04-29-2003By Dale Hubler, Times-Union Sports Writer
All the things Trey Eaton did during his storied prep hoops career at Tippecanoe Valley, it seems the one thing he forgot to do was hire a campaign manager.
It’s the all-too-familiar story of a gifted high school basketball player trying to make the Indiana All-Star team, something that once took talent but now only requires the right name and a residence near Indianapolis. Well, that and maybe a public-relations director to put your name out there in what is now the all-too-political world of high school sports.
Sunday, the Indianapolis Star, the long-time sponsor of what used to be the prestigous Indiana-Kentucky All-Star Series, released the names of this year’s team – the so-called 14 best players in the state.
For whatever reason, Eaton’s name didn’t appear on the roster – despite the fact that he finished second in the state in scoring average (27.8), 15th in the state in rebounds per game (9.5) and led an otherwise average Viking squad to a 20-2 record and Class 3A No. 2 state ranking.
Eaton’s name is inked beside 13 varsity basketball records at Tippecanoe Valley, including most points in a game, season and career.
Veteran coach Bill Patrick said Eaton was good enough to start on the varsity team as an eighth grader.
The 6-foot-4, 205-pounder that shot nearly 90 percent from the free throw line and 47 percent from three-point land (befitting for a kid named Trey) got Division I offers from the likes of North Carolina-Wilmington, Wright State, Central Michigan, Wright State, Evansville and Tennessee, among others.
Also not on this year’s Indiana All-Stars, well, more accurately the Indianapolis All-Stars, are DeKalb star Alex Kock and Heritage Christian sharp shooter Todd Abernethy, the only two seniors that appeared on either the first- or second-team all-state lists not to make the cut.
Kock, whose teammate Adam Liddell made the list with his 11.4 points per game average and Purdue scholarship, averaged nearly 20 points per game for the No. 4 Barons #and shot 10 of 16 from the field as he scored 25 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the 4A state championship.
While you won’t see Eaton, Kock or Abernethy on the Indiana All-Star team, you will that see seven of the 14 are from Indianapolis and a slew of others are covered on a regular basis by the Indianapolis Star.
Also to be noted is that Indianpolis Pike, the 4A state champion, has three representatives on this year’s squad, including David Barlow who averaged 8.2 points per game and Parnell Smith who averaged 5.6 points per contest.
If the Indiana All-Star roster is designed to honor those that perform well in the state tournament, why did Kock get left off?
If it’s for those that are getting big-time Division I looks, why did Abernethy, who recently committed to Ole Miss, get left off?
And if it’s for season-long and career-long accomplishments, why did Eaton get snubbed?
These questions will never get answered, just as the team will never truly be the “Indiana All-Stars.”
So to up-and-coming high school hoopsters wanting to make the Indiana All-Star team, I recommend either moving to the central part of the state, buying a full-page ad in Hoosier Basketball Magazine (contact Gary H. Donna), or hiring a campaign manager.
It is all politics anymore, isn’t it?
Plain and simple, good-old-fashioned talent doesn’t matter anymore.