket to bring the Junior All-Stars to within one point. A tipped pass led to a turnover and Haynes pushed ahead and tossed an alley-oop to Fishers' Kai McGrew, who laid the ball off the class just over the outstretched hand of the 6-9 Koehler for a 113-112 lead for the Juniors. Jeffersonville's Tre Singleton drove the left side of the lane, attempting to give the senior All-Stars the lead. But his shot was blocked by McGrew and Ertel corralled the rebound. His two free throws with 5.1 seconds remaining gave the Juniors a 115-112 lead. On the next possession, Zackery was fouled before the seniors could get a look at a 3-pointer. He made two free throws with 3.7 seconds left to cut the Juniors lead to 115-114. Miller was fouled and made two free throws for the Junior All-Stars before the ball was inbounded by make it 117-114. Mullins got off a final heave from beyond halfcourt that was just left of the basket and bounced off the backboard. 'It was a good test for the two games with Kentucky,' said Mullins, who finished with 17 points and four assists. 'We haven't played together at all and (the Junior All-Stars) got to play a game together. I'm not going to use that as an excuse. They played harder than us tonight. But I think we'll gel more this week and I think we'll be better this weekend.' The All-Stars will play the Kentucky All-Stars on Friday at Lexington Catholic High School before returning home for the rematch on Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Cathedral's Koehler, a Notre Dame recruit, matched Mullins for team-high scoring honors with 17 points. Singleton and Fishers' Justin Kirby each had 11 points. Dezmon Briscoe of Crispus Attucks had 10 points and nine rebounds and Zackery also had 10 points. 'We have a good rotation of guys,' said Mullins, a UConn recruit. 'It's just a matter of who wants to play hard or not. I think that's really going to determine how our team is going to play. I think we just didn't play hard enough. But I think our coach is going to get on us (Thursday) and we'll be better. There's no reason you should be losing to the juniors as seniors, especially playing one last time on this court.' Ertel's 36 points broke the record a junior against the seniors, a mark that was shared by Greg Oden and Eric Gordon with 29 points. Ertel is second all-time for points in junior-senior rivalry behind Park Tudor's Trevon Bluiett, who scored 44 for the seniors in 2014. Ertel left the game briefly with blood on his jersey in the second half. Urban joked that he needed to stay out of the game for a longer look at the jersey. 'I thought his effort and how competitive he was and how hard he played was outstanding,' Urban said. 'That was my first time seeing him live and he was really, really good.' Ertel called it 'just an all-star game at the end of the day.' But there was no denying how hard he played during the game. 'It's a joy playing with Luke,' Shaw said. 'On the court, he's a dawg. He fights tooth and nail. We could be going against first graders and I know he'd give 100 percent.'
Indianapolis Star
02-06-2025
- Sport
- Indianapolis Star
Luke Ertel leads Indiana Juniors: 'That's why he's going to Purdue. That's not an accident'
CHARLESTOWN – Luke Ertel took the floor for Sunday's IndyStar Indiana Junior All-Stars game against Kentucky as the only player on either side committed to a college. That fact might make some players take their foot off the gas or take the game a little less seriously. That thought never occurred to Ertel, the 6-3 Purdue recruit and Mt. Vernon junior. 'I just love playing basketball,' he said. 'I love competing. If that's playing hard, then that's playing hard.' Ertel put together a fantastic performance, finishing with 36 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds in the Junior All-Stars' 119-108 victory over the Kentucky Juniors. Indiana jumped out to a double-digit lead early and pushed ahead by as many as 36 points in the second half, though Kentucky did get within nine in the final two minutes. Every time Kentucky even thought about getting close, Ertel seemed to have an answer. He was backed by Fishers' Kai McGrew's 23 points and eight rebounds and 16 points and five assists from Crown Point's Dikembe Shaw. 'It was pretty easy to come together and let everybody have their turn,' Ertel said. 'Just getting the ball and kind of feeling it out and playing. We all play with AAU teams, so we're all used to playing with good players.' The Indiana Juniors shot 21-for-48 from the 3-point line, including Ertel's 6-for-14. Noblesville's Justin Curry finished with 10 points and six rebounds, Charlestown's Anthony Fresh had 10 points, Princeton's Edwin Holmes had nine points and four rebounds and Bloomfield's Blake Neill had nine points on 3-for-3 shooting from the 3-point line. Ertel played 34 minutes of the 40-minute game. That was not really the plan for Juniors coach Todd Woelfle (Terre Haute North), but the lead would shrink when he did rest him. 'I want to take him off the court, but I can't,' Woelfle said. 'His motor is incredible and he is just a winner. He was representing the state of Indiana today. They talked about it in the locker room beforehand and I thought they all came out and did that, but he was the catalyst. Not only does he score but he shares the basketball and he's an excellent defender.' Parke Heritage guard Treigh Schelsky said Ertel's confidence was a conversation topic when he was sitting on the Juniors bench with a few of his teammates. 'His IQ is so high,' Schelsky said. 'Obviously he can handle the ball and run the show and run the point. That's why he's going to Purdue. That's not an accident. But a few of us were talking about his confidence. I think that's what sets him apart. How hard he plays just shows that no matter who you are, you can go out there and give 100% effort. He's the epitome of that.' ∎ Curry said Crown Point's Shaw had a message to the team before Sunday's game. 