This weekend in college hoops was like walking into a rural, out of the way, roadside joint for breakfast and being treated to all the "Specials" of the day. Well this weekend had Upset Special as the big item on the menu and boy it was tough to swallow for most of the top 25 teams in the land. Between Saturday & Sunday on Upset Weekend we had no less than 11 top 25 teams, that were favored, lose. I can't remember a time when this happened last. We actually had 4 contests where the game featured both teams ranked. In those 4 games only two of the better seeds came out on top as Texas (#7) defeated Missouri (#11) 71-58 and Purdue (#12) defeated Minnesota (#16) by a score of 73-61. We had three teams (Villanova, Connecticut, Vanderbilt) where the lower seed lost at home.
Here is a recap of the teams that lost:
#3 Duke loses bad to St. John's 93-78
#5 Connecticut loses a tough one at home in double OT to #23 Louisville, 79-78
#8 Villanova drops one at home to #21 Georgetown 69-66
#9 BYU Loses to New Mexico 86-77
#10 Syracuse loses their fourth in a row to Marquette 76-70
#13 Texas A&M loses to Nebraska on the road 57-48
#17 Wisconsin loses at Penn State 56-52
#18 Washington loses to state rival Washington St by a score of 87-80
#19 Vanderbilt loses at Memorial Gymnasium against invited guest Arkansas, 89-78
#22 Florida State gets kicked around by Clemson 62-44
#24 Florida loses to Mississippi State 71-64
It could have been worse too. There were some close scares but the favored teams survived. Like #1 Ohio State slipping past Northwestern 58-57. #2 Pitt snuck by Rutgers, 65-62. #25 Michigan State just got past Indiana at home in overtime, 84-83 What a wacky weekend of college hoops. It may be just a warm up to what we might expect this year in March madness. Speaking of madness, on the statistic front check out these numbers. Here are some crazy statistics from this weekend compliments of my Las Vegas Sin City Editor, Spike Measer. 11 of 94 scheduled games went into overtime on Saturday with 4 of those went into double overtime. Then on Sunday, we had 3 more overtime games out of 23. That brings the weekend total of 14 games in OT out of 117 so almost 12% of the games went into overtime. That is an unusually high statistic.
A couple of teams to watch out for now that are flying under everyone's radar are teams that all hurt ranked teams this weekend. Keep your eye on the following unranked teams:
Nebraska (15-5)
Arkansas (14-6)
St. John's (12-8) the long shot here
Other teams in the top 25 not getting enough publicity:
#23 Louisville
#11 Missouri
#21 Georgetown
# 4 San Diego State
I realize these rankings were from this past weekend and are to change today but I did not get a chance to look at those new rankings yet.
Some good games to watch tonight on this Blog Snob's birthday are:
#23 Louisville at #21 Georgetown - Georgetown winner of 4 straight and feel they are stronger team. Louisville can't play another back to back game like they did at UCONN here. Georgetown to win by 4 or 5
#7 Texas at #13 Texas A&M - Texas has not won in Aggie country in 7 years. A&M has won 14 in a row on their home court. Those stats would point to A&M winning tonight but I think the Longhorns pull out a 3 point win.......or .......get beat by 14. How is that for playing the fence.
So much more to talk about but have to run. Look for more college hoop rankings, high school notes and high school player rankings tomorrow if I can get to it.
One more final note - not to blow my own horn but I am going to. I am competing on the NFL Gridiron Challenge for Fantasy football playoffs. There are over 300,000 entrants and yours truly is in 7th place nationally. My entry name is Rusty Nails and I am at 376 total points going into the Superbowl. The leader is at 382 total points. The top two scorers get a $2000 Best Buy gift card and a $1000 Best buy Gift card. Based on what the others ahead of me have as remaining players it looks like I can not place in the top 2 but it could be possible to finish in the top 3 or 5. If you want to check it out the link is http://games.espn.go.com/gridironpc/en/frontpage
Just check out the leaderboard on the far right page
Ray McAllum
Monday, January 31, 2011
Friday, January 28, 2011
Spartans Spiraling; Fredette Rises to Top in BYU win over SDSU
Some people had a bad feeling about how the Spartans would respond to this game prior to the showdown on Thursday night. I attended the Pistons game on Wednesday night with a customer who is a MSU grad and a big Sparty hoop fan and he admitted that he was concerned about this game and did not have a good feeling about it. It turns out Ben was right.
Right now Michigan State is spiraling and circling the drain after losing to rival Michigan at the Breslin Center 61-57. With the loss the Spartans fall to 12-8 on the year and will fall out of the top 25 and quite possibly be out for the remainder of the year . Michigan, with a record of 12-9, were led by Zack Novak's 19 points and a Stu Douglas 3 pointer with 20 seconds to go to was the dagger to seal the fate for the Spartans. Michigan, which was coming off a 6 game losing skid, won for the first time in the Breslin Center since 1997 and that my friends is a long time. They out rebounded the Spartans and easily outshot them from the 3 point land. Michigan shot close to 50% while MSU shot only 26% from beyond the arc. Kalin Lucas had a nice game with 27 and Durrell Summers played well (finally) pitching in 13 with 10 rebounds. This Spartan team is in trouble and it could be greater trouble than dismissed player Kory Lucious is in. Speaking of, no one is speaking. This is the tightest kept secret of a dismissal that I have known. On the no one seems to know theme, this rates up there with where is Hoffa buried and where is Obama's birth certificate and college transcripts.
BYU (#9), 20-1 defeated previously undefeated San Diego State (#4), 20-1, the other night and National Player of the Year consideration candidate, Jimmer Fredette, showed a national viewing audience how good he is. He dropped 43 in this one including 10-11 from the free throw line and 5-8 from long range. This kid has a beautiful stroke. Sophomore Kawhi Leonard had a great game for SDSU hitting for 22 while contributing 15 rebounds. This game was closer than the score indicated as BYU pulled away in the end for a 71-58 victory. This should be a good rematch when they meet again on Feb 26 in San Diego.
Oakland University continues with its run and their high powered offense is in full gear. They scored 88 in a 88-85 win at home over Oral Roberts to stay unbeaten in the Summit league. They had 3 players score 20 or more in the win showing the balance they possess this year on the offensive side of the court. Hudson lead with 22, Hamilton 21 and Benson 20. Sharp shooter Travis Bader hit for 15 while going 4-5 from the 3 area. In January he is 62% (23-37) from behind the arc, that is hot ........as hot as the Oakland team is right now.
College Upsets:
#8 Villanova loses to Providence on Wednesday 83-68.
#9 Syracuse gets crushed at home against Seton Hall on Tuesday 90-68
#20 Illinois loses to Indiana on Thursday 52-49 - First time in 19 games that Indiana has beaten a ranked team
NBA - You don't see me comment much on NBA because I just don't have the same interest as high school and college. However I went to the Pistons - Nuggets game on Wednesday and I was reminded why I have only been to two games this year. The NBA is difficult to watch. Way too much standing around, one on one basketball and lack of hustle for me. It was not and unusually is not exciting until the 4th quarter when it seems to mean something to these players and they start playing hard. I want to see this every quarter not just the fourth. The Pistons made a run of it late in the fourth quarter and actually got it to a 2 point margin before the Nuggets won 109-100.
Is it just me or does anyone else like to see the Heat lose like I do. They lost again to the Knicks last night for their 5th loss in their last 6 games. Lets just say I was happy with that outcome and the Heat's performance of late. I realize they have not played with the Holy Trinity (James, Wade, Bosh) in all these games but they had LeBron and Wade (still having migraines) in the game.
HIGH SCHOOL
Avondale beats Stoney Creek by 20, 70-50 but the real story line is that the dynamic duo did not combine for 40. Tony Harris had 17 but Sugar Ray Tillman only had 11 and that's 28 combined. They must have been ill because this hasn't happened in over 6 games.
Rochester (5-1 league) wins a big league game over Hazel Park (4-1 league) 68-57 as Taylor Perry scores 32. Taylor must have read my negative press and decided to show me that I am clueless on evaluation. He has scored 32, 27 & 22 in his last 3 games and appears to be hitting that AAU summer performance level stride. Good for him, go Taylor and go Falcons.
UPSETS
Troy loses to Lake Orion.......bad.........66-47 and James Young does not hit double digits
Warren DeLaSalle loses to UD Jesuit on Tuesday and loses their top player to injury
Detroit Douglass loses to Detroit Denby - in OT by 83-78 - not that big of an upset as Denby is now 10-2.
Ferndale - with Baker and Harvey this team will be climbing in the rankings real soon.
Look for Player rankings coming soon
Your Basketball SNOB
Right now Michigan State is spiraling and circling the drain after losing to rival Michigan at the Breslin Center 61-57. With the loss the Spartans fall to 12-8 on the year and will fall out of the top 25 and quite possibly be out for the remainder of the year . Michigan, with a record of 12-9, were led by Zack Novak's 19 points and a Stu Douglas 3 pointer with 20 seconds to go to was the dagger to seal the fate for the Spartans. Michigan, which was coming off a 6 game losing skid, won for the first time in the Breslin Center since 1997 and that my friends is a long time. They out rebounded the Spartans and easily outshot them from the 3 point land. Michigan shot close to 50% while MSU shot only 26% from beyond the arc. Kalin Lucas had a nice game with 27 and Durrell Summers played well (finally) pitching in 13 with 10 rebounds. This Spartan team is in trouble and it could be greater trouble than dismissed player Kory Lucious is in. Speaking of, no one is speaking. This is the tightest kept secret of a dismissal that I have known. On the no one seems to know theme, this rates up there with where is Hoffa buried and where is Obama's birth certificate and college transcripts.
BYU (#9), 20-1 defeated previously undefeated San Diego State (#4), 20-1, the other night and National Player of the Year consideration candidate, Jimmer Fredette, showed a national viewing audience how good he is. He dropped 43 in this one including 10-11 from the free throw line and 5-8 from long range. This kid has a beautiful stroke. Sophomore Kawhi Leonard had a great game for SDSU hitting for 22 while contributing 15 rebounds. This game was closer than the score indicated as BYU pulled away in the end for a 71-58 victory. This should be a good rematch when they meet again on Feb 26 in San Diego.
Oakland University continues with its run and their high powered offense is in full gear. They scored 88 in a 88-85 win at home over Oral Roberts to stay unbeaten in the Summit league. They had 3 players score 20 or more in the win showing the balance they possess this year on the offensive side of the court. Hudson lead with 22, Hamilton 21 and Benson 20. Sharp shooter Travis Bader hit for 15 while going 4-5 from the 3 area. In January he is 62% (23-37) from behind the arc, that is hot ........as hot as the Oakland team is right now.
College Upsets:
#8 Villanova loses to Providence on Wednesday 83-68.
#9 Syracuse gets crushed at home against Seton Hall on Tuesday 90-68
#20 Illinois loses to Indiana on Thursday 52-49 - First time in 19 games that Indiana has beaten a ranked team
NBA - You don't see me comment much on NBA because I just don't have the same interest as high school and college. However I went to the Pistons - Nuggets game on Wednesday and I was reminded why I have only been to two games this year. The NBA is difficult to watch. Way too much standing around, one on one basketball and lack of hustle for me. It was not and unusually is not exciting until the 4th quarter when it seems to mean something to these players and they start playing hard. I want to see this every quarter not just the fourth. The Pistons made a run of it late in the fourth quarter and actually got it to a 2 point margin before the Nuggets won 109-100.
Is it just me or does anyone else like to see the Heat lose like I do. They lost again to the Knicks last night for their 5th loss in their last 6 games. Lets just say I was happy with that outcome and the Heat's performance of late. I realize they have not played with the Holy Trinity (James, Wade, Bosh) in all these games but they had LeBron and Wade (still having migraines) in the game.
HIGH SCHOOL
Avondale beats Stoney Creek by 20, 70-50 but the real story line is that the dynamic duo did not combine for 40. Tony Harris had 17 but Sugar Ray Tillman only had 11 and that's 28 combined. They must have been ill because this hasn't happened in over 6 games.
Rochester (5-1 league) wins a big league game over Hazel Park (4-1 league) 68-57 as Taylor Perry scores 32. Taylor must have read my negative press and decided to show me that I am clueless on evaluation. He has scored 32, 27 & 22 in his last 3 games and appears to be hitting that AAU summer performance level stride. Good for him, go Taylor and go Falcons.
UPSETS
Troy loses to Lake Orion.......bad.........66-47 and James Young does not hit double digits
Warren DeLaSalle loses to UD Jesuit on Tuesday and loses their top player to injury
Detroit Douglass loses to Detroit Denby - in OT by 83-78 - not that big of an upset as Denby is now 10-2.
Ferndale - with Baker and Harvey this team will be climbing in the rankings real soon.
Look for Player rankings coming soon
Your Basketball SNOB
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Yellow Jackets Sting Blue Jays; Buckeyes Roll
A Blue Jay is a large and aggressive bird but the Blue Jays from the Southfield basketball team did not display that level of aggression tonight and were dominated by Yellow Jackets of Detroit Country Day in a 79-59 pull away victory for the men of Beverly Hills. DCD, playing without sharp shooter, Adam Zavadil, who was in a boot cast due to a stress fracture in left foot (out 4 weeks), beat Southfield with a big dose of the Big Man and I do mean MAN, Amir Williams. Williams worked to get open down low and was fed just about every time he put a man on his back. Williams finished with 28 points, including 10 in the 4th quarter, 12 rebounds, 4 blocks and 2 dunks. Southfield bodied up several of their 6'8' Bigmen in hopes of stopping him but Amir showed his overall skills by using all the tools of his game, which includes a very nice left handed shot. All his points (except free throws) came within 6 feet of the basket or closer. Jordan Price pitched in with 11 points and Chris Fowler ran the offense and had a very nice game. You could still see that Fowler is slowed a bit by his bad knee but was very effective penetrating and dishing the ball all game. He certainly exploited the defensive weakness Brundidge has in his game. Kenny Knight drew the defensive assignment on Carlton Brundidge and shut him down for most of the game. Brundidge was cold from the outside, making only one of his first 10 shots. He finished with 15 but got 8 of those points in the 4th quarter when the game was pretty much out of reach. I was disappointed overall with the Southfield team and their performance tonight. They have talent, with Brundidge and Barnes at the guard spots, a very talented Patrick Owernu (6'8") at the Forward spot, a physically huge 6'8' Dawson in the middle and an underrated player in Josh Brown - this team has talent and should be able to play with anyone. However, I realized that if you get them in a half court game, they are just not as effective as the talent level on the team. Where this team becomes dangerous is when they are out running in transition. That is when Brundidge is at his best. He becomes like a powerful locomotive with the ball with the ability to go extremely strong to the hole and make some incredible passes but unless he has that running start, his game is compromised. Too often tonight in the half court set he would drive to the basket trying to initiate contact and draw the foul. The refs were letting them play as there were a total of only 8 fouls called in the first half and there was a lot of contact and bodies hitting the floor. I really don't see enough of the tools in Brundidge's game to see him excelling at Michigan. Barnes was disappointing as well. He was forcing shots early on, looked for Brundidge too much to run the offense and score. Although he can shoot from the outside, I don't like the rotation on his shot. He only had 4 points at half-time but got it going in the third quarter to score 10 and finished the game with 17. The most impressive player to me on that floor was Patrick Owernu (Ark. Pine Bluff) who is quick for his size, very athletic, strong upper body, has a nice soft touch from the outside and works hard down low to get the ball. He kept them in this game from the beginning. I think he finished with 12 points but was getting timely buckets when they needed it early in the contest. Southfield took the first quarter lead 16-15 but DCD when on an 8-0 run to start the second quarter to take a 23-16 lead and never fell behind after that. They led at half by a score of 27-24 and 51-41 after three before they wore them down and ran them out of the gym in the last quarter. This Southfield team has the talent but has a long way to go in my eyes to get back to the Breslin center again for a Championship run. Country Day on the other hand, has all the talent they need in Amir Williams to carry them but it helps to have a deep bench and a nice compliment of capable players on that squad. No one should stand in their way, except themselves.
Ohio State had a statement game with their 87-64 stomping of Purdue. This game was over early and Buford led the balanced attack with 19 points. This Ohio State team is clearly the best in college basketball. You are hard pressed to find any weaknesses with this squad. They may lose this year but not many and will be in Houston this year come early April.
My oh my - the Syracuse Orangemen get crushed at home by Seton Hall 90-68 - absolutely no explanation for that one.
BYU - San Diego State game on Wednesday night is a must see game.
