INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - If anyone knows what a Mr. Basketball looks like, it's Indianapolis North Central coach Doug Mitchell.
He's coached three of them - Jason Gardner in 1999, A.J. Ratliff in 2004 and Eric Gordon in 2007.
He puts Purdue recruit Terone Johnson in their category.
'I think Terone is Mr. Basketball,' Mitchell said. 'I don't think there's any doubt. He just does it in such an unassuming manner that I'm afraid he's maybe not gotten the accolades that he should. We've had three Mr. Basketballs already, and he's right there with all of them.'
Johnson will make a strong case for the award if his Panthers (24-3) win the Class 4A title Saturday against Warsaw (23-2) in the nightcap of the 100th state finals at Conseco Fieldhouse.
In the other championship games, Washington (22-3) will play Gary Wallace (19-4) in Class 3A, Wheeler (26-1) will play upstart Park Tudor (15-10) in Class 2A and Gary Bowman Academy (23-1) will play Barr-Reeve (24-3) in Class A.
North Central is looking for its first title since 1999. The Panthers lost the championship game in 2007.
Johnson, a 6-foot-3 guard, averages 21.3 points a game and shoots 54 percent from the field. Perhaps what makes him most dangerous is that he has help. D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera, a 6-4 sophomore guard, averages 17.5 points and 6.1 rebounds.
'I think that if you just had Smith-Rivera or Johnson to worry about independently, that would be hard enough, but they're probably the best backcourt in the United States of America,' Warsaw coach Doug Ogle said. 'You show me a better one.'
Ogle, of course, isn't conceding anything. His team has won 16 straight since a loss to Noblesville that he said taught his team valuable lessons about patience and perseverance.
'That loss, we said Noblesville just provided a template for us: this is what we need to become,' Ogle said.
Ogle's team has a star guard of his own with Nic Moore. The 5-9 junior averages 21 points and 5.2 assists a game.
'He's very strong, has great body balance,' Ogle said. 'The Lord had a basketball player in mind when he brought Nic Moore into this world.'
Warsaw balances Moore's outside game with a pair of forwards. Justin Clemens averages 12.1 points, while 6-5 Lucas Grose averages 9.1 points and 6.6 rebounds.
In 3A, first-time finalist Gary Wallace will face Washington and its championship tradition.
Branden Dawson, a 6-foor-6 junior, averages 24 points and 14.7 rebounds while shooting 65 percent from the field. Guard Latroy Taylor adds 15.9 points and 5.4 rebounds.
Washington will be going for its sixth championship in 15 appearances. Six-foot-10 Cody Zeller averages 20.5 points and 10.5 rebounds a game. He's the latest star off the family assembly line, following older brothers Luke and Tyler, who respectively went on to play at Notre Dame and North Carolina.
In 2A, Park Tudor is trying to become the first Indiana team to win a title with double-digit losses after getting beat 10 times during the regular season.
'To do that would be a tremendous testimony to their improvement as the year has gone along and their development, not only as individual players, but as a team,' first-year coach Ed Schilling said.
Schilling said he knew the team was talented, but he didn't expect such rapid improvement. His top player, Kevin Ferrell, is a sophomore guard who averages 23 points. His No. 2 scorer is J.B. Rapp, a sophomore guard posting 10.5 points a game.
'We have three sophomores on the court at all times, and most of the time, we finish with four,' he said. 'To say we would be here, I absolutely would not have predicted.'
No. 2 Wheeler is seeking its first championship. The Bearcats have won 22 straight since an early loss to Andrean.
Balance is a key to Wheeler's success. Andrew Rudakas averages 16.4 points per game, Najee Bailey 13 and Petar Todovic 12.6.
Class A features the only No. 1 vs. No. 2 matchup. Top-ranked Bowman Academy from Gary leads the entire state with 84.5 points a game, while No. 2 Barr-Reeve is second in Class A in scoring defense, surrendering just 43.5 points a game.
Bowman is going for its first state title. The school joined the Indiana High School Athletic Association in 2006-07 season, and has only been eligible for the state tournament since last year.
Christopher Bond, a 6-4 senior, leads Bowman with 18 points and 12 rebounds a game. Tyrae Robinson averages 15 points, and 6-5 sophomore DeJuan Marrero adds 14.6 points and 12 rebounds.
Trey Hughes leads Barr-Reeve with 17.2 points per game and Christian Duncheon adds 13.1 per contest. Their coach, Marvin Rea, was the Trester Award winner for Gary Roosevelt in 1987.