'He kept saying, 'In 49 states, it's just basketball but this is Indiana,'' Curry said. 'He really brought us together and we were able to really play together and put on a show.' Curry, who played against Ertel during the season (Noblesville won 50-46), said it was nice to be on the receiving end of his assists. 'He's got that motor,' said Curry, who recently picked up an offer from Nevada. 'He always knows how to keep going and get that bucket and also knows how to find his teammates. I think all of us skilled guys on this team have that. We all have a motor and all want to win.' ∎ Schelsky said it was a credit to the Juniors that 'it wasn't a chuck-fest' like some All-Star games can turn into. 'Most of us knew each other or knew of each other to being with so that helps,' he said. 'The coaches were great getting us together. We were laughing, having a good time. I thought we played well together. It was fun for me. I enjoyed it.' ∎ Silver Creek's Kasen Daeger did not play due to injury. From the original Junior All-Star selections, core Junior Steven Reynolds III was also a scratch due to his transfer from South Bend Washington to Texas after his father was hired as a women's assistant at Texas-Arlington. Avon's Keriawn Berry was moved into the core group and Ben Davis' JaShawn Ladd was moved to play in Wednesday's game instead of Sunday. ∎ Demarcus Surratt, a 6-3 guard from Frederick Douglass, put on an impressive show for the Kentucky Juniors. He finished with 27 points on 10-for-14 shooting, including 5-for-8 from the 3-point line. He's going to be a good one. ∎ The girls Indiana Junior All-Stars cruised to a 106-64 victory in the early game. Indiana spread the wealth with five players scoring in double figures, led by 14 points and six rebounds from Silver Creek's Brooklynn Renn. Kennedy Holman of Hamilton Southeastern added 13 points and five rebounds, Mya Epps (Homestead) and Joslyn Bricker (Warsaw) each had 12 and Mollie Ernstes added 11 points on 3-for-5 shooting from 3. ∎ For those that have not visited, the Charlestown gym is outstanding. It opened in 2010 after the Pirates outgrew Dunn Arena, where they played since 1955. The neat part is that has the underground bowl feel of a gym like New Castle or Edinburgh or White River Valley but with the amenities of a gym built in the past 20 years. Very nice. Schools building new gyms should follow Charlestown's lead. ∎ Indiana All-Stars week continues with the Futures Game on Monday at Fishers. Admission is $10 per person. Tickets are available at the door. The girls start at 6 p.m., and the boys follow. The Junior All-Stars will play the Indiana All-Stars on Wednesday at Greenfield-Central (same ticket price and schedule). The All-Stars games vs. Kentucky are set for Friday at Lexington Catholic (girls at 5:30 p.m.) and Saturday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse (girls at 5 p.m.).
Boston Globe
19-03-2025
- Business
- Boston Globe
Fulfilled Goods in Newton sells you the food. You bring the containers.
Advertisement Ertel once worked in the biotech world but chose to pursue something she found more fulfilling, launching Fulfilled Goods two years ago. She encourages customers to adopt sustainable habits gradually — one small swap at a time. That might mean switching to Swedish dishcloths (available in the shop) to save on the use of paper towels, or refilling a container with dish soap rather than buying a new plastic bottle at a market. Even if you recycle that plastic bottle, it's not an ideal system. According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, only 9 percent of the world's plastic gets recycled — the rest ends up in landfills or polluting the environment in other ways. 612 Washington St., Newton, 617-202-3635, . Ann Trieger Kurland can be reached at
Yahoo
05-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Baltimore County Council violated Maryland's Open Meetings Act, chair says
BALTIMORE — When the Baltimore County Council initially selected the county's top political official, they did so outside of public view. The council chair now realizes they violated state transparency laws. 'Apparently we were in violation of the Open Meetings Act,' council Chair Mike Ertel told The Baltimore Sun, adding, 'We were, kind of, of the mind that, well, it's a personnel decision. You know, we don't need to call a public meeting to close it,' he said. 'But that's what we're in violation of.' The council was scheduled to vote Jan. 6 on a new executive to replace Johnny Olszewski, who was leaving for Congress. The biggest snowstorm to hit the area in years prompted the council to shift the meeting to the next day. The council had held a prior meeting Jan. 3, mostly to discuss the logistics of the public vote, Ertel said. During the Zoom meeting, council members also discussed one of the county executive candidates, then-State Sen. Katherine Klausmeier. 'The only question was, 'I understand that people, you know, everybody, seems to be for Kathy. Is that still the case?' Everybody was like, 'Yep,'' Ertel said. Then, instead of waiting until the public vote that was scheduled for 3 p.m. on Jan. 7, the council sent out a press release that morning, saying they'd 'selected' Klausmeier for the role, adding that the council's 'formal vote' would take place later that day. Although Maryland's Open Meetings Act does allow discussion of personnel matters behind closed doors, it requires the council to give prior notice of a closed meeting and a reason for why it can't be open to the public — which, in this case, they did not. Ertel said council members didn't know they were violating the act and described the violation as a 'technicality.' 'We thought we were fine because it was a personnel decision,' he said. He added that if they had given prior notice of the meeting, 'What would the public have had information on that they didn't have already? We had some closed meeting — that would be the only thing that they would know that they didn't know.' Asked about the apparent meeting violation, Council Member Izzy Patoka, who was serving as council chair at the time of the vote, said, 'The only thing that should have been done is that it should have been posted on the council's website, and it was not.' Patoka added, 'One of the reasons we held that meeting is because we were concerned about the weather and whether we would have a chance to deliberate. And so it was put together pretty quickly.' The council's consensus on Klausmeier wasn't technically a vote, according to Patoka. 'During that time, we talked about kind of zeroing in on a finalist … but there was no voting, per se,' Patoka said. He added that while there was 'discussion' and 'consensus' about Klausmeier, 'There's never a vote until we're up in the chambers and cast a vote.' Patoka said there have been times when members made 'commitments' on specific votes and later changed their minds. 'So there's no such thing as a vote until, in my opinion … until it's cast,' he said. Patoka said the reason for alerting candidates about the council's selection before the meeting was 'to be respectful' to the candidates rather than having them 'sit there in a public setting and find out they weren't selected.' During the Jan. 3 meeting, the council discussed whether they could swear in a new executive over Zoom, Ertel said. The clerk of court advised that the swearing-in had to take place in person. 'You've got to go and put your hand on the Bible and all that stuff,' Ertel said. 'So that was what the meeting was about — well if we can't do it Monday because of the snow, we'll have to do it Tuesday.' Asked whether the council had discussed before Jan. 3 voting for Klausmeier, Ertel said, 'It's all just collected individual conversations among us.' Patoka also described 'individual discussions on the merit of different candidates.' The situation was 'a clear violation of the Open Meetings Act,' said Joanne Antoine, executive director for the Maryland office of Common Cause, a grassroots organization focused on 'upholding the core values of American democracy,' according to the organization's website. 'While Common Cause at least takes no position on who was appointed, I do think the process could have been a lot more transparent,' she said. Ertel also noted that it's unusual for the county council to select a county executive — who's usually chosen by Baltimore County voters unless there's a vacancy. The last time the council had to fill an executive vacancy was in 2018, after the sudden death of former County Executive Kevin Kamenetz and before Ertel or Patoka took office. Ertel promises the meeting violation won't happen again. 'It was an honest oversight,' Ertel said. 'There was nothing nefarious going on.' Maryland's Open Meetings Compliance Board received two complaints regarding the selection of the new county executive. WYPR reporter John Lee and Michael Ruby, editor of two local publications, The Country Chronicle and The Villager, filed the complaints. The council's response to the complaints is due by Feb. 10, according to Assistant Attorney General Rachel Simmonsen. After that, the complainants and the council can issue further replies, and the board generally issues an opinion 30 days after all submissions are received. If the compliance board finds a violation, then a majority of the council would need to sign a copy of the board's opinion acknowledging the violation. The violation must be announced at the council's next open meeting. Neither the compliance board nor the attorney general's office has the power to impose penalties for violations, Simmonsen said. The only enforcement mechanism for the Open Meetings Act is if a person files a lawsuit in county circuit court, according to the attorney general's website. 'During that process… representatives of the public body may be required to give sworn testimony and produce documents,' the website says. The council's legislative counsel, Thomas Bostwick, did not respond to a request for comment. He previously told WYPR that 'the Council adhered to the spirit of the Open Meetings Act.' Ertel emphasized that the decision for a new county executive, as a whole, was 'a very public process,' which included a hearing featuring public comment and a public presentation by five candidates who had applied. One of the candidates, former Democratic State Sen. Jim Brochin, criticized the decision to have candidates read prepared speeches, instead of having them 'speak off the cuff' or respond to 'tough questions' from council members. 'Anyone can open a notebook and read a speech,' Brochin said, adding, 'That's not how you select a person of power.' Brochin added that he believes Klausmeier 'will be a fine county executive.' Asked about the lack of a question-and-answer session, Patoka said there wasn't enough time since the council had two months and two major holidays between Olszewski's election to Congress and his swearing-in on Jan. 3. Patoka added that there was a 'rush' to swear in Olszweski's replacement because of ongoing county budget discussions and a need to present the council's priorities to the Maryland General Assembly during its legislative session, which began on Jan. 8. He also noted President Donald Trump mandating 'unknown variables on a daily basis.' ---------