Your Basketball Snob
Ohio State had a statement game with their 87-64 stomping of Purdue. This game was over early and Buford led the balanced attack with 19 points. This Ohio State team is clearly the best in college basketball. You are hard pressed to find any weaknesses with this squad. They may lose this year but not many and will be in Houston this year come early April.
My oh my - the Syracuse Orangemen get crushed at home by Seton Hall 90-68 - absolutely no explanation for that one.
BYU - San Diego State game on Wednesday night is a must see game.
Your Basketball Snob
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Recaps, Rankings & Rants
College Recaps:
Looks like the Basketball Blog Snob did alright on my Saturday Top 25 team game predictions. Missed only on my Orangemen and the attendance record. Even though students slept overnight to get additional tickets it still wasn't enough to push the attendance to a record 35,000 or the Orange to victory. They lost 83-72 in front of the 2nd largest on campus crowd for a college basketball game, 33,736.
#1 Ohio State got by # 23 Illinois 73-68 to start the season at 20-0. This team has athleticism, strength, good guard play and is obviously well balanced and a final four team. Sullinger, who not only is the freshman of the year but is playing for player of the year awards honors, had 27 pts, 16 boards. Craft did not have one of his better games but he did hit two key free throws down the stretch and did not play like a freshman.
#2 Kansas (18-1) got beat at home snapping a 69 game home win streak when #10 Texas (16-3) came back from a 15 pt deficit in the first half to win 74-63. Hamilton had 17, not quite the 25 I predicted but he was on the winning team which I did predict.
#3 Syracuse (18-2) got beat at home as well. #7 Villanova (17-2) has more wins by any team at the Carrier Dome and they added another with 83-72 win over the Orangemen. Villanova came out blistering hot from behind the arc. They shot 50% for the game (11-22) from three point land while hitting 8 in the first half alone. Syracuse poor guard play and 15 turnovers cost them in this one. I missed this one, I thought with Joseph back and the crowd, the Cuse would prevail.
#14 Purdue (17-3) beat #17 Michigan State (12-7) by a score of 86-76 in front of a loud and enthused crowd for the entire game. JuJuan Johnson did not have a double double as I predicted but he did hit for 20 and E'Twaun (call me E'Twine for this one) Moore led the Boilermakers with 26. MSU played with more energy, vigor and drive this game but were beaten by the better team. Tough year for the Green and White on the hardwood this year.
#9 BYU goes to 19-1 with a 94-85 win over Colorado State as guard Jimmer Fredette (Player of year candidate) scored 42 points and is averaging 27.5. BYU plays #6 San Diego State (20-0) on Wednesday
#19 Louisville (15-4) lost to Providence 72-67 - Providence first league win - How did they beat Lousiville?
#15 Minnesota beat Michigan but the Wolverines played them tough but fell short AGAIN, 69-64.
UD Mercy gets a win over Youngstown State
Western Michigan (10-8) gets a layup at the buzzer to beat Northern Illinois, 82-80
Oakland (14-8) sweeps the Dakotas beating N. Dakota State on Saturday, 83-76 and is now in command at 9-0 in the Summit league standings. Benson had 21 and Larry Wright kicked in 20.
St. Mary's (#22) got beat by Vandy by 18 - they don't belong in the top 25
Games to watch this week:
Monday #16 Notre Dame at #4 Pittsburgh
Tuesday #14 Purdue at #1 Ohio State
Wednesday #6 San Diego St at #9 BYU
Wednesday #21 West Virginia at #19 Louisville
Thursday Michigan at #17 Michigan State
High School Recaps:
Corrections: - Flint Beecher actually beat Saginaw Buena Vista 89-82 not 88-80 as previously written. Also, states leading scorer, George Goodman actually had 41 points. Sophomore PG Monte Morris scored 21 and had 8 assists.
Flint Powers actually lost to Detroit Cass Tech
Ferndale (7-3) beats Avondale in a high scoring game, 93-80. Ferndale, now with much traveled Joe Baker eligible and playing (22 pts) and latest edition, Junior Willie Harvey from Detroit Central could be very strong the rest of the year. Harvey scored 41 in his debut in a Ferndale uniform. The dynamic duo of Ray Tillman and Tony Harris for Avondale where up to their same old tricks, this time combining for 60 points. Tillman had 41 (25 in first half) and Harris had 19.
Kalamazoo Central (10-1) beat rival Kalamazoo Loy Norrix (11-1), handing them their first loss of the season, at Western Michigan University in overtime 55-52 in front of 5,250 fans. Tyler Bell (20 pts) and TJ Buchanan (15 pts) led the Maroon Giants.
Saginaw beat rival Saginaw Arthur Hill on Saturday at Saginaw Valley State for the second time this year. This one was closer but Marquevias Ford scored 25 to pace the Trojans to a 77-68 win. This kid is the most improved player on this team and one of the most improved in the state. Has a tough attitude, always motors, can shoot the three but most effective off the dribble drive.
Romulus traveled to Chicago and beat state defending champ Hillcrest (#8 in state this year) 64-63 in OT when sophomore Wes Clark made a free throw with 1 second to go to win it.
Warren DeLaSalle beats Brother Rice and holds them to 28. Final score 50-28
Detroit Consortium loses to Pontiac at DCD last night, 58-54. Was going to go to the game but fell asleep - exhausted from viewing so many taped games. I did not think this team would lose - now they are a Class C team and lost to a Class A but they are a talented bunch. Anthony "Ant" Adams led Pontiac with 19. Wish I saw this one.
Detroit Country Day slips by a weak Flint Northern team 69-61. Junior Jordan Price had 17 and Amir Williams 14.
Good Upcoming games this week that I know of:
Detroit Country Day at Southfield on Tuesday (1/25)
Rockford at East Kentwood on Friday (1/28)
RANKINGS
College
1. Ohio State
2. Pittsburgh
3. Duke
4. Villanova
5. San Diego St.
High School
1. Detroit Country Day (1) - Still the most talent
2. Ann Arbor Huron (6) - Talent and team play gets this spot for the River Rats
3. Romulus (4) - Win over Chicago area team gets them moved up a notch
4. Kalamazoo Central (2) - Loss to Ann Arbor and overtime win over K-Loy Norrix drops them a bit
5. Warren DeLaSalle (5) - Probably not most talented but Best defensive team around - held Brother Rice to 28. Scary
6. Detroit Southeastern (3) - Should be top 3 team. Need Gibson and Kearney to dominate in same games
7. Lansing Eastern (9) - Should be even stronger with Haney playing. Haney, Tucker and Henton are tough trio
8. Saginaw (7) - Still perplexed why McCune does not dominate. Ford is the motor to this team.
9. Kalamazoo Loy Norrix - (NR) - got my eye now with 11-1 record and only loss in OT to Kazoo Central
10. Lansing Sexton (12) - Moving up my ladder
11. Southfield (10) - lose a game they shouldn't and sneak by a weak Lathrup team. Are they focused?
12. Detroit Cody (NR) - getting my attention
13. Okemos (11) - bumped by better teams
14. Detroit Douglas - (13) - Them and Cody pretty evenly matched
15. East Kentwood (14) - Stay in top 15
Class C
1. Detroit Consortium
2. Flint Beecher
3. Saginaw Buena Vista
Player rankings will be on another blog
RANTS
Scoop Jardine (Syracuse) has had two poor back to back games - not playing up to his potential and hurting the Cuse right now. Did not play well in either of the Pittsburgh or Villanova games.
Michigan State is playing no defense - they have given up high percentage field goal shooting and easy down low buckets from their opponents in the last two game.
Pistons owner Karen Davidson is clueless. She has no right owning this team. Her inability to manage anything but her deceased husband's money is costing this teams season. They are frozen and can not make any moves until she figures it out. This team is bad and needs changes but nothing is happening due to this lack of urgency and competence.
When will the people of Saginaw realize that a basketball game is just a basketball game - not war. For the second time this year the rivalry game saw another fight break out in the stands. First time was at Delta College, this time at Saginaw Valley State. Police and security had to be called in again. And we wonder why they are called Sagnasty. If this continues they won't be able to find a venue for this game or it could be played with no crowds. If it comes to that it is a shame.
Looks like the Basketball Blog Snob did alright on my Saturday Top 25 team game predictions. Missed only on my Orangemen and the attendance record. Even though students slept overnight to get additional tickets it still wasn't enough to push the attendance to a record 35,000 or the Orange to victory. They lost 83-72 in front of the 2nd largest on campus crowd for a college basketball game, 33,736.
#1 Ohio State got by # 23 Illinois 73-68 to start the season at 20-0. This team has athleticism, strength, good guard play and is obviously well balanced and a final four team. Sullinger, who not only is the freshman of the year but is playing for player of the year awards honors, had 27 pts, 16 boards. Craft did not have one of his better games but he did hit two key free throws down the stretch and did not play like a freshman.
#2 Kansas (18-1) got beat at home snapping a 69 game home win streak when #10 Texas (16-3) came back from a 15 pt deficit in the first half to win 74-63. Hamilton had 17, not quite the 25 I predicted but he was on the winning team which I did predict.
#3 Syracuse (18-2) got beat at home as well. #7 Villanova (17-2) has more wins by any team at the Carrier Dome and they added another with 83-72 win over the Orangemen. Villanova came out blistering hot from behind the arc. They shot 50% for the game (11-22) from three point land while hitting 8 in the first half alone. Syracuse poor guard play and 15 turnovers cost them in this one. I missed this one, I thought with Joseph back and the crowd, the Cuse would prevail.
#14 Purdue (17-3) beat #17 Michigan State (12-7) by a score of 86-76 in front of a loud and enthused crowd for the entire game. JuJuan Johnson did not have a double double as I predicted but he did hit for 20 and E'Twaun (call me E'Twine for this one) Moore led the Boilermakers with 26. MSU played with more energy, vigor and drive this game but were beaten by the better team. Tough year for the Green and White on the hardwood this year.
#9 BYU goes to 19-1 with a 94-85 win over Colorado State as guard Jimmer Fredette (Player of year candidate) scored 42 points and is averaging 27.5. BYU plays #6 San Diego State (20-0) on Wednesday
#19 Louisville (15-4) lost to Providence 72-67 - Providence first league win - How did they beat Lousiville?
#15 Minnesota beat Michigan but the Wolverines played them tough but fell short AGAIN, 69-64.
UD Mercy gets a win over Youngstown State
Western Michigan (10-8) gets a layup at the buzzer to beat Northern Illinois, 82-80
Oakland (14-8) sweeps the Dakotas beating N. Dakota State on Saturday, 83-76 and is now in command at 9-0 in the Summit league standings. Benson had 21 and Larry Wright kicked in 20.
St. Mary's (#22) got beat by Vandy by 18 - they don't belong in the top 25
Games to watch this week:
Monday #16 Notre Dame at #4 Pittsburgh
Tuesday #14 Purdue at #1 Ohio State
Wednesday #6 San Diego St at #9 BYU
Wednesday #21 West Virginia at #19 Louisville
Thursday Michigan at #17 Michigan State
High School Recaps:
Corrections: - Flint Beecher actually beat Saginaw Buena Vista 89-82 not 88-80 as previously written. Also, states leading scorer, George Goodman actually had 41 points. Sophomore PG Monte Morris scored 21 and had 8 assists.
Flint Powers actually lost to Detroit Cass Tech
Ferndale (7-3) beats Avondale in a high scoring game, 93-80. Ferndale, now with much traveled Joe Baker eligible and playing (22 pts) and latest edition, Junior Willie Harvey from Detroit Central could be very strong the rest of the year. Harvey scored 41 in his debut in a Ferndale uniform. The dynamic duo of Ray Tillman and Tony Harris for Avondale where up to their same old tricks, this time combining for 60 points. Tillman had 41 (25 in first half) and Harris had 19.
Kalamazoo Central (10-1) beat rival Kalamazoo Loy Norrix (11-1), handing them their first loss of the season, at Western Michigan University in overtime 55-52 in front of 5,250 fans. Tyler Bell (20 pts) and TJ Buchanan (15 pts) led the Maroon Giants.
Saginaw beat rival Saginaw Arthur Hill on Saturday at Saginaw Valley State for the second time this year. This one was closer but Marquevias Ford scored 25 to pace the Trojans to a 77-68 win. This kid is the most improved player on this team and one of the most improved in the state. Has a tough attitude, always motors, can shoot the three but most effective off the dribble drive.
Romulus traveled to Chicago and beat state defending champ Hillcrest (#8 in state this year) 64-63 in OT when sophomore Wes Clark made a free throw with 1 second to go to win it.
Warren DeLaSalle beats Brother Rice and holds them to 28. Final score 50-28
Detroit Consortium loses to Pontiac at DCD last night, 58-54. Was going to go to the game but fell asleep - exhausted from viewing so many taped games. I did not think this team would lose - now they are a Class C team and lost to a Class A but they are a talented bunch. Anthony "Ant" Adams led Pontiac with 19. Wish I saw this one.
Detroit Country Day slips by a weak Flint Northern team 69-61. Junior Jordan Price had 17 and Amir Williams 14.
Good Upcoming games this week that I know of:
Detroit Country Day at Southfield on Tuesday (1/25)
Rockford at East Kentwood on Friday (1/28)
RANKINGS
College
1. Ohio State
2. Pittsburgh
3. Duke
4. Villanova
5. San Diego St.
High School
1. Detroit Country Day (1) - Still the most talent
2. Ann Arbor Huron (6) - Talent and team play gets this spot for the River Rats
3. Romulus (4) - Win over Chicago area team gets them moved up a notch
4. Kalamazoo Central (2) - Loss to Ann Arbor and overtime win over K-Loy Norrix drops them a bit
5. Warren DeLaSalle (5) - Probably not most talented but Best defensive team around - held Brother Rice to 28. Scary
6. Detroit Southeastern (3) - Should be top 3 team. Need Gibson and Kearney to dominate in same games
7. Lansing Eastern (9) - Should be even stronger with Haney playing. Haney, Tucker and Henton are tough trio
8. Saginaw (7) - Still perplexed why McCune does not dominate. Ford is the motor to this team.
9. Kalamazoo Loy Norrix - (NR) - got my eye now with 11-1 record and only loss in OT to Kazoo Central
10. Lansing Sexton (12) - Moving up my ladder
11. Southfield (10) - lose a game they shouldn't and sneak by a weak Lathrup team. Are they focused?
12. Detroit Cody (NR) - getting my attention
13. Okemos (11) - bumped by better teams
14. Detroit Douglas - (13) - Them and Cody pretty evenly matched
15. East Kentwood (14) - Stay in top 15
Class C
1. Detroit Consortium
2. Flint Beecher
3. Saginaw Buena Vista
Player rankings will be on another blog
RANTS
Scoop Jardine (Syracuse) has had two poor back to back games - not playing up to his potential and hurting the Cuse right now. Did not play well in either of the Pittsburgh or Villanova games.
Michigan State is playing no defense - they have given up high percentage field goal shooting and easy down low buckets from their opponents in the last two game.
Pistons owner Karen Davidson is clueless. She has no right owning this team. Her inability to manage anything but her deceased husband's money is costing this teams season. They are frozen and can not make any moves until she figures it out. This team is bad and needs changes but nothing is happening due to this lack of urgency and competence.
