Welcome back everybody, and welcome to 2008. I bet everybody feels like a new person with the turn of the calendar, right? No? OK, me neither.
The 2007 year ended with all of the high school basketball action one could really ask for, with enough holiday and county tournaments to feed even the largest appetite. Today on "The Mind," a little recap with some thoughts on performances, starting last Thursday and going through the weekend.

• I went to the early-round games in the girls portion of the Hall of Fame Classic out in New Castle last Thursday. I was impressed by the balance that Lapel put on the floor in its 55-43 win over Huntington North, which wasn't ever much of a game on the scoreboard. But then to see how No. 13 Terre Haute South absolutely ran away from both Lapel in the championship and Greenfield-Central in the early round, they've got some things going. TH South's three losses of the season have come to No. 4 North Central (by 4), No. 12 Bloomington South (by 3) and No. 2 Ben Davis (by 26).
• Did you just read that? Yes, the Ben Davis Lady Giants beat TH South by 26 earlier this year. They also beat North Central by 12 and No. 5 Lawrence North by seven. Which brings us to the annual Ben Davis Holiday Tournament this past weekend. The Lady Giants continued to impress by beating No. 12 Bloomington South, 54-28, and a 10-4 Anderson team, 76-32. Please take this as no disservice to their opponents, but they aren't even close to Ben Davis in these games, save for LN. And they're good teams. If the Lady Giants found themselves in the state title against reigning champ and No. 1 SB Washington, that will be one to see.
• On the boys side at the Hall of Fame, held on Friday, No. 3 New Albany certainly made a name for itself here in Central Indiana. The Bulldogs notched an upset of No. 1 Marion in the opening round, 51-46, before taking down Batesville in the championship, 67-51. Will New Albany be the new No. 1 in the next Coaches' Poll? It would be tough to bet against that. And what about Marion? It will be interesting to see how the Giants, previously undefeated, bounce back after two losses in one day (the second to No. 10 Edgewood in the consolation).
• County tournaments are always a highlight on the schedule, and while most of the girls county championships have already completed, the boys are about to take the spotlight. And this past weekend, a county tourney "transition", if you will, took place when Hancock County played both its girls and boys tournaments. Here's a tip of the hat to the boys team at New Pal, who edged Mount Vernon 41-39. And on the girls side, congrats to Greenfield-Central as the queens of Hancock County with their 54-38 win over Mount Vernon as well.
• Back to the boys, I know myself and colleague Brian Moore have mentioned No. 5 Cathedral in this space the past few times we've written. Well, the Irish had an impressive performance on Saturday night with a 100-83 victory over a nice Howe squad. Cathedral had five players in double figures, including a monster 24-point performance by Jarrett Hamilton off the bench. It should be said that Howe's Larry Stone had an offensive explosion of his own, pouring home 40 points in the loss. Wish I would have seen that one...183 points in 32 minutes? That's some good bang for the buck as far as viewing pleasure is concerned. 
• And for a little HSSTM promotion, we have recieved word that our new January issues are being delievered and are set for distribution this Friday. We'll be sending out the digital copy to our online subscribers tomorrow, so if you haven't do so yet, sign up quickly here.