Crown Point Senior Kaiden Rhodes Seeks Title in Possible Last High School Game

Crown Point and Mt. Vernon (Fortville) face off Saturday night in the Class 4A state championship at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, with both programs making their first appearance in a boys basketball state final. For senior guard Kaiden Rhodes, the 7:15 p.m. tip could be the last high school basketball game he ever plays, and he has spent this season making sure he earned the right to be on that floor.

The Bulldogs' only blemish is a 74-60 loss to Gary 21st Century on January 31, after which Crown Point rattled off 11 consecutive wins and defeated their five tournament opponents by an average score of 66 to 40. Crown Point has ranked fourth in Indiana in scoring average at 73.65 points per game, and entering Saturday they sit No. 4 in the state coaches poll and No. 2 in the USA Today Class 4A poll. Their semistate championship win over Northridge ended 66-40, and only a 57-52 sectional win against Lake Central contained any suspense down the stretch.

The engine of Crown Point's offense runs through a senior core. Dikembe Shaw, a 6-7 senior forward committed to play at UIC, leads the Bulldogs in scoring at 17.1 points per game and in rebounding at 5.9 per game. Mason Darrell, a 6-2 senior guard, contributes 13.5 points a game, while 5-9 senior guard Kingston Rhodes averages 10.4. Sophomore guard MJ Wilson adds 8.5 points per game, with Kaiden Rhodes at 5.4, 6-7 junior forward Cooper Malaski at 5.0, and junior guard Reid Kaegi at 3.8 also factoring into the success.

Kaiden Rhodes's path to this moment has its own subplot. When twin brother Kingston suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee, Kaiden absorbed more playing time and started nine consecutive games alongside Shaw, Darrell, senior guard Bryce Peters, and Malaski. In those nine games, Kaiden averaged 7.8 points, 1.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists and 2.2 steals in 20.6 minutes, compared to his season-long figures of 5.4 points, 1.5 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.5 steals in 14.1 minutes. "To be honest, it felt pretty good," he said of stepping into a larger role. "It's always felt like it's something I could do, though. I was happy I got to do it. It was definitely a fun experience."

The scrutiny on Crown Point intensified when Fishers, the program that had beaten the Bulldogs at semistate in each of the past two seasons, was eliminated in a sectional final. Kaiden acknowledged the noise but didn't let it change the approach. "We're in the right position," he said. "We just had to keep our heads focused and knock out that outside noise. There's been a lot of outside noise, especially since Fishers lost. There's been a lot of people saying stuff. We've just had to stay focused and block out all that noise and keep our eyes on the court."

State championship games typically aren't rematches, but this one is: Crown Point defeated Mt. Vernon in the championship game at the Hall of Fame Classic in New Castle on Dec. 23, 60-56. The rematch carries different stakes. Luke Ertel, the Mt. Vernon guard who received Indiana Gatorade Player of the Year honors ahead of the semistate, entered those matchups averaging 24.1 points, 9.8 rebounds, 5.9 assists and 1.9 steals per game. The Purdue signee is the centerpiece of a Mt. Vernon team that enters 27-3. Down low, the Marauders feature 6-8 junior forward Max Vise, who scores 14.2 points a contest and grabs 5.5 boards, with 6-4 senior forward Jack Guerre (8 ppg), 6-3 senior forward Jamaree Collins (5.8), 5-8 junior guard Owen Daugherty (5.8), 6-foot junior guard Ben Schaeffer (3.6) and 6-1 senior forward Brady Webber (3.0) also playing key roles.

Saturday's game is part of the 116th IHSAA Boys Basketball State Finals at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The championship will stream via pay-per-view on IHSAAtv.org and the IHSAAtv suite of apps for $12 per game or $20 for all games. For Kaiden Rhodes, whether the final buzzer brings a first state title for Crown Point or the end of a senior season, he will have already proved that his nine-game midseason run was no fluke.