When will the people of Saginaw realize that a basketball game is just a basketball game - not war. For the second time this year the rivalry game saw another fight break out in the stands. First time was at Delta College, this time at Saginaw Valley State. Police and security had to be called in again. And we wonder why they are called Sagnasty. If this continues they won't be able to find a venue for this game or it could be played with no crowds. If it comes to that it is a shame.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Colts over Bears; Saturday College Gameday
No this is not a Football headline but a High School Hoop Update. Sorry it has been a while, don't you just hate it when work gets in the way. Speaking of work, I was working late again tonight when I saw that it was 7:00 PM so I decided to get the heck out of there, travel across the street and watch the Troy Colts play the Berkley Bears. Turned out to be a good decision. Not only did I see a close basketball game but I got to see one of the states best sophomore wing guards. I arrived late for the start of the game and Troy had 16 first quarter points when I got there with 2 1/2 left in the first quarter. Troy raced out to a 26-16 first quarter lead and extended it to 45-31 at half. The game looked like it was going to be a surprising one sided affair when Troy took an 18 point lead in the second quarter. Berkley was missing Guard Justin Puguese, their leading scorer due to foul trouble but they battled back to close it to 55-52 after 3 only to lose 72-70 on three missed close shots at the buzzer. I really went to see sophomore James Young play since I had not seen him since last year. Boy what a difference a year and summer of AAU basketball will do for a talented player. If you haven't seen him play make an attempt to get out to see him. I saw him score 22 points and I don't know what he dis before I got there. It is possible he went over the 30 point mark again. This is a trimmer, slightly taller (6'4-6'5)more mature and confident player than a year ago. He is there go to player but involves everyone. He has a real nice lefty outside shot. Has range to 25 feet easy. He was a bit streaky from the outside but all his shots were right on rim. He is both a hi and low dribbler with the ball, has a good fake step pull up jumper, floats to the hole and a good passer off the drive. Don't get me wrong, he is a shooter and knows it, when he has the look and separation, he will shoot it. However, he also knows when to give it up. He is a smart player. He does have that tendency to what to take everything eventually to his left so it looks like he has more work to do with his ability to go right and use the right hand on a right sided drive. He reminds me alot of Lester Abrams that use to play for Pontiac and then Michigan but only a much better shooter. He is a nice player and will be fun to watch for another 2 years. Troy also had a freshman that caught my eye. He is Maceo Baston, a 6'1 kid, that based on the size of his shoes, will grow a bit more. This kid was a spot up shooter who took aim from the corner on several threes and has real nice form and mechanics on his shot. I think he chipped in with 7 in limited time. Might be one to keep your eye on. Berkley battled back in this game and have some talent. Unfortunately foul trouble plagued them all night. They have a good compliment of outside shooters and had a real nice performance from Ryan Bush who assembled quite a few buckets down low against the Troy 1-3-1 defense. Puguese, who sat more than he played, you could tell is a nice player but had an off game and Connor Reid can launch the three ball. Young was well worth the admission and I got a bonus with a good close game.
Southfield needed a 3 pointer at the buzzer to beat Southfield Lathrup tonight 48-47 Didn't see that one coming. Also see that Flint Powers lost earlier this week to I think Bridgeport. Another surprise. Not sure what Kozmo (Oakland Press) was thinking when he picked Bishop Foley to beat Detroit Consortium by 7 the other day. Consortium was without super sophomore Vincent Hunter, who was suspended for one game after getting thrown out of the Flint Beecher game, but they still won easily over Foley by 18. The big Center, Willms, got to play and led the team with 19. He must not have seen this team play this year because they should not lose a game to anyone but a class A school and they could beat most of them right now.
I had one of my basketball spies (BD) at the Flint Beecher (#3 in Class C) Saginaw Buena Vista (#2 in Class C) game earlier this week and apparently I missed a good one. Beecher came out on top with a 88-80 win. Sophomore guard Monte Morris had a nice game and played assist man to some good outside team shooting. This team has a couple of guys (Burks to name one) who can stroke the long ball. The state's leading scorer, George Goodman, who is averaging 30 a game, had another nice night with scoring somewhere in the 20's. The report I got on him is that he is a lightning quick, 5'11 guard that probably is a mid major player. He cooled off in the 4th quarter otherwise the outcome may have been different.
On to College Hoops. My Syracuse Orangemen (#3) took it on the chin with the 74-66 loss at Pitt (#4). They were 18-0 going into the game and hoping to match their best start (19-0) ever but Pitt was too strong and too deep. I did not realize that Pitt can go 10-11 deep. Their inside strength outmatched Syracuse in this game. It also didn't help when they spotted Pitt a 19-0 lead. Cuse missed Kris Joseph and can't wait for the rematch in the Dome.......I will have to wait until next year.....Pitt skirted us on that one....because it seems like there are 26 teams in the Big East....they only meet them once this year. Hopefully they will meet again in the Final Four. The Cuse is looking to rebound with another big game this Saturday with #7 Villanova coming to town. They are expecting a record crowd of almost 35,000 for this one in the Dome.
Michigan is struggling losing their last 5 games. The shame here is that they play Kansas and Ohio State down to the wire and then they get blown out by Indiana and Northwestern, two beatable teams. They need an upset win over #15 Minnesota tomorrow.
UD is finding they are still a notch below the best teams in the Horizon league as they lost to Cleveland State (17-3) by 12, 81-69 the other night. Butler and Cleveland State are the class of this league
Oakland Continues to roll in the Summit League. Coach Kampe has this team playing well and sharp shooter Travis Bader gave them the midseason outside threat they were looking for to compliment the good guard play and Big man Kito Benson down low. Talk about balanced scoring they had 5 players in double figures led by Benson with 28. Hamilton had 18, Bader 17 (5-9 from 3 pt) Hudson 16 and Valentine 11 in a 97-88 win over South Dakota St. They stay in the Dakotas but travel North to play the North Dakota State team on Saturday.
I am certainly not use to seeing the losing ways of the 2010/11 version of Spartan Basketball. They dropped another one on Tuesday at Illinois 71-62. They got flat our dominated on the boards and it was ever so obvious what I have been saying all year, this team has no strength, dominance or inside presence. It is becoming real clear that this team is determined to win on the outside shot. They had too much one and done. Down the stretch they could not make an outside shot and were outshot at the free throw line by 12-0. This team, although still ranked until Monday, is not a top 25 team. Enough said....except you have a must win game against Purdue on Saturday
Saturday Matchups of Top 25 teams
#1 Ohio State (19-0) vs. Illinois (14-5) Freshman Craft great addition off bench - difference maker in this one
#2 Kansas (18-0) vs. #10 Texas (15-3) Soph jordan Hamilton poised to drop 25 on Kansas in upset win for the Longhorns
#3 Syracuse (18-1) vs. #7 Villanova (16-2) - Cuse crowd carries Orange to 5 pt win
#14 Purdue (16-3) vs. # 17 MSU (12-6) - Wont be able to contain big 6'10 Jujuan Johnson. He will have a double double and Etwaun Moore has nice game
Looking forward to the game tomorrow....or should I say today now that it is past midnight. Look for HS team and player rankings this weekend.
Your Basketball SNOB
Southfield needed a 3 pointer at the buzzer to beat Southfield Lathrup tonight 48-47 Didn't see that one coming. Also see that Flint Powers lost earlier this week to I think Bridgeport. Another surprise. Not sure what Kozmo (Oakland Press) was thinking when he picked Bishop Foley to beat Detroit Consortium by 7 the other day. Consortium was without super sophomore Vincent Hunter, who was suspended for one game after getting thrown out of the Flint Beecher game, but they still won easily over Foley by 18. The big Center, Willms, got to play and led the team with 19. He must not have seen this team play this year because they should not lose a game to anyone but a class A school and they could beat most of them right now.
I had one of my basketball spies (BD) at the Flint Beecher (#3 in Class C) Saginaw Buena Vista (#2 in Class C) game earlier this week and apparently I missed a good one. Beecher came out on top with a 88-80 win. Sophomore guard Monte Morris had a nice game and played assist man to some good outside team shooting. This team has a couple of guys (Burks to name one) who can stroke the long ball. The state's leading scorer, George Goodman, who is averaging 30 a game, had another nice night with scoring somewhere in the 20's. The report I got on him is that he is a lightning quick, 5'11 guard that probably is a mid major player. He cooled off in the 4th quarter otherwise the outcome may have been different.
On to College Hoops. My Syracuse Orangemen (#3) took it on the chin with the 74-66 loss at Pitt (#4). They were 18-0 going into the game and hoping to match their best start (19-0) ever but Pitt was too strong and too deep. I did not realize that Pitt can go 10-11 deep. Their inside strength outmatched Syracuse in this game. It also didn't help when they spotted Pitt a 19-0 lead. Cuse missed Kris Joseph and can't wait for the rematch in the Dome.......I will have to wait until next year.....Pitt skirted us on that one....because it seems like there are 26 teams in the Big East....they only meet them once this year. Hopefully they will meet again in the Final Four. The Cuse is looking to rebound with another big game this Saturday with #7 Villanova coming to town. They are expecting a record crowd of almost 35,000 for this one in the Dome.
Michigan is struggling losing their last 5 games. The shame here is that they play Kansas and Ohio State down to the wire and then they get blown out by Indiana and Northwestern, two beatable teams. They need an upset win over #15 Minnesota tomorrow.
UD is finding they are still a notch below the best teams in the Horizon league as they lost to Cleveland State (17-3) by 12, 81-69 the other night. Butler and Cleveland State are the class of this league
Oakland Continues to roll in the Summit League. Coach Kampe has this team playing well and sharp shooter Travis Bader gave them the midseason outside threat they were looking for to compliment the good guard play and Big man Kito Benson down low. Talk about balanced scoring they had 5 players in double figures led by Benson with 28. Hamilton had 18, Bader 17 (5-9 from 3 pt) Hudson 16 and Valentine 11 in a 97-88 win over South Dakota St. They stay in the Dakotas but travel North to play the North Dakota State team on Saturday.
I am certainly not use to seeing the losing ways of the 2010/11 version of Spartan Basketball. They dropped another one on Tuesday at Illinois 71-62. They got flat our dominated on the boards and it was ever so obvious what I have been saying all year, this team has no strength, dominance or inside presence. It is becoming real clear that this team is determined to win on the outside shot. They had too much one and done. Down the stretch they could not make an outside shot and were outshot at the free throw line by 12-0. This team, although still ranked until Monday, is not a top 25 team. Enough said....except you have a must win game against Purdue on Saturday
Saturday Matchups of Top 25 teams
#1 Ohio State (19-0) vs. Illinois (14-5) Freshman Craft great addition off bench - difference maker in this one
#2 Kansas (18-0) vs. #10 Texas (15-3) Soph jordan Hamilton poised to drop 25 on Kansas in upset win for the Longhorns
#3 Syracuse (18-1) vs. #7 Villanova (16-2) - Cuse crowd carries Orange to 5 pt win
#14 Purdue (16-3) vs. # 17 MSU (12-6) - Wont be able to contain big 6'10 Jujuan Johnson. He will have a double double and Etwaun Moore has nice game
Looking forward to the game tomorrow....or should I say today now that it is past midnight. Look for HS team and player rankings this weekend.
Your Basketball SNOB
Monday, January 17, 2011
Detroit Consortium Remains #1 With Win over Beecher
I traveled to Delta College in Saginaw / Bay City for the Dorian Styles Dawkins "Show Your Heart Memorial" classic on Monday and saw some good talent both known and unknown. The First game was the best. It featured top teams in Class C with #1 rated Detroit Consortium playing #3 rated Flint Beecher. Detroit Consortium was coming off a very impressive victory Saturday over College Prep Summit Academy, who beat Detroit Country Day earlier in the year. Consortium again came out on the winning end of this one and remains unbeaten with a 74-69 victory in a good high school basketball game. Consortium is a young, talented and deep team that should find themselves in East Lansing in late March. I had heard of talented sophomore Vince Hunter and 6'10 Junior Center transfer, Matt Willms, but I had not heard of Devondre Peoples (Jr) or Travon Baker (Jr). Peoples, with 11 points and 12 rebounds was named the MVP for the game. What I like about Peoples is that he is a player that flies under the radar but can surely fly. He is 6'5 but plays much taller than that, very long, always around the glass and can get up in a hurry. He was a defensive distraction to Beecher on a number of driving lane shots. He also had a big one handed dunk off a miss late in the 4th quarter. Despite all this and the recognition for the MVP, I personally felt it should have gone to Junior point guard Travon Baker. This kid is a nice player. He is their floor General and at 5'11 a true point guard. He is quick, handles the ball well with either hand, goes as good to his left as his right, creates off the dribble and is not afraid to dish off on penetrating to the hoop or shoot the ball from the outside. He got a little frustrated with the Beecher zone press in the first quarter but settled down and figured out the press. He finished with 15 points for the game and only 1 turnover that I was aware of. Not to be outdone, his older brother (in the audience) participated in a half time half court shot contest and cooly sank one on his first shot to win a gift card to Applebee's - I think I heard Dad say his son was treating for dinner that night). Hunter is another talent on this loaded team. He is a 6'5 sophomore with a lot of raw skills and potential. He led the team with 21 points and if not for a double technical near the end of the game may have been awarded the game MVP. He has quick feet, long reach, shifty with the ball on the dribble, a good slasher and gets to the glass on both the offensive and defensive side. He has a low arc tight outside shot but with good rotation. He hustles but I noticed that he got lost and caught out of position at times in the zone defense. He definately has the skills to play at the D-1 level but must work on his ballhandling and outside shot to be a High D-1 recruit. He reminds me of a young Alex Legion. It was tough to really gauge Matt Willms as this was his first game eligible and played limited time. He did not start and did not get in the game until the 3:43 mark of the second quarter. In all he played less than a quarter and picked up 3 fouls but did show signs of talent. He had a nice behind the back pass to Hunter for a jam in the 3rd quarter. He runs the floor extremely well for his size. He is all of 6'10 and has good footwork, good form on his shot and can use both his left and right hands. When he starts getting more playing time, I don't see anyone touching this team. Their only archilles heal would be if Baker gets in foul trouble. They do not have another floor leader like him on this team that I saw. I realize this sounds like Consortium ruled this game when in fact they did not. Beecher was up to the task and was led by their talented gangly 6'0 guard, sophomore Monte Morris. On this team he plays point and the number 2 spot. This kid is poised beyond his years. He is a real good passer off the dribble, he protects the ball well. He goes equally to his left and right and may be stronger with his left hand. He is not afraid to take it down the lane and gets to the hole well. He is not exceptionally fast but does have a deceptive quick step and can get by his defenders. He takes long strides and just looks so natural with the ball in his hand. He and Cha Cha Tucker (East Lansing) are the top 2 rated guards in the state. I am not sure which one is better, they are both real good but if Morris keeps growing I think he gets more looks from better programs. He led the Bucs with 21 points on this day. Beecher had a 23-21 lead after the first quarter where Morris kicked in 10 before Consortium took back the lead with a 40-34 lead at half. They built it to 58-44 after 3 quarters before Beecher made a run at them and closed it to 73-69 with 28 seconds and the ball. However Morris missed a shot when he got caught too far under the basket and Consortium closed it out with the 74-69 victory. Junior guard (quick) Antuan Burks had 15 for Beecher including 3-3 pointers. Beecher plays good team basketball, is well coached and will make a run at getting back to Breslin where they were last year but it all depends if they have to go through Detroit Consortium to get there or be fortunate enough to play them again in the semi's. For now Consortium remains #1 and for today this team was too big, too deep and too talented for Beecher.
The second game featured Thea Bowman Academy out of Gary Indiana vs. Dearborn Heights Robichaud. Once again there was D-1 talent on the floor. Bowman ended up winning this one, 84-70 and touted a very good talented Junior, DeJuan Marrero, who is rated the #18 Wing Forward in the country for the Junior class. This 6'5 kid is big, solid and has strong upper body strength. He had 32 points, 3 power dunks and was very effective posting in the lane and powering in or putting on quick spin moves to attack the basket. He goes hard at the boards and is active around the glass. His outside shot is suspect but he makes up for it with his ability to create space from his defender due to his strength. This Bowman team also featured 4 freshman and 6'5 Justin King is one that I would keep me eye on.
For Robichaud, I came to see 6'9 Khaliq Spicer (Jr) and sophomore Lorenzo Bonnam. I walked away very impressed with Bonnam. Already at 6'4 and looking like he is still not done growing, I like this kids skill sets. Bonnam ended up with 19, while Spicer finished with 15 (8 of which were off dunks). Bonnam reminds me a lot of a larger version of Anthony Crater (Flint Southwestern). He handles the ball well from both sides, glides with the ball, slices to the basket, controls his body extremely well in flight, another one with long strides and has an exceptionally good left hand for a righty. He has nice form on his jumper and a soft touch but I did not get a chance to see many long range jumpers in this game. Flipping to Spicer, definately has size and athleticism and nice form facing the basket from within 10 feet but not real sure about his hands. He did not work hard to get open and did not call for the ball a lot. He was not very active on the glass and was out of position on a lot of rebounds. Was not anticipating on the defensive end enough for me for a big guy down low. definately has skills but needs to work on a few things.
The final game was a Big Surprise, I was expecting a game between Chicago Orr (who beat Detroit Country Day) and Saginaw but all I got was a big dose of SAGNASTY and I mean NASTY. Saginaw came out with high energy and took it to ORR and buried them gangster style leading 86-43 with 3 1/2 minutes and still pressing when I left. They were firing up three's and for all I know could have hit the century mark.
This one was over early and the Mychael Henry (Illinois) that I saw drop 42 on DCD was a no show for this one. Henry only scored 2 in the first quarter and suffered from cold outside shooting all game. After they were down 23-15 at the end of the first quarter, he became visibly frustrated with the lack of calls and fouls that he thought he and his team should have been getting. In the first quarter the fouls were 7-1 against Orr. Saginaw came out with their full court trap press and it
forced and hurried Orr into poor shots. This game got away as Saginaw raced to 26
2nd quarter points and a 49-30 lead at half. Orr folded the tent with 6 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and trailing 56-30 when Chicago ORR pulled their starters for the rest of the night. Unfortunately for them Saginaw continued the party on the floor. This was a completely different team than what I saw against Lansing Eastern on Saturday. I talked to one of the players before the game and he mentioned that they had some sick players that night. Perhaps McCune was one of them because he sure looked healthy and came out aggressive in this one. He scored 6 points early and probably had close to 10 rebounds for the game. The player that impressed me the most and who's stock is rising is Senior Marquavis Ford. This kid has another motor and is high octane. He does not stop moving and as he drives, penetrates and creates, he opens it all up for the rest of the athletes on this team to get them some. He is a much better guard than I gave him credit for. He is fast with the ball and as he goes, so does Saginaw.
I traveled with my sports jockey (wife) and it was well worth the trip to see some of the young talent in and around the state and some of the better teams. Watch for my new rankings at the end of this week. Till the next blog, your Basketball SNOB is out.
The second game featured Thea Bowman Academy out of Gary Indiana vs. Dearborn Heights Robichaud. Once again there was D-1 talent on the floor. Bowman ended up winning this one, 84-70 and touted a very good talented Junior, DeJuan Marrero, who is rated the #18 Wing Forward in the country for the Junior class. This 6'5 kid is big, solid and has strong upper body strength. He had 32 points, 3 power dunks and was very effective posting in the lane and powering in or putting on quick spin moves to attack the basket. He goes hard at the boards and is active around the glass. His outside shot is suspect but he makes up for it with his ability to create space from his defender due to his strength. This Bowman team also featured 4 freshman and 6'5 Justin King is one that I would keep me eye on.
For Robichaud, I came to see 6'9 Khaliq Spicer (Jr) and sophomore Lorenzo Bonnam. I walked away very impressed with Bonnam. Already at 6'4 and looking like he is still not done growing, I like this kids skill sets. Bonnam ended up with 19, while Spicer finished with 15 (8 of which were off dunks). Bonnam reminds me a lot of a larger version of Anthony Crater (Flint Southwestern). He handles the ball well from both sides, glides with the ball, slices to the basket, controls his body extremely well in flight, another one with long strides and has an exceptionally good left hand for a righty. He has nice form on his jumper and a soft touch but I did not get a chance to see many long range jumpers in this game. Flipping to Spicer, definately has size and athleticism and nice form facing the basket from within 10 feet but not real sure about his hands. He did not work hard to get open and did not call for the ball a lot. He was not very active on the glass and was out of position on a lot of rebounds. Was not anticipating on the defensive end enough for me for a big guy down low. definately has skills but needs to work on a few things.
The final game was a Big Surprise, I was expecting a game between Chicago Orr (who beat Detroit Country Day) and Saginaw but all I got was a big dose of SAGNASTY and I mean NASTY. Saginaw came out with high energy and took it to ORR and buried them gangster style leading 86-43 with 3 1/2 minutes and still pressing when I left. They were firing up three's and for all I know could have hit the century mark.
This one was over early and the Mychael Henry (Illinois) that I saw drop 42 on DCD was a no show for this one. Henry only scored 2 in the first quarter and suffered from cold outside shooting all game. After they were down 23-15 at the end of the first quarter, he became visibly frustrated with the lack of calls and fouls that he thought he and his team should have been getting. In the first quarter the fouls were 7-1 against Orr. Saginaw came out with their full court trap press and it
forced and hurried Orr into poor shots. This game got away as Saginaw raced to 26
2nd quarter points and a 49-30 lead at half. Orr folded the tent with 6 minutes left in the 3rd quarter and trailing 56-30 when Chicago ORR pulled their starters for the rest of the night. Unfortunately for them Saginaw continued the party on the floor. This was a completely different team than what I saw against Lansing Eastern on Saturday. I talked to one of the players before the game and he mentioned that they had some sick players that night. Perhaps McCune was one of them because he sure looked healthy and came out aggressive in this one. He scored 6 points early and probably had close to 10 rebounds for the game. The player that impressed me the most and who's stock is rising is Senior Marquavis Ford. This kid has another motor and is high octane. He does not stop moving and as he drives, penetrates and creates, he opens it all up for the rest of the athletes on this team to get them some. He is a much better guard than I gave him credit for. He is fast with the ball and as he goes, so does Saginaw.
I traveled with my sports jockey (wife) and it was well worth the trip to see some of the young talent in and around the state and some of the better teams. Watch for my new rankings at the end of this week. Till the next blog, your Basketball SNOB is out.
Sunday, January 16, 2011
Ann Arbor Huron Wins Rematch of State Title Game
The rematch of last years Class A title game between Ann Arbor Huron and Kalamazoo Central was being played in East Lansing but this time at Don Johnson Fieldhouse on the campus of East Lansing High instead of the Breslin Center at MSU. However, you would never have guessed it based on the intensity levels that both teams came out with. One could have thought this was March and this again was one game for the championship. When it was over AA Huron walked away with 61-52 hard fought victory and the trophy. However it is not quite like the one they are hoping to walk away with in March. This was a war on the floor and unfortunately turned into one with a fight that broke out following a hard foul that ended in the ejection of TJ Buchanan from Central and Jeff Hugan from AA. Both teams came out pressing and defense was the order of the day. Huron continued to apply that trapping half court press and the whistles didn't stop. By 1:44 of the first quarter both teams were in the bonus and at the end of the first quarter there was 18 team fouls between the two teams. Kalamazoo Central floor leader TJ Buchanan (Rhode Island) picked up his second foul with only 4 minutes into the game and had to take a seat. AA Huron star Dante Williams (Oakland) also had to take a seat at 1:13 of the first quarter with his 2nd foul. Kazoo lead after the first, 22-15 lead by nice inside play of their big man Darius Norman. I have to say, this kid has improved tremendously over the last year. He is more aggressive offensively, has quick feet and made some nice spin moves to get to the basket for some short buckets. Jeff Hugan, a 6'5 Sr, who came off the bench kept AA in it early as he was able to muscle his way in underneath for several baskets. Not sure how many he had but he could have been high scorer. He was able to bring them back to a 28-28 tie before Kalamazoo finished the last minute with the last 5 points and took a 33-28 lead into halftime. It looked like Huron would be in trouble early in the third as Williams picked up his third foul at 7:18 of the quarter only to be followed by Kyle Baker, 6'6' F for AA with his 4th at the 7:00 minute mark. Ann Arbor switched to a 2-3 zone and it appeared to be the difference as they took a 38-36 lead at the time of the brawl at 5:13 of the third quarter. A Kalamazoo player was fouled hard on a drive to the basket and a scrum followed on the floor underneath the basket and then a player got virtually tackled and then arms started swinging. When they sorted it all out, Hugan was ejected for Huron and Buchanan for Central. Both were big losses but Kalamazoo lost their leader and never regained the lead. AA was up 45-38 after 3. D'atavia Moore and Tyler Bell did their best to keep Kazoo in it but Williams answered with three consecutive baskets including an emphatic rebound dunk off a missed shot. They won this one in a hard fought, intense game by both sides, 61-52. Switching to the 2/3 zone in the second half was the difference for AA as Central could not answer with an outside game. Once Buchanan was ejected it was a struggle. AA is a strong team, they move the ball exceptionally well, they play hard, quick trapping defense and can throw a number of looks at you from a full court trap press to the half court trap to the 2/3 or match up zone. They take what the defense gives you and they can be very deliberate with the ball on offense. They have a number of weapons, AJ Matthew (Toledo) did not have a good shooting night and usual sharp shooter Matt Hastings did not look to take many shots from the perimeter in this game. Instead they force fed it down low and rode a great inside game from Hugan to score a number of baskets inside of 10 feet. Even though AA Huron won this game with Buchanan in there the whole time it changes the demeanor of Central. I still feel AA Huron is a stronger all around team. Advantage AA Huron at this point.....until they meet again...and that could be March 26th in East Lansing....this time at the Breslin Center
I saw a total of 4 games at this tournament and the other close one was the nightcap featuring Saginaw versus the host Quakers of East Lansing. Draymond Green stopped by to catch this one and perhaps route on his Trojans. In the end, they could have used him as Lansing Eastern topped the Trojans of Saginaw, 70-67. Lansing Eastern was led by 6'7' LaDontae Henton (Dayton) who had well over 20 points and could have been 30+. He got all of these points except maybe 4 from hard drives to the basket and rebound put backs. He puts his head and shoulders down and goes hard to the basket with the mentality that no one will stop him. At times he appears out of control but he manages to put that ball up on the rim. The player that makes this team go and catches my eye the most is sophomore guard Cha Cha Tucker. He is a good start and stop dribbler, he sees the court extremely well and seems to be a step ahead of the defense, he busts through traps and double teams and is able to escape with that push out dribble and is most comfortable with the ball in his hands. Lansing lead most of the way with a 16-8 first quarter lead, a 32-26 halftime lead and 54-41 after 3. This game was sloppy and when Cha Cha went out for a 3 minute rest Saginaw was able to chop at the lead and get back into it. Saginaw, with the exception of sophomore Dominuque Jackson could not hit an outside shot. In fact, if you want to beat this team, zone them and make them beat you with the outside jumper, this is where they struggle. Tommy McCune was once again a non-factor in this game and a player that in this guys opinion is extremely overrated and will have trouble playing at West Virginia. I might not be the only one who feels this way as a couple of guys I met from Grand Valley that were at the games felt the same way too. I am not even sure his coach has the confidence in him as he was sitting him the last 4 1/2 minutes of the game when they were clawing back. In fact he did not reinsert him into the game until another player fouled out at the 1:26 mark. Saginaw was able to pull this game to within 4 on two occassions down the stretch thanks to the play of Marquavis Ford and Tray Babers. They were driving to the basket putting it up on the glass and sending 4 to the boards. This is an athletic team and they can contend when they play this style, I just did not see it until the end in desperation mode. Lansing lead by 69-65 with 32 seconds when they committed a turnover. Tray Babers had a tip in with 20 seconds to cut the lead to 2, 69-67. Lansing then turned it over with 14 seconds but Saginaw returned the favor by turning it right back over. Lansing sunk one of two free throws to go up 70-67 with 4 seconds but Saginaw missed a rushed 30 footer for the final score.
Saginaw does not show me that they have any effective outside shooting game. They do have athletes and people that can attack the glass and with McCune should continue to contend. I liked this sophomore Jackson kid, he is athletic and has a nice rotation on his shot and hit at least two from over the 20 foot range.
Lansing Eastern is a solid club with good guard play from the sophomore duo of Brian Morton and Cha Cha Tucker. Henton shows up every game and make not look the smoothest when he is out there but gets the job done. Sophomore Steve Haney was still on the sideline and will not be eligible until January 18. This team will go deep into the playoffs.
I watched Lansing Sexton defeat Saginaw Arthur Hill 72-61 without the services of Junior Denzel Valentine (Michigan State) with a broken bone in his hand. He is expected to miss one to two weeks. I was bummed as I was looking forward to seeing him to see how much his game has improved. Even though this was another sloppy affair, this Lansing team is young but has talent. Senior 6'5 Tyrin Wade had 21 points and quite a few from the free throw line. He is a nice player. He is a wide body lefty power forward that can power down low but also has a nice soft touch and good range from the outside. This kid impressed me and reminded me a bit of Paul Crosby who played for Holt several years back but a much better shooter. In addition, they two junior guards, Anthony Clemmons and Bryn Forbes that both handle the ball fairly well. Clemmons is the stronger of the two, athletic kid and although a righty, can go to his left and uses his left hand a lot with the dribble. He led Sexton with 23 points. Jalen Hayes is a 6'7 sophomore that is long and has skills but plays passive and does not ascert himself enough. Saginaw is not a very good team. Certainly not up to the caliber of past SAH teams. Jordan Hare is their star player and heavily recruited as a Junior at 6'9 but he has a lot to work on. He has tremendous length, quick elevation and can block shots with the best of them (7 blocks) but is extremely light and was noticeably getting pushed around in the paint and the post. He looks to pass first and is not offensive minded enough for this team. He can be lazy at times and is a delicate rebounder. He needs to use his body to rebound and not just his arms. He has got to put on 30-40 pounds and be more aggressive on the offensive side of the ball to play at the next level.
Saw Romulus beat Pershing 78-65 as Justin Moss owned the low post and scored 23 and had double digit rebounds. Physically he is a man against boys but has to play within himself and be a role player to succeed at Toledo. Romulus has talent but seemed to play awful helter skelter at times and seemed to lack team unity and chemistry. They push the ball with a pair of young guards in Ray Lee and Wes Clark but sometimes to their own detriment. They played out of control a bit too much on the offensive end. Lee at times shows he has some skills but a bit inconsistent. Moss was the stabilizer for them down low. The player that I really liked in this game was sophomore Elbert Matthews for Romulus. This kid is 6'4is long, has good foot work, quicker than he appears, can get up and has a nice looking outside jumper. He is a slasher type that needs to improve with the dribble. He has a nice high arc on his shot and it reminds me of Paul Williams from Renaissance (Dayton). For Pershing, I was really looking forward to seeing Sherron Dorsey-Walker but could not have been more disappointed. I heard that he blew up this summer in AAU ball and was looking to see his advancement . Instead he did not start, don't know why, and played about half the game. Couldn't get into any kind of flow at all and looked frustrated on the floor. Now you can tell he has skills, he has long arms, a nice spot up jumper, goes to his left extremely well and has a lot of the same style game and mannerisms of ex team mate Keith Appling. Unfortunately it wasn't on show here on Saturday night. Junior guard Veyon Bentley had a good game and was the only one who could shoot from the outside. This team, ex Dorsey-Walker, can not shoot from the perimeter. I was also very unimpressed with sophomore Martez Walker, who was listed as the #3 rated WG for the sophomore clas. He has real bad form on his jumper does not handle the ball all that well and looked every bit a sophomore in this game.
A couple of other games to comment on that I was NOT at. I see where Detroit Country Day beat Detroit Southeastern 62-55 where Amir Williams (Ohio State) and Percy Gibson (Dayton) went after it. Williams and his team mates won out as he had 16 points, 17 rebounds and 8 blocked shots. Gibson countered with 16 points and 7 rebounds. MSU signee Brandon Kearney only had 10 on 3-15 shooting from the field.
A suprise to me was over at Pontiac where Detroit Consortium (#1 - Class C) beat Summit Christian Academy. Consortium, who is 7-0 beat Summit by a score of 64-61. Summit is the Prep school that beat Detroit Country Day earlier this year and features three D-1 players, Walter Pitchford (Indiana), Tahson Burrell (Rhode Island) and James Edwards (Considering Valpo & Iowa). I did not think there was a school in this state that could beat these guys after watching them play. Shows you what I know and shows me that Consortium is a really good team. Looking forward to seeing them in Saginaw tomorrow against Flint Beecher.
That's all for now. Just beat the 3 AM deadline and time to get to bed. Your Basketball SNOB Blog
I saw a total of 4 games at this tournament and the other close one was the nightcap featuring Saginaw versus the host Quakers of East Lansing. Draymond Green stopped by to catch this one and perhaps route on his Trojans. In the end, they could have used him as Lansing Eastern topped the Trojans of Saginaw, 70-67. Lansing Eastern was led by 6'7' LaDontae Henton (Dayton) who had well over 20 points and could have been 30+. He got all of these points except maybe 4 from hard drives to the basket and rebound put backs. He puts his head and shoulders down and goes hard to the basket with the mentality that no one will stop him. At times he appears out of control but he manages to put that ball up on the rim. The player that makes this team go and catches my eye the most is sophomore guard Cha Cha Tucker. He is a good start and stop dribbler, he sees the court extremely well and seems to be a step ahead of the defense, he busts through traps and double teams and is able to escape with that push out dribble and is most comfortable with the ball in his hands. Lansing lead most of the way with a 16-8 first quarter lead, a 32-26 halftime lead and 54-41 after 3. This game was sloppy and when Cha Cha went out for a 3 minute rest Saginaw was able to chop at the lead and get back into it. Saginaw, with the exception of sophomore Dominuque Jackson could not hit an outside shot. In fact, if you want to beat this team, zone them and make them beat you with the outside jumper, this is where they struggle. Tommy McCune was once again a non-factor in this game and a player that in this guys opinion is extremely overrated and will have trouble playing at West Virginia. I might not be the only one who feels this way as a couple of guys I met from Grand Valley that were at the games felt the same way too. I am not even sure his coach has the confidence in him as he was sitting him the last 4 1/2 minutes of the game when they were clawing back. In fact he did not reinsert him into the game until another player fouled out at the 1:26 mark. Saginaw was able to pull this game to within 4 on two occassions down the stretch thanks to the play of Marquavis Ford and Tray Babers. They were driving to the basket putting it up on the glass and sending 4 to the boards. This is an athletic team and they can contend when they play this style, I just did not see it until the end in desperation mode. Lansing lead by 69-65 with 32 seconds when they committed a turnover. Tray Babers had a tip in with 20 seconds to cut the lead to 2, 69-67. Lansing then turned it over with 14 seconds but Saginaw returned the favor by turning it right back over. Lansing sunk one of two free throws to go up 70-67 with 4 seconds but Saginaw missed a rushed 30 footer for the final score.
Saginaw does not show me that they have any effective outside shooting game. They do have athletes and people that can attack the glass and with McCune should continue to contend. I liked this sophomore Jackson kid, he is athletic and has a nice rotation on his shot and hit at least two from over the 20 foot range.
Lansing Eastern is a solid club with good guard play from the sophomore duo of Brian Morton and Cha Cha Tucker. Henton shows up every game and make not look the smoothest when he is out there but gets the job done. Sophomore Steve Haney was still on the sideline and will not be eligible until January 18. This team will go deep into the playoffs.
I watched Lansing Sexton defeat Saginaw Arthur Hill 72-61 without the services of Junior Denzel Valentine (Michigan State) with a broken bone in his hand. He is expected to miss one to two weeks. I was bummed as I was looking forward to seeing him to see how much his game has improved. Even though this was another sloppy affair, this Lansing team is young but has talent. Senior 6'5 Tyrin Wade had 21 points and quite a few from the free throw line. He is a nice player. He is a wide body lefty power forward that can power down low but also has a nice soft touch and good range from the outside. This kid impressed me and reminded me a bit of Paul Crosby who played for Holt several years back but a much better shooter. In addition, they two junior guards, Anthony Clemmons and Bryn Forbes that both handle the ball fairly well. Clemmons is the stronger of the two, athletic kid and although a righty, can go to his left and uses his left hand a lot with the dribble. He led Sexton with 23 points. Jalen Hayes is a 6'7 sophomore that is long and has skills but plays passive and does not ascert himself enough. Saginaw is not a very good team. Certainly not up to the caliber of past SAH teams. Jordan Hare is their star player and heavily recruited as a Junior at 6'9 but he has a lot to work on. He has tremendous length, quick elevation and can block shots with the best of them (7 blocks) but is extremely light and was noticeably getting pushed around in the paint and the post. He looks to pass first and is not offensive minded enough for this team. He can be lazy at times and is a delicate rebounder. He needs to use his body to rebound and not just his arms. He has got to put on 30-40 pounds and be more aggressive on the offensive side of the ball to play at the next level.
Saw Romulus beat Pershing 78-65 as Justin Moss owned the low post and scored 23 and had double digit rebounds. Physically he is a man against boys but has to play within himself and be a role player to succeed at Toledo. Romulus has talent but seemed to play awful helter skelter at times and seemed to lack team unity and chemistry. They push the ball with a pair of young guards in Ray Lee and Wes Clark but sometimes to their own detriment. They played out of control a bit too much on the offensive end. Lee at times shows he has some skills but a bit inconsistent. Moss was the stabilizer for them down low. The player that I really liked in this game was sophomore Elbert Matthews for Romulus. This kid is 6'4is long, has good foot work, quicker than he appears, can get up and has a nice looking outside jumper. He is a slasher type that needs to improve with the dribble. He has a nice high arc on his shot and it reminds me of Paul Williams from Renaissance (Dayton). For Pershing, I was really looking forward to seeing Sherron Dorsey-Walker but could not have been more disappointed. I heard that he blew up this summer in AAU ball and was looking to see his advancement . Instead he did not start, don't know why, and played about half the game. Couldn't get into any kind of flow at all and looked frustrated on the floor. Now you can tell he has skills, he has long arms, a nice spot up jumper, goes to his left extremely well and has a lot of the same style game and mannerisms of ex team mate Keith Appling. Unfortunately it wasn't on show here on Saturday night. Junior guard Veyon Bentley had a good game and was the only one who could shoot from the outside. This team, ex Dorsey-Walker, can not shoot from the perimeter. I was also very unimpressed with sophomore Martez Walker, who was listed as the #3 rated WG for the sophomore clas. He has real bad form on his jumper does not handle the ball all that well and looked every bit a sophomore in this game.
A couple of other games to comment on that I was NOT at. I see where Detroit Country Day beat Detroit Southeastern 62-55 where Amir Williams (Ohio State) and Percy Gibson (Dayton) went after it. Williams and his team mates won out as he had 16 points, 17 rebounds and 8 blocked shots. Gibson countered with 16 points and 7 rebounds. MSU signee Brandon Kearney only had 10 on 3-15 shooting from the field.
A suprise to me was over at Pontiac where Detroit Consortium (#1 - Class C) beat Summit Christian Academy. Consortium, who is 7-0 beat Summit by a score of 64-61. Summit is the Prep school that beat Detroit Country Day earlier this year and features three D-1 players, Walter Pitchford (Indiana), Tahson Burrell (Rhode Island) and James Edwards (Considering Valpo & Iowa). I did not think there was a school in this state that could beat these guys after watching them play. Shows you what I know and shows me that Consortium is a really good team. Looking forward to seeing them in Saginaw tomorrow against Flint Beecher.
That's all for now. Just beat the 3 AM deadline and time to get to bed. Your Basketball SNOB Blog
Saturday, January 15, 2011
DeLaSalle Defense Getting it Done
They say in football that Defense wins Championships but it may apply equally as well in High School Hoops, at least for the Pilots of DeLaSalle. Coach Esler has this team playing extremely well on the defensive side of the ball and it could be their ticket to Lansing this year. With their 58-44 win over Orchard Lake St. Mary's they are now 9-0 and have held 4 of their opponents to scores in the 40's. The highest point total they have given up this year is 60 to a good Rockford team.
TnT = Dynomite........That is what I am calling Tony Harris (Tn) and Ray Tillman (T)from Avondale (8-1). This combo is lighting it up. Once again they combined for over 40 points as Tillman had 30 and Harris 21 in a 75-61 win over Birmingham Seaholm
James Young (One of top sophomores in state) got back to his scoring ways in leading 7-1 Troy toa 64-55 win over Rochester Stoney Creek with 28 points including 4 3 pointers.
Southfield got a nice win over and in Pontiac as Carlton Brundidge led the way with 25 points and guard battery mate, Desmond Barnes chipped in 13 in a 71-59 win. Southfield will be back at Pontiac again over the weekend participating in the MLK tournament in a game Sunday against Det Southwestern. Pontiac guard Ant Adams broke his nose in this game. Not sure how long this will keep him out.
Detroit King must have been pretty ticked off after losing to Detroit Osborn earlier in the week and unfortunately for a weak Detroit Central team they took it out on them with a 93-40 drubbing.
CORRECTIONS
I apologize in advance for any gramatical errors that I have and will make. I need to correct myself, in an earlier blog I referred to Ohio State standout, William Buford as Mike Buford, brain drain, that is all I can tell you. Also, I listed the Saturday game between Detroit Country Day and Detroit Southeastern as a 8:30 PM game, it is now listed at 8:15 PM. Did not want anyone showing up late although if you do forget about getting a seat. If you are not there a good hour before the game good luck getting a seat.
Another tournament to mention: MLK Tournament at Pontiac - This Saturday and Sunday.
The key games that I would be interested in are Lansing Summit Christian Academy vs. Detroit Consortium at 7 PM. This Summit Christian team is a prep school and has 3 legit D-1 players on that team. Consortium has the best Junior bigman in the state. The game following that is East Grand Rapids vs. Pontiac and could be fun to watch as well.
National HS Hoops
Did you happen to see the game between St. Pat's and Winter Park. Austin Rivers can score against anyone. That St. Pat's team is strong, their only weakness is lack of strength at the guard postion. Rivers had a disappointing start but finished with 38in a 9 point loss where they got down big early and were fighting back the whole game. Gilchrist had 22 for St. Pat's. If you did not see these teams, you will get another shot to see St. Pat's again this weekend. They play a very good team from Neveda (Bishop Gorman - were top 25 but got knocked out) on Monday at either 11:00 AM or 1 PM on ESPNU.
Some other great National teams to watch over the weekend on ESPN or ESPN U are:
St. Anthony (NJ) #3 vs. DeMatha (MD) #14 Saturday 4 PM ESPN
Oak Hill (VA) #1 vs. Milton (GA) #11 Saturday 8 PM ESPNU
Findley Prep (NV) #7 vs. Dallas Lincoln (TX) # 14 Monday 3 PM ESPNU
ACN (PA) vs. Boys & Girls (NY) Monday 5 PM
Top 25 playes in the nation - Findley Prep has Mike Kawbongo #10 player (Texas), Nick Johnson #13 (Arizona), ANC has Rakeem Christmas #11 (Syracuse),
Quinn Cook#25 - DeMatha (Duke)
COLLEGE
U of D got embarrashed last night at home in front of 6,000 people as Butler showed them how far they need to go to be an elite team in the Horizon league. Although Detroit was playing without 6'10 big man Eli Holman, who was suspended a game for "fighting" in his last one, it would not have mattered. Butler won 87-64 and Super Frosh Ray McCallum was held to 3 points.
Earlier in the week, CMU Frosh Trey Ziegler had 30 points in their 65-52 win over Toledo.
That is it for now. Some great high school hoops both locally and nationally this weekend. On my way to Lansing for the day.
Your Basketball SNOB
TnT = Dynomite........That is what I am calling Tony Harris (Tn) and Ray Tillman (T)from Avondale (8-1). This combo is lighting it up. Once again they combined for over 40 points as Tillman had 30 and Harris 21 in a 75-61 win over Birmingham Seaholm
James Young (One of top sophomores in state) got back to his scoring ways in leading 7-1 Troy toa 64-55 win over Rochester Stoney Creek with 28 points including 4 3 pointers.
Southfield got a nice win over and in Pontiac as Carlton Brundidge led the way with 25 points and guard battery mate, Desmond Barnes chipped in 13 in a 71-59 win. Southfield will be back at Pontiac again over the weekend participating in the MLK tournament in a game Sunday against Det Southwestern. Pontiac guard Ant Adams broke his nose in this game. Not sure how long this will keep him out.
Detroit King must have been pretty ticked off after losing to Detroit Osborn earlier in the week and unfortunately for a weak Detroit Central team they took it out on them with a 93-40 drubbing.
CORRECTIONS
I apologize in advance for any gramatical errors that I have and will make. I need to correct myself, in an earlier blog I referred to Ohio State standout, William Buford as Mike Buford, brain drain, that is all I can tell you. Also, I listed the Saturday game between Detroit Country Day and Detroit Southeastern as a 8:30 PM game, it is now listed at 8:15 PM. Did not want anyone showing up late although if you do forget about getting a seat. If you are not there a good hour before the game good luck getting a seat.
Another tournament to mention: MLK Tournament at Pontiac - This Saturday and Sunday.
The key games that I would be interested in are Lansing Summit Christian Academy vs. Detroit Consortium at 7 PM. This Summit Christian team is a prep school and has 3 legit D-1 players on that team. Consortium has the best Junior bigman in the state. The game following that is East Grand Rapids vs. Pontiac and could be fun to watch as well.
National HS Hoops
Did you happen to see the game between St. Pat's and Winter Park. Austin Rivers can score against anyone. That St. Pat's team is strong, their only weakness is lack of strength at the guard postion. Rivers had a disappointing start but finished with 38in a 9 point loss where they got down big early and were fighting back the whole game. Gilchrist had 22 for St. Pat's. If you did not see these teams, you will get another shot to see St. Pat's again this weekend. They play a very good team from Neveda (Bishop Gorman - were top 25 but got knocked out) on Monday at either 11:00 AM or 1 PM on ESPNU.
Some other great National teams to watch over the weekend on ESPN or ESPN U are:
St. Anthony (NJ) #3 vs. DeMatha (MD) #14 Saturday 4 PM ESPN
Oak Hill (VA) #1 vs. Milton (GA) #11 Saturday 8 PM ESPNU
Findley Prep (NV) #7 vs. Dallas Lincoln (TX) # 14 Monday 3 PM ESPNU
ACN (PA) vs. Boys & Girls (NY) Monday 5 PM
Top 25 playes in the nation - Findley Prep has Mike Kawbongo #10 player (Texas), Nick Johnson #13 (Arizona), ANC has Rakeem Christmas #11 (Syracuse),
Quinn Cook#25 - DeMatha (Duke)
COLLEGE
U of D got embarrashed last night at home in front of 6,000 people as Butler showed them how far they need to go to be an elite team in the Horizon league. Although Detroit was playing without 6'10 big man Eli Holman, who was suspended a game for "fighting" in his last one, it would not have mattered. Butler won 87-64 and Super Frosh Ray McCallum was held to 3 points.
Earlier in the week, CMU Frosh Trey Ziegler had 30 points in their 65-52 win over Toledo.
That is it for now. Some great high school hoops both locally and nationally this weekend. On my way to Lansing for the day.
Your Basketball SNOB
Thursday, January 13, 2011
HS Updates & Rankings, #1 Duke Falls
Just a quick update on some of the recent High school games.
Detroit Country Day (#1) defeats Belleville 56-41, Amir Williams (Ohio State) leads way with 13 pts, 15 rebounds. Will be interesting to see how he fills in for Sullinger next year at the Center position for OSU.
Hartland, led by 6'3" Oakland signee, Matt Poches (#4 rated Wing guard in state) scored exactly have of his teams points (38) in a 76-64 OT win over Grand Blanc
Detroit Douglass, a very good 8-1 city team with very little pub, beats Detroit Crockett 67-53.
Detroit Southeastern gets 25 points out of Percy Gibson (Dayton) to sneak by Cass Tech 55-52. Why is it that every game of his I see he is in foul trouble and I never get the chance to see him score up to his potential. He is a load and can be very tough to stop down low but just haven't seen it yet in 3 games. Obviously based on this performance he is quite capable of it.
Detroit King (8-2) gets upset by Detroit Osborn by 72-71 score.
Warren DeLaSalle making a believer out of me with an easy 57-34 win over a decent Catholic Central team. DeLaSalle is always well coached, defensive minded and very disciplined. With this win and at 7-0 they will move up in my rankings.
Troy beats Groves 73-49 but super sophomore James Young "only" scores 16 - think it could have been because of the blowout?
Ray Tillman and Tony Harris are making a strong case for one of the top backcourts in the state. Talent wise, Brundidge (Michigan) and Barnes of Southfield and Majerle (Toledo) and Justin Klein of Rockford will play at higher levels in college but Ray Tillman and Tony Harris are making noise with a 7-1 Auburn Hills Avondale team that just beat Rochester Adams by 13 the other night. These two have a tremendous bond on and off the court. Both have been together playing AAU basketball since they were little tikes. Both were skilled star players for their high scoring football team that lost to Orchard Lake St. Mary's in the state football playoffs. Both are combining consistently for some outrageous numbers. They combined for 42 against Adams (28 for Tillman) but have combined for over 40 points on several occasions this year. Have seen them multiple times over the past few years but now it is time to see the more mature and potent senior version of this dynamic duo.
Some really good match up games coming over the Martin Luther King Weekend that I hope people get out and get a chance to see. I have to share one of my best MLK weekend memories with you so bare with me here. Three years ago, I traveled with my son to Toledo not once but twice over this weekend to see what I thought would be a marquee match up game between top rated Saginaw team (one of the best teams ever in this decade)led by Draymond Green and One of Ohio's top rated teams, Toledo Scott. The newspaper had it as a Saturday game but when we got to the College where they were suppose to play I learned that the game was being played on Monday. Being the true follower that I am and to my wife's disbelief, we journeyed back again on Monday and it was well worth the two trips. We saw one of the best High school games I have seen in a long time. This Toledo Scott team was led by All American Mike Buford (Ohio State) and an athletic team like no other I had seen. In warm ups, before the officials arrived, 12 of the 13 players dunked the basketball and they had several that got way up and with ease. Based on watching their warm ups and shoot around, I thought Saginaw was going down. Lesson 1 - don't always judge a team and players on warm ups. Sure you can always pick up things (footwork, shooting form, quickness, etc) from watching but it is not until they all get on the court and compete when you really learn. The game did not disappoint, nor did Buford or Green. That Saginaw team, led by guard Daniel West, had probably the best defense I had seen in some time and had a full court trap press that was difficult to beat let alone score baskets off of. The talent rose and Buford was all I had read about. He was knocking down 25 footers, slashing to the basket, rebounding off opponents misses. Green was nasty from the elbow and boarded like we have seen him do at MSU. In the end, Saginaw won by I believe a 78-74 margin based on 2 Draymond Green fouls shots in the last 5 seconds. It was a great game to watch and one my son and obviously me, still talk about today.
The other favorable MLK Moment was last year in East Lansing at the Battle of the Capital where two high school All Americans and two very strong teams faced off. Once again I was with my son and some of his buddies and we saw Ray McCallum (Detroit Country Day) go against Keith Appling (Detroit Pershing). Amongst the 2,000 plus people in attendance was the Michigan State team that walked in before halftime along with Mateen Cleaves to see these two battle it out. For about a 3-5 minute period in the 3rd quarter both players were guarding one another man to man and it became a game of one on one and one upsmanship. The moves, shots, drives, passes and dunks these two put on for that brief third period burst created one of the most electric responses I can remember from the fans. It was flat out sick. Grown men were on their feet hoopin and hollerin over those moves. That was a special night and these two were two special players that did not disappoint.
Speaking of the Battle in the Capital - it is back again for version II. There is a strong lineup of games this weekend and hopefully they will yield some similar experiences to the ones I have shared from the past.
Saturday January 15th at East Lansing HS Fieldhouse - Mister Basketball MLK Classic - Battle in the Capital II
12:00 River Rouge vs. Okemos
2:00 Lansing Sexton vs. Saginaw Arthur Hill
4;00 Ann Arbor Huron vs. Kalamazoo Central - rematch of LY Class A state finals
6:00 Detroit Pershing vs. Romulus
8:00 Lansing Eastern vs. Saginaw
Players to watch in this one:
Chris Harrison-Docks-Okemos (#2 rated Junior PG in state); Denzel Valentine - Lansing Sexton #1 rated wing forward in Junior class - committed to Michigan State; Jordan Hare - SAH - #1 rated PF for Junior class - top teams in country after him; Dante Williams - AA Huron - #2 rated WF in Sr class (Oakland Univ); AJ Matthews - AA Huron - #2 rated combo guard in state for SR (Toledo); TJ Buchanan - Kzoo Central - #3 rated CG in senior class (Rhode Island); Sherron Dorsey-Walker - Detroit Pershing - #2 rated CG in Junior class, Martez Walker - Pershing - #3 rated WG in Sophomore class; Justin Moss - Romulus - #4 rated PF for Senior class (Toledo); Ray Lee - Romulus #1 PG in Junior class ; EC Matthews - Romulus #1 rated WG for sophomore class; LaDonte Henton - Lansing Eastern - #1 WF in state (Dayton); Cha Cha Tucker - Lansing Eastern - #1 rated PG in sophomore class; Steve Haney - Lansing Eastern - #3 WF-Sophomore class; Tommy McCune - Saginaw - #1 F - Senior class (West Virginia)
If you can't make it to East Lansing - then mozy on over to Warren Fitzgerald HS where they are hosting the MLK Freedom Classic which features one of the top 2 games of the weekend between Detroit Country Day and Detroit Southeastern. The other would be the Class A finals rematch between Kalamazoo Central and Ann Arbor Huron.
Here is the lineup for that one.
1:00 Detroit Cody vs. Westland John Glenn
3:00 Warren Fitzgerald vs. Detroit King
5:00 Flint Powers Catholic vs. Cass Tech
6:30 Detroit Renaissance vs. Clarkston
8:30 Detroit Country Day vs. Detroit Southeastern
Players to watch here;
Jelani Carpenter - Cody - 6'6 SR Forward; Jarrell McKinney - Cody 6'6 Sr C; Malik Albert - King - 6'2 Sr G; Patrick Lucas-Perry Flint Powers - 5'11 PG - Rated #1 PG in SR class in state (uncommitted). Javonte Hawkins - Flint Powers - 6'4 Combo G - Rated #1 at this position in the state for Juniors; Kris Davis - Cass Tech - 6'2 SR G; Marlin Mason - Cass Tech - 6'6 - F - Rated #2 in state for Seniors at his position (Cleveland State); Deandre Johnson - Cass Tech - 5'11 JR PG; Aaron Prim - Cass Tech - 6'6 - JR F; Leo Edwards - Cass Tech - #1 Sophomore post player; Deangelo Stewart - Cass Tech - 6'4 Sophomore F; Mike Hundley - Renaissance - 6'9 SR C (Citadel); Clark Bishop - Renaissance - 6'0 Soph G; Marcus Handy - Clarkston - 6'6 SR F; Amir Williams - DCD - 6'10 SR C (#7 rated C in the country; Jordan Price - 6'6 JR F; Austin Price - DCD - 6'3 SO G; Chris Fowler - DCD - 6'1 SR G; Lee Bailey - DCD - 5'11 SR G; Kenny Knight - DCD - 6'4 SR F; Mory Diane - DCD - 6'2 FR G; Brandon Kearney - Southeastern - 6'4' - SR G (Michigan State); Percy Gibson - Southeastern - 6'7 SR F (Dayton), Ed Brown - Southeastern - 6'0 SR G.
My top game is the DCD-Souteastern Game but I have already seen DCD 3 times this year and Det Southeastern twice so I am electing for the quantity and quality of East Lansing for my viewing pleasures.
And just when you think you have had enough basketball for the weekend don't forget about another tournament for a great cause, the Dorian Styles Dawkins Show your Heart Classic at Delta College in Saginaw. Dorian Dawkins, son of Saginaw High coach Lou Dawkins died suddenly and tragically during a summer basketball game in 2009, when he collapsed on the court. Dawkins suffered from a heart condition called acute myocardial ischemia. All proceeds will go to the American Heart Association Dorian Styles Dawkins Foundation. I never saw this kid play but I heard from my sources that he was all that....a child prodigy. $10 ticket prices are a great bargain and help to maintain and sustain his memory.
Monday, January 17th
1:00 Detroit Consortium (#1 in Class C) vs. Flint Beecher (#2 in Class C)
3:00 Dearborn Heights Robichaud vs. Gary, Indiana Thea Bowman
5:00 Saginaw vs. Chicago Orr
Great first game matchup featuring some really good young talent. Consortium has the top big man in the Junior class in 6'9' Khaliq Spicer and 6'5 sophomore F, Vincent Hunter and 6'0 JR PG - Tavon Baker. Flint counters with one of the top sophomore guards in the state - (nationally recruited) right there with Cha Cha Tucker, Monte Morris. Very impressed with his freshman performance last year in the States. If this kid grows to 6'2 or 6'3 like I think he will he has the tools to go major D-1. Saginaw has 6'7 Tommy McCune (West Virginia) and a host of other athletes on this team to watch. Chicago Orr features Mychael Henry (#10 Forward nationally and #36 overall ranked player in the country) the same Mychael Henry that took it to Country Day and Amir Williams for 42 points. For those of you that were treated to this performance you have another shot to see this kid play in the state of Michigan one more time before he returns to Michigan next year in an Illinois jersey. This kid is a man and a must see player. He will not disappoint.
Another MUST SEE GAME is on ESPN2 for those of you who get it. It is Friday, January 14th at 7 PM. This game pits two nationally ranked high school teams and the number 1 & 2 players (Or #1 & #3 players depending on which service you follow) in the country. #2 Ranked St. Patrick's out of New Jersey and #21 Winter Park Florida square off. Winter Park features the #1 player nationally in Austin Rivers, son of Doc Rivers. This kid is a special offensive player - could be legit one and done in college. Needs to work on his defense at the next level. Will be playing at Duke. St. Patrick's features the #2 or #3 player in Michael Gilchrist, a 6'6 F who is committed to Kentucky. He is strong and reminds me of Vince Carter but needs to work on his outside shot. St. Pats has a load of other young talent so be sure to watch or tape this game.
For those of you that had the treat to
On to my top 20 Rankings for Class A & B schools
1. Detroit Country Day (7-2) Despite two losses, Still the best all around team
2. Kalamazoo Central (6-0) Defending state champs and haven't loss yet
3. Detroit Southeastern (6-1) Only loss to #2 K-zoo Central
4. Romulus (5-1) Might be alone on this pick so high but team has talent
5. Warren DeLaSalle (7-0) Moved way up with easy win over CC-play true team ball
6. Ann Arbor Huron (5-1) Team still not 100% but has talent to be top 3
7. Saginaw (6-1) Starting to find there groove and one another
8. Flint Powers (5-0) Only been tested so far by Okemos
9. Lansing Eastern (4-2) Much better team than record, can be top 5 with Haney
10 Southfield (4-1) Only loss to Southeastern - Game at Pontiac tonight
11 Okemos (5-1) Lost to Flint Powers by 5
12 Lansing Sexton (4-0) Have potential to crack top 10 next week
13 Detroit Douglas (5-0) Have beaten some good PSL teams
14 East Kentwood (7-1) Nice win over Muskegon
15 Muskegon (7-1) Only loss to East Kentwood. Crushed Muskegon Heights
* Detroit Consortium - altough a class C school is good enough to possibly crack the top 10 of the A & B classes.
COLLEGE HOOPS
#1 Duke falls and proves that even the best can slip up at times. They will be top 5 team all year. Florida State beat them by 5 last night.
It looks like my predictions from last night were off a bit. Fortunately for me, my Cuse boys did not drop their game to the Johnnies last night like a thought they might. It sure looked like it early though as Syracuse came out shooting poorly on 3-13 from the field and after 11 1/2 minutes they only had scored 9 points. Then they proceeded to score 10 points in the next 3 minutes and 21 points in 6 minutes which included a stretch where they sank 7 shots in a row. They were losing at one point 18-9 but went on a 16-0 run to flip the score to 25-18 and never trailed again in 17 point win. The Michigan game is the other one that I looked to have pegged when I predicted they would hang early and fade and lose by 19. Well they got down 12 in the second half and I thought the route was on but Michigan battled back to lose by only 4 and the difference was that Ohio State hit all their free throws when they needed them down the stretch. I was wrong on my Pitt-G'Town call. I did say that Pitt is the better and stronger team and they proved that last night winning fairly easily by 15 in the District. I did call a close one between San Diego State (17-0)and UNLV and it ended up being a 6 point game and victory for SDSU, who was led by Kawhi Leonard who led the team in both scoring and rebounding with 15 & 17 respectively. Finally in another Big East showdown of two top 20 ranked teams, Villanova (#7) won at home over Louisville (#18) by a score of 88-74.
Is anyone tired of reading this....heck it is no longer a Blog but a book. Sorry, once I get going it is tough to stop. In case there is anyone out there that actually reads this blog and doesn't know who I am and would like to catch up with me at the games this weekend, I will probably be the only one wearing a bright Orange Syracuse hat. If you happen to see me don't be afraid to introduce yourself and let me know what you think of this new blog venture of mine.
Until I blog again. Your Basketball blog SNOG is out.
Detroit Country Day (#1) defeats Belleville 56-41, Amir Williams (Ohio State) leads way with 13 pts, 15 rebounds. Will be interesting to see how he fills in for Sullinger next year at the Center position for OSU.
Hartland, led by 6'3" Oakland signee, Matt Poches (#4 rated Wing guard in state) scored exactly have of his teams points (38) in a 76-64 OT win over Grand Blanc
Detroit Douglass, a very good 8-1 city team with very little pub, beats Detroit Crockett 67-53.
Detroit Southeastern gets 25 points out of Percy Gibson (Dayton) to sneak by Cass Tech 55-52. Why is it that every game of his I see he is in foul trouble and I never get the chance to see him score up to his potential. He is a load and can be very tough to stop down low but just haven't seen it yet in 3 games. Obviously based on this performance he is quite capable of it.
Detroit King (8-2) gets upset by Detroit Osborn by 72-71 score.
Warren DeLaSalle making a believer out of me with an easy 57-34 win over a decent Catholic Central team. DeLaSalle is always well coached, defensive minded and very disciplined. With this win and at 7-0 they will move up in my rankings.
Troy beats Groves 73-49 but super sophomore James Young "only" scores 16 - think it could have been because of the blowout?
Ray Tillman and Tony Harris are making a strong case for one of the top backcourts in the state. Talent wise, Brundidge (Michigan) and Barnes of Southfield and Majerle (Toledo) and Justin Klein of Rockford will play at higher levels in college but Ray Tillman and Tony Harris are making noise with a 7-1 Auburn Hills Avondale team that just beat Rochester Adams by 13 the other night. These two have a tremendous bond on and off the court. Both have been together playing AAU basketball since they were little tikes. Both were skilled star players for their high scoring football team that lost to Orchard Lake St. Mary's in the state football playoffs. Both are combining consistently for some outrageous numbers. They combined for 42 against Adams (28 for Tillman) but have combined for over 40 points on several occasions this year. Have seen them multiple times over the past few years but now it is time to see the more mature and potent senior version of this dynamic duo.
Some really good match up games coming over the Martin Luther King Weekend that I hope people get out and get a chance to see. I have to share one of my best MLK weekend memories with you so bare with me here. Three years ago, I traveled with my son to Toledo not once but twice over this weekend to see what I thought would be a marquee match up game between top rated Saginaw team (one of the best teams ever in this decade)led by Draymond Green and One of Ohio's top rated teams, Toledo Scott. The newspaper had it as a Saturday game but when we got to the College where they were suppose to play I learned that the game was being played on Monday. Being the true follower that I am and to my wife's disbelief, we journeyed back again on Monday and it was well worth the two trips. We saw one of the best High school games I have seen in a long time. This Toledo Scott team was led by All American Mike Buford (Ohio State) and an athletic team like no other I had seen. In warm ups, before the officials arrived, 12 of the 13 players dunked the basketball and they had several that got way up and with ease. Based on watching their warm ups and shoot around, I thought Saginaw was going down. Lesson 1 - don't always judge a team and players on warm ups. Sure you can always pick up things (footwork, shooting form, quickness, etc) from watching but it is not until they all get on the court and compete when you really learn. The game did not disappoint, nor did Buford or Green. That Saginaw team, led by guard Daniel West, had probably the best defense I had seen in some time and had a full court trap press that was difficult to beat let alone score baskets off of. The talent rose and Buford was all I had read about. He was knocking down 25 footers, slashing to the basket, rebounding off opponents misses. Green was nasty from the elbow and boarded like we have seen him do at MSU. In the end, Saginaw won by I believe a 78-74 margin based on 2 Draymond Green fouls shots in the last 5 seconds. It was a great game to watch and one my son and obviously me, still talk about today.
The other favorable MLK Moment was last year in East Lansing at the Battle of the Capital where two high school All Americans and two very strong teams faced off. Once again I was with my son and some of his buddies and we saw Ray McCallum (Detroit Country Day) go against Keith Appling (Detroit Pershing). Amongst the 2,000 plus people in attendance was the Michigan State team that walked in before halftime along with Mateen Cleaves to see these two battle it out. For about a 3-5 minute period in the 3rd quarter both players were guarding one another man to man and it became a game of one on one and one upsmanship. The moves, shots, drives, passes and dunks these two put on for that brief third period burst created one of the most electric responses I can remember from the fans. It was flat out sick. Grown men were on their feet hoopin and hollerin over those moves. That was a special night and these two were two special players that did not disappoint.
Speaking of the Battle in the Capital - it is back again for version II. There is a strong lineup of games this weekend and hopefully they will yield some similar experiences to the ones I have shared from the past.
Saturday January 15th at East Lansing HS Fieldhouse - Mister Basketball MLK Classic - Battle in the Capital II
12:00 River Rouge vs. Okemos
2:00 Lansing Sexton vs. Saginaw Arthur Hill
4;00 Ann Arbor Huron vs. Kalamazoo Central - rematch of LY Class A state finals
6:00 Detroit Pershing vs. Romulus
8:00 Lansing Eastern vs. Saginaw
Players to watch in this one:
Chris Harrison-Docks-Okemos (#2 rated Junior PG in state); Denzel Valentine - Lansing Sexton #1 rated wing forward in Junior class - committed to Michigan State; Jordan Hare - SAH - #1 rated PF for Junior class - top teams in country after him; Dante Williams - AA Huron - #2 rated WF in Sr class (Oakland Univ); AJ Matthews - AA Huron - #2 rated combo guard in state for SR (Toledo); TJ Buchanan - Kzoo Central - #3 rated CG in senior class (Rhode Island); Sherron Dorsey-Walker - Detroit Pershing - #2 rated CG in Junior class, Martez Walker - Pershing - #3 rated WG in Sophomore class; Justin Moss - Romulus - #4 rated PF for Senior class (Toledo); Ray Lee - Romulus #1 PG in Junior class ; EC Matthews - Romulus #1 rated WG for sophomore class; LaDonte Henton - Lansing Eastern - #1 WF in state (Dayton); Cha Cha Tucker - Lansing Eastern - #1 rated PG in sophomore class; Steve Haney - Lansing Eastern - #3 WF-Sophomore class; Tommy McCune - Saginaw - #1 F - Senior class (West Virginia)
If you can't make it to East Lansing - then mozy on over to Warren Fitzgerald HS where they are hosting the MLK Freedom Classic which features one of the top 2 games of the weekend between Detroit Country Day and Detroit Southeastern. The other would be the Class A finals rematch between Kalamazoo Central and Ann Arbor Huron.
Here is the lineup for that one.
1:00 Detroit Cody vs. Westland John Glenn
3:00 Warren Fitzgerald vs. Detroit King
5:00 Flint Powers Catholic vs. Cass Tech
6:30 Detroit Renaissance vs. Clarkston
8:30 Detroit Country Day vs. Detroit Southeastern
Players to watch here;
Jelani Carpenter - Cody - 6'6 SR Forward; Jarrell McKinney - Cody 6'6 Sr C; Malik Albert - King - 6'2 Sr G; Patrick Lucas-Perry Flint Powers - 5'11 PG - Rated #1 PG in SR class in state (uncommitted). Javonte Hawkins - Flint Powers - 6'4 Combo G - Rated #1 at this position in the state for Juniors; Kris Davis - Cass Tech - 6'2 SR G; Marlin Mason - Cass Tech - 6'6 - F - Rated #2 in state for Seniors at his position (Cleveland State); Deandre Johnson - Cass Tech - 5'11 JR PG; Aaron Prim - Cass Tech - 6'6 - JR F; Leo Edwards - Cass Tech - #1 Sophomore post player; Deangelo Stewart - Cass Tech - 6'4 Sophomore F; Mike Hundley - Renaissance - 6'9 SR C (Citadel); Clark Bishop - Renaissance - 6'0 Soph G; Marcus Handy - Clarkston - 6'6 SR F; Amir Williams - DCD - 6'10 SR C (#7 rated C in the country; Jordan Price - 6'6 JR F; Austin Price - DCD - 6'3 SO G; Chris Fowler - DCD - 6'1 SR G; Lee Bailey - DCD - 5'11 SR G; Kenny Knight - DCD - 6'4 SR F; Mory Diane - DCD - 6'2 FR G; Brandon Kearney - Southeastern - 6'4' - SR G (Michigan State); Percy Gibson - Southeastern - 6'7 SR F (Dayton), Ed Brown - Southeastern - 6'0 SR G.
My top game is the DCD-Souteastern Game but I have already seen DCD 3 times this year and Det Southeastern twice so I am electing for the quantity and quality of East Lansing for my viewing pleasures.
And just when you think you have had enough basketball for the weekend don't forget about another tournament for a great cause, the Dorian Styles Dawkins Show your Heart Classic at Delta College in Saginaw. Dorian Dawkins, son of Saginaw High coach Lou Dawkins died suddenly and tragically during a summer basketball game in 2009, when he collapsed on the court. Dawkins suffered from a heart condition called acute myocardial ischemia. All proceeds will go to the American Heart Association Dorian Styles Dawkins Foundation. I never saw this kid play but I heard from my sources that he was all that....a child prodigy. $10 ticket prices are a great bargain and help to maintain and sustain his memory.
Monday, January 17th
1:00 Detroit Consortium (#1 in Class C) vs. Flint Beecher (#2 in Class C)
3:00 Dearborn Heights Robichaud vs. Gary, Indiana Thea Bowman
5:00 Saginaw vs. Chicago Orr
Great first game matchup featuring some really good young talent. Consortium has the top big man in the Junior class in 6'9' Khaliq Spicer and 6'5 sophomore F, Vincent Hunter and 6'0 JR PG - Tavon Baker. Flint counters with one of the top sophomore guards in the state - (nationally recruited) right there with Cha Cha Tucker, Monte Morris. Very impressed with his freshman performance last year in the States. If this kid grows to 6'2 or 6'3 like I think he will he has the tools to go major D-1. Saginaw has 6'7 Tommy McCune (West Virginia) and a host of other athletes on this team to watch. Chicago Orr features Mychael Henry (#10 Forward nationally and #36 overall ranked player in the country) the same Mychael Henry that took it to Country Day and Amir Williams for 42 points. For those of you that were treated to this performance you have another shot to see this kid play in the state of Michigan one more time before he returns to Michigan next year in an Illinois jersey. This kid is a man and a must see player. He will not disappoint.
Another MUST SEE GAME is on ESPN2 for those of you who get it. It is Friday, January 14th at 7 PM. This game pits two nationally ranked high school teams and the number 1 & 2 players (Or #1 & #3 players depending on which service you follow) in the country. #2 Ranked St. Patrick's out of New Jersey and #21 Winter Park Florida square off. Winter Park features the #1 player nationally in Austin Rivers, son of Doc Rivers. This kid is a special offensive player - could be legit one and done in college. Needs to work on his defense at the next level. Will be playing at Duke. St. Patrick's features the #2 or #3 player in Michael Gilchrist, a 6'6 F who is committed to Kentucky. He is strong and reminds me of Vince Carter but needs to work on his outside shot. St. Pats has a load of other young talent so be sure to watch or tape this game.
For those of you that had the treat to
On to my top 20 Rankings for Class A & B schools
1. Detroit Country Day (7-2) Despite two losses, Still the best all around team
2. Kalamazoo Central (6-0) Defending state champs and haven't loss yet
3. Detroit Southeastern (6-1) Only loss to #2 K-zoo Central
4. Romulus (5-1) Might be alone on this pick so high but team has talent
5. Warren DeLaSalle (7-0) Moved way up with easy win over CC-play true team ball
6. Ann Arbor Huron (5-1) Team still not 100% but has talent to be top 3
7. Saginaw (6-1) Starting to find there groove and one another
8. Flint Powers (5-0) Only been tested so far by Okemos
9. Lansing Eastern (4-2) Much better team than record, can be top 5 with Haney
10 Southfield (4-1) Only loss to Southeastern - Game at Pontiac tonight
11 Okemos (5-1) Lost to Flint Powers by 5
12 Lansing Sexton (4-0) Have potential to crack top 10 next week
13 Detroit Douglas (5-0) Have beaten some good PSL teams
14 East Kentwood (7-1) Nice win over Muskegon
15 Muskegon (7-1) Only loss to East Kentwood. Crushed Muskegon Heights
* Detroit Consortium - altough a class C school is good enough to possibly crack the top 10 of the A & B classes.
COLLEGE HOOPS
#1 Duke falls and proves that even the best can slip up at times. They will be top 5 team all year. Florida State beat them by 5 last night.
It looks like my predictions from last night were off a bit. Fortunately for me, my Cuse boys did not drop their game to the Johnnies last night like a thought they might. It sure looked like it early though as Syracuse came out shooting poorly on 3-13 from the field and after 11 1/2 minutes they only had scored 9 points. Then they proceeded to score 10 points in the next 3 minutes and 21 points in 6 minutes which included a stretch where they sank 7 shots in a row. They were losing at one point 18-9 but went on a 16-0 run to flip the score to 25-18 and never trailed again in 17 point win. The Michigan game is the other one that I looked to have pegged when I predicted they would hang early and fade and lose by 19. Well they got down 12 in the second half and I thought the route was on but Michigan battled back to lose by only 4 and the difference was that Ohio State hit all their free throws when they needed them down the stretch. I was wrong on my Pitt-G'Town call. I did say that Pitt is the better and stronger team and they proved that last night winning fairly easily by 15 in the District. I did call a close one between San Diego State (17-0)and UNLV and it ended up being a 6 point game and victory for SDSU, who was led by Kawhi Leonard who led the team in both scoring and rebounding with 15 & 17 respectively. Finally in another Big East showdown of two top 20 ranked teams, Villanova (#7) won at home over Louisville (#18) by a score of 88-74.
Is anyone tired of reading this....heck it is no longer a Blog but a book. Sorry, once I get going it is tough to stop. In case there is anyone out there that actually reads this blog and doesn't know who I am and would like to catch up with me at the games this weekend, I will probably be the only one wearing a bright Orange Syracuse hat. If you happen to see me don't be afraid to introduce yourself and let me know what you think of this new blog venture of mine.
Until I blog again. Your Basketball blog SNOG is out.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Spartans Struggle in Victory
Is anyone out there experiencing the roller coaster ride Michigan State basketball is providing? I don't know about you but I use to get excited about watching MSU play and they were always entertaining and fun to watch....not anymore........this team is painful to watch. It is so surprising to me that there are so many glaring weaknesses to this team this year. They started out the preseason as the number two ranked team in the country and before the start of last night's game were no longer in the top 25. The issues that I see are uncharacteristic of Izzo teams and many. Complete lack of inside presence, board strength and mental toughness down low, the backbone of this team typically. No identifiable chemistry on this team - Izzo is still searching for that right combination....even though he has tried a ton up to this point. No leadership. Kalin Lucas, who I absolutely have been singing the praises of since he walked onto the campus in East Lansing, is not the same player......noticeable not the same player. His leadership has been silent, his attacking to the hole and creating off the dribble has disappeared from his game and he has lost that quick first step and speed. Just not the same player. Then you have some players that are just not playing up to their ability consistently (Roe, Appling, Lucious, Payne - to name a few). Oh, if it was not for Draymond Green - who is the HEART of this team, MSU would have experienced their 7th loss of the season at just the start of the Big Ten Season. For all intents and purposes, they should have lost last night. For the last 3 minutes they found that old tenancy and will to win that we have seen so much in the past. That win in OT over #22 Wisconsin, was HUGE. If they would have lost that game at home - I think they would have never recovered. Lets hope they can take this win and build off it but it I think the road ahead will be as winding as the Red Cedar River banks.
By the way....Did anyone notice the "Chucky" Gruden look alike referee in that game.
Staying with College hoops for a minute.
Have a feeling that my Syracuse Orangemen will be tested tonight at St. John's. Don't know why but don't have a good feeling about this game.
Watched the replay of the USC-UCLA game the other night and Pookie Jones (Saginaw Arthur Hill) is so much fun to watch. At 5'5", not 5'7 or 5'8 as they mention, is just on another level with that ball in his hands when he wants to turn it up a notch. As a freshman, he plays way above that level. This kid can not relate to fear or intimidation. He had either 9 or 11 in the game on a very limited shot selection. He had 1 turnover and basically played the entire game and handles the rock at the point position. Next time USC is on late night, tape it, it is fun to watch him play.
San Diego State at #6 in the rankings is not getting any national attention...at least not for basketball. With Hoke (SDS x-football coach) going to Michigan to be head coach of the football team all the attention has been on him. Meanwhile the hoop team, coached by another Michigan guy, Steve Fisher, is off to a 15-0 start. They have arguably two of the best forward combinations on any team. 6'9" Senior Malcolm Thomas and 6'7" Sophomore Kawhi Leonard are the leading scorers and rebounders on this team and provide a strong 1-2 punch down low. They should get tested tonight though by a revamped and resurgent UNLV team.
Kentucky basketball is better than there #15 ranking
Pitt - Georgetown game tonight should be a good one. Pitt is the better and stronger team but they have had problems with G'Town in DC. With the schedule Gods and weather hitting the east coast, this could be Georgetown's night tonight.
Ohio State - Michigan tonight at Crisler. We will see if Michigan can hang tough with them like they did Kansas. My guess is that they will hang for a bit but Ohio State is too deep, talented and versatile - Ohio State by 19 is my call.
Got to Run - but will post my High School portion later tonight.
Your Basketball SNOB
By the way....Did anyone notice the "Chucky" Gruden look alike referee in that game.
Staying with College hoops for a minute.
Have a feeling that my Syracuse Orangemen will be tested tonight at St. John's. Don't know why but don't have a good feeling about this game.
Watched the replay of the USC-UCLA game the other night and Pookie Jones (Saginaw Arthur Hill) is so much fun to watch. At 5'5", not 5'7 or 5'8 as they mention, is just on another level with that ball in his hands when he wants to turn it up a notch. As a freshman, he plays way above that level. This kid can not relate to fear or intimidation. He had either 9 or 11 in the game on a very limited shot selection. He had 1 turnover and basically played the entire game and handles the rock at the point position. Next time USC is on late night, tape it, it is fun to watch him play.
San Diego State at #6 in the rankings is not getting any national attention...at least not for basketball. With Hoke (SDS x-football coach) going to Michigan to be head coach of the football team all the attention has been on him. Meanwhile the hoop team, coached by another Michigan guy, Steve Fisher, is off to a 15-0 start. They have arguably two of the best forward combinations on any team. 6'9" Senior Malcolm Thomas and 6'7" Sophomore Kawhi Leonard are the leading scorers and rebounders on this team and provide a strong 1-2 punch down low. They should get tested tonight though by a revamped and resurgent UNLV team.
Kentucky basketball is better than there #15 ranking
Pitt - Georgetown game tonight should be a good one. Pitt is the better and stronger team but they have had problems with G'Town in DC. With the schedule Gods and weather hitting the east coast, this could be Georgetown's night tonight.
Ohio State - Michigan tonight at Crisler. We will see if Michigan can hang tough with them like they did Kansas. My guess is that they will hang for a bit but Ohio State is too deep, talented and versatile - Ohio State by 19 is my call.
Got to Run - but will post my High School portion later tonight.
Your Basketball SNOB
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Top 5 Teams Survive Scares and Close Calls
Well I watched a ton of college basketball this weekend and as always have to comment on it.
The top 5 teams in the country all won this weekend but 8 was the largest margin of victory.
#1 Duke beat Maryland by 7 at home, 71-64. I did not see this game
#2 Ohio State held off #22 Minnesota to win by a score of 67-64 at home. I did see this game and OSU had this game in hand but let Minnesota get back in it with under 4 minutes to go. Lighty had a solid game for OSU (19 pts) and Sullinger continues to impress down low. Freshman Guard Aaron Craft from Findley Ohio came in off the bench to lead the team with 7 assists and played well down the stretch for them and filled in for Lighty when he fouled out late in the game. This Ohio State team is good and deep. Not a big Ohio State fan but this team is going to stay at the top all year.
# 3 Kansas - survives scare in overtime in Ann Arbor and wins 67-60. Kansas did not look like a top 3 team in this game at all. Michigan shot poor, poor and poor. It took them almost 7 minutes (13:34 mark) to register their first field goal of the game. They shot 4-28 from three point range and still managed to almost pull it out. Kansas was averaging over 80 points a game and were held to 51 in regulation by a much undermanned defensive squad in Michigan. Michigan, which plays mainly man to man had to switch to zone to contend but switched back to man to man in the overtime period. This Michigan team is slow and small on the defensive end and they are typically one and done on the offensive end. How they kept in this game getting behind by 15 in the first half and shooting so poorly is beyond me. I tell you what I do like about them - young team that does not quit, Novak is like the energizer bunny and Tim Hardaway Jr. can flat out play.
#4 Syracuse got a scare from Seton Hall but ended up pulling away in the end. Joseph and Triche sparked my Cuse team offensively and Jackson was a beast as always on the boards with 14 rebounds. They made only 3-7 free throws including a couple one and ones down the stretch that kept Seton Hall in it until they got a nice defensive stop near the end and converted on the other end to seal their 16th victory with a 61-56 win.
# 5 Pittsburgh won 89-81 against Marquette at home. I taped this one but have yet to watch it.
Other games watched or of local interest.
Sparty gets stunned again this time by Penn State 66-62. I can not figure this team out. They have players that have moments where they showcase their true talent and then they have moments where they disappear or look awful. Draymond Green continues to be the consistent player that boards for this team. Delvon Roe looked good and strong going to the hole at times in this game but then again looked horrible on some short range shots. Derrick Nix - dare I say it - actually contributed for a 5 minute span. Summers continues to shoot well from the outside but is getting no one else that can knock it down consistently. Missed free throws cost this team and Keith Appling is falling into obscure ville. This team is very soft inside defensively and it is beginning to show. I would really like to see Adrian Payne step up and provide some toughness and rebounding in the paint. This team is not playing to its potential and I am beginning to think it will not happen this year.
Oakland University followed up their Thursday win with a trouncing of W. Illinois, 79-50 on Saturday evening. Was hoping to make it over to this one but didn't. Looked like they had very well balanced scoring with Hudson leading the team with 18 points and Bader dropping another 15 - all on three pointers. This kid has a great stroke and reminds me of another Kangas.
University of Detroit beat Illinois-Chicago for their 3rd win in their last 4 games. They were led once again by Freshman Ray McCallum (Detroit Country Day - McDonald's HS All American) who scored 17 including a rebounded missed free throw put back basket with less than 2 seconds to seal the win, 72-69. McCallum is playing up to his billing as he is the 4th highest scoring freshman in the country averaging 15.8 per game. UD is now tied for the division lead following Cleveland State's two losses this weekend to Butler and Valpo. I hope to see UD contend for the title with Bulter and Cleveland State but have three huge games coming up. They play home against Butler on the 14th and Valpo on the 16th and then travel to play Cleveland State on the 20th.
A shout out to my son's college at Western Michigan. He reported live via text from the ZOO student section to let me know that Western beat rival Central Michigan in overtime 63-56. Freshman Trey Zeigler (Mt. Pleasant HS) led CMU with 22 points including a lay up as time was expiring in regulation to send it into overtime. Demetrius Ward (Detroit Pershing) led WMU with 21 including 9 in the overtime period. Western has now won 3 in a row.
Also watched some of the Purdue - Iowa game today mainly because I was interested in seeing how freshman Roy Marble Jr (Southfield) is doing for the Hawkeyes. He had started the last two games but was actually first off the bench for them today. He played almost 25 minutes and has been getting increased playing time as the season goes on. He has not scored a lot and had 6 points today in their blowout loss to Purdue 75-52. Purdue is a strong team and for sure the second best team in the Big Ten behind Ohio State.
Texas - Connecticut was a Great game to watch. I predicted on two previous blogs that Texas would win this game. I hate admitting when I am wrong but Connecticut and Kemba Walker made me eat my words. However the outcome could have been different if the ref did not blow a big call with under 10 seconds. Texas took the ball to the hole with the game tied with just under 10 seconds and there was significant contact and no call. It could have been called either way, a block or a charge but something should have been called. In watching the replay several times and being a retired ref it was clear this was a block. In addition, it looked like they blew the goal tending call on the same play. Texas got screwed on this one and should have won that game. Regardless it went into overtime and Walker hit two unbelievable shots, the first was a hip shot off balance launch from about 30 feet just to beat the play clock that found nothing but the net, the next was the game winner with 5 seconds to go on a sick cross over penetration pull back jumper from about 15 feet for a 82-81 OT win. Texas lead the majority of the game and I thought outplayed them but why they would not double team or trap Walker when Connecticut had the ball down the stretch is a mystery to me. He is clearly the best player on the floor and they tried to contain him with man to man cover with no off ball help. It cost them.
HIGH SCHOOL HOOPS
Muskegon Heights Tournament that I wanted to attend but couldn't.
DCD led by Amir Williams (Ohio State) 18 points and 6 blocks beat Cleveland MLK by 72-46.
Romulus was led by Justin Moss (Toledo) had 19 points in their 81-75 win over Chicago Vocational
Host Muskegon Heights was crushed by top 25 national power out of Chicago, Whitney Young. Whitney Young, who lost to Muskegon last year, got revenge this year in a big way winning 75-49. I have seen this team play on TV twice now and they are talented. Two seniors lead this team, Sam Thompson - 6'7" guard who is rated one of the top 40 players in the country and going to Ohio State and Luke Hager who is going to North Carolina Wilmington. They also have one of the best sophomores in the country in Thomas Hamilton and one of the top freshman big men in the country in 6'10" Jahlil Okafur. This team is loaded.
Detroit Southeastern beats Pershing this past week by 7
There was a good game in Cleveland Friday night featuring two of the top players in Ohio. Medina, featuring Junior Kenny Kaminiski who is signed with Michigan State and Strongsville, featuring one of the top seniors in the state in Iowa signee Aaron White. My Strongsville Spy (Joe Mannix) has this recap and scouting report to convey.
Strongsville got beat on a last second three pointer. Kenny Kaminski did not have a very good game. Was in foul trouble early and his minutes were kept to a minimum. He can shoot the three and also has good touch from 17 and in. Needs to work on his left..... goes to his right almost exclusively. Big kid that can handle the ball and sees the floor fairly well. A little lazy at times getting back on defense. Did not see much of his inside game.
Aaron White (6'8' kid going to Iowa) can shoot the 3 and has great rotation on his shot. Very lanky.....will need to put on 20-30 lbs of muscle or else will get pushed around in college. My guess is that he will red shirt his freshman year. He did have about 3-4 dunks, He dunks with ease!! Makes bad decisions when dribbling to the hoop......gets called for offensive fouls when he should be pulling up and taking the 8-10 footer. He did have some nice blocks. This kid is very long .....huge wing span.
Stay tuned for High school rankings and upcoming games of interest this week and weekend. There are some real good showcase tournaments this weekend - One at Warren Fitzgerald, One at Lansing Eastern and one at Delta College.
Till the next blog. Good night from your Basketball SNOB.
The top 5 teams in the country all won this weekend but 8 was the largest margin of victory.
#1 Duke beat Maryland by 7 at home, 71-64. I did not see this game
#2 Ohio State held off #22 Minnesota to win by a score of 67-64 at home. I did see this game and OSU had this game in hand but let Minnesota get back in it with under 4 minutes to go. Lighty had a solid game for OSU (19 pts) and Sullinger continues to impress down low. Freshman Guard Aaron Craft from Findley Ohio came in off the bench to lead the team with 7 assists and played well down the stretch for them and filled in for Lighty when he fouled out late in the game. This Ohio State team is good and deep. Not a big Ohio State fan but this team is going to stay at the top all year.
# 3 Kansas - survives scare in overtime in Ann Arbor and wins 67-60. Kansas did not look like a top 3 team in this game at all. Michigan shot poor, poor and poor. It took them almost 7 minutes (13:34 mark) to register their first field goal of the game. They shot 4-28 from three point range and still managed to almost pull it out. Kansas was averaging over 80 points a game and were held to 51 in regulation by a much undermanned defensive squad in Michigan. Michigan, which plays mainly man to man had to switch to zone to contend but switched back to man to man in the overtime period. This Michigan team is slow and small on the defensive end and they are typically one and done on the offensive end. How they kept in this game getting behind by 15 in the first half and shooting so poorly is beyond me. I tell you what I do like about them - young team that does not quit, Novak is like the energizer bunny and Tim Hardaway Jr. can flat out play.
#4 Syracuse got a scare from Seton Hall but ended up pulling away in the end. Joseph and Triche sparked my Cuse team offensively and Jackson was a beast as always on the boards with 14 rebounds. They made only 3-7 free throws including a couple one and ones down the stretch that kept Seton Hall in it until they got a nice defensive stop near the end and converted on the other end to seal their 16th victory with a 61-56 win.
# 5 Pittsburgh won 89-81 against Marquette at home. I taped this one but have yet to watch it.
Other games watched or of local interest.
Sparty gets stunned again this time by Penn State 66-62. I can not figure this team out. They have players that have moments where they showcase their true talent and then they have moments where they disappear or look awful. Draymond Green continues to be the consistent player that boards for this team. Delvon Roe looked good and strong going to the hole at times in this game but then again looked horrible on some short range shots. Derrick Nix - dare I say it - actually contributed for a 5 minute span. Summers continues to shoot well from the outside but is getting no one else that can knock it down consistently. Missed free throws cost this team and Keith Appling is falling into obscure ville. This team is very soft inside defensively and it is beginning to show. I would really like to see Adrian Payne step up and provide some toughness and rebounding in the paint. This team is not playing to its potential and I am beginning to think it will not happen this year.
Oakland University followed up their Thursday win with a trouncing of W. Illinois, 79-50 on Saturday evening. Was hoping to make it over to this one but didn't. Looked like they had very well balanced scoring with Hudson leading the team with 18 points and Bader dropping another 15 - all on three pointers. This kid has a great stroke and reminds me of another Kangas.
University of Detroit beat Illinois-Chicago for their 3rd win in their last 4 games. They were led once again by Freshman Ray McCallum (Detroit Country Day - McDonald's HS All American) who scored 17 including a rebounded missed free throw put back basket with less than 2 seconds to seal the win, 72-69. McCallum is playing up to his billing as he is the 4th highest scoring freshman in the country averaging 15.8 per game. UD is now tied for the division lead following Cleveland State's two losses this weekend to Butler and Valpo. I hope to see UD contend for the title with Bulter and Cleveland State but have three huge games coming up. They play home against Butler on the 14th and Valpo on the 16th and then travel to play Cleveland State on the 20th.
A shout out to my son's college at Western Michigan. He reported live via text from the ZOO student section to let me know that Western beat rival Central Michigan in overtime 63-56. Freshman Trey Zeigler (Mt. Pleasant HS) led CMU with 22 points including a lay up as time was expiring in regulation to send it into overtime. Demetrius Ward (Detroit Pershing) led WMU with 21 including 9 in the overtime period. Western has now won 3 in a row.
Also watched some of the Purdue - Iowa game today mainly because I was interested in seeing how freshman Roy Marble Jr (Southfield) is doing for the Hawkeyes. He had started the last two games but was actually first off the bench for them today. He played almost 25 minutes and has been getting increased playing time as the season goes on. He has not scored a lot and had 6 points today in their blowout loss to Purdue 75-52. Purdue is a strong team and for sure the second best team in the Big Ten behind Ohio State.
Texas - Connecticut was a Great game to watch. I predicted on two previous blogs that Texas would win this game. I hate admitting when I am wrong but Connecticut and Kemba Walker made me eat my words. However the outcome could have been different if the ref did not blow a big call with under 10 seconds. Texas took the ball to the hole with the game tied with just under 10 seconds and there was significant contact and no call. It could have been called either way, a block or a charge but something should have been called. In watching the replay several times and being a retired ref it was clear this was a block. In addition, it looked like they blew the goal tending call on the same play. Texas got screwed on this one and should have won that game. Regardless it went into overtime and Walker hit two unbelievable shots, the first was a hip shot off balance launch from about 30 feet just to beat the play clock that found nothing but the net, the next was the game winner with 5 seconds to go on a sick cross over penetration pull back jumper from about 15 feet for a 82-81 OT win. Texas lead the majority of the game and I thought outplayed them but why they would not double team or trap Walker when Connecticut had the ball down the stretch is a mystery to me. He is clearly the best player on the floor and they tried to contain him with man to man cover with no off ball help. It cost them.
HIGH SCHOOL HOOPS
Muskegon Heights Tournament that I wanted to attend but couldn't.
DCD led by Amir Williams (Ohio State) 18 points and 6 blocks beat Cleveland MLK by 72-46.
Romulus was led by Justin Moss (Toledo) had 19 points in their 81-75 win over Chicago Vocational
Host Muskegon Heights was crushed by top 25 national power out of Chicago, Whitney Young. Whitney Young, who lost to Muskegon last year, got revenge this year in a big way winning 75-49. I have seen this team play on TV twice now and they are talented. Two seniors lead this team, Sam Thompson - 6'7" guard who is rated one of the top 40 players in the country and going to Ohio State and Luke Hager who is going to North Carolina Wilmington. They also have one of the best sophomores in the country in Thomas Hamilton and one of the top freshman big men in the country in 6'10" Jahlil Okafur. This team is loaded.
Detroit Southeastern beats Pershing this past week by 7
There was a good game in Cleveland Friday night featuring two of the top players in Ohio. Medina, featuring Junior Kenny Kaminiski who is signed with Michigan State and Strongsville, featuring one of the top seniors in the state in Iowa signee Aaron White. My Strongsville Spy (Joe Mannix) has this recap and scouting report to convey.
Strongsville got beat on a last second three pointer. Kenny Kaminski did not have a very good game. Was in foul trouble early and his minutes were kept to a minimum. He can shoot the three and also has good touch from 17 and in. Needs to work on his left..... goes to his right almost exclusively. Big kid that can handle the ball and sees the floor fairly well. A little lazy at times getting back on defense. Did not see much of his inside game.
Aaron White (6'8' kid going to Iowa) can shoot the 3 and has great rotation on his shot. Very lanky.....will need to put on 20-30 lbs of muscle or else will get pushed around in college. My guess is that he will red shirt his freshman year. He did have about 3-4 dunks, He dunks with ease!! Makes bad decisions when dribbling to the hoop......gets called for offensive fouls when he should be pulling up and taking the 8-10 footer. He did have some nice blocks. This kid is very long .....huge wing span.
Stay tuned for High school rankings and upcoming games of interest this week and weekend. There are some real good showcase tournaments this weekend - One at Warren Fitzgerald, One at Lansing Eastern and one at Delta College.
Till the next blog. Good night from your Basketball SNOB.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Grizz Golden from Beyond Arc
Went over to Oakland University tonight to see them play IUPUI (EIEIO) at the "O"rena. It was an impressive win for the Grizzlies especially considering they did it mainly without the services of Kito Benson (foul trouble) and Larry Wright (?). This was the team they had to beat for the Conference championship to get into the NCAA last year and I was expecting a tougher challenge than what I saw. Oakland won easy 85-71 and made the Grizz Gang (student section) happy for going over the 80 point mark as the students all received coupons for a 3.99 Medium Hungry Howies pizza. The real show tonight was the fact that the Grizzlies were Golden from beyond the arc. In the first half it was the Reggie Hamilton show as he hit 5 threes and had 18 at half and finished 7-8 from beyond the arc for a game high 28 points. In the second half it was the Travis Bader show as he hit 4 threes from the far left corner that were all net en route to 18 total points. He was 5-8 from three point land. The Grizz were an incredible 65% from behind the arc. I have to say I was most impressed with Bader. This red shirt freshman from Okemos will have a nice career here at OU. He is a 6'4" 2 guard who handles the ball surprisingly well and can move quicker than expected through traffic. He knows his limitations on the court and plays within his game and skill set. He has a real nice stroke and played almost the entire game - you can see him playing with a lot of confidence and is not afraid to knock down the long ball. In addition, he can get to the glass and board a bit. He had 6 rebounds in this game. I like this kid's game.
If you came to see Benson and Wright - you did not see much. Benson was in foul trouble early and picked up his fourth at the 15 minute mark of the second half. In addition, he looked slow and sluggish on the defensive side of the ball tonight but fortunately it did not hurt them. Hudson picked up the slack well down low and Drew Valentine played decent and contributed double digit points. For some reason though, this guy just looks and plays very awkward on the basketball court. Not sure why Wright wasn't playing, he was on the bench and did not look hurt but I suspect there was something wrong with him. I will have to get my OU spies out to investigate this for me. He is a component on this team that they will need. They also got a scare in this game when Eackles went down with what appeared to be a very bad ankle injury. Fortunately he came back and saw the court for the last few minutes. If this team stays healthy and gets their bench healthy (I swear there were more players inactive or hurt on the bench than reserve players - Petros, Lucas-Perry, Cushingberry, Sikora) there is no reason why they should not win the conference again and a championship. I will be very surprised if they lose more than 2 games the rest of the way. I have to give credit to Kampe as he is securing talent, getting the most out of his talent and developing talent for the next level. This team, and Kampe's sideline antics (that is why my wife goes to the games to see him jump up and down and yell) are entertaining to watch. Oh, by the way, the quickest kid on this team is Ryan Bass the freshman from Dayton Dunbar in Ohio. He doesn't get a lot of playing time but when he is on the floor watch how quick this kid is.
Michigan once again faded in the second half of last nights game with Wisconsin and after taking a lead into halftime ended up losing by 16. Although they have some nice freshman talent, their youth and inexperience continues to show. They play undisciplined at times and take some ill advised or untimely shots. They are learning and will continue to take some more lumps along the way. They will be lucky to finish middle of the pack in the Big Ten this year. After playing number #24 Wisconsin it doesn't get any easier as they host #3 Kansas this Sunday and then welcome in #2 Ohio State on Wednesday. Expect two big losses but if they were able to muster up an upset it would be a big boost for this young ball club.
Lets talk about UCF - WHO? - Yes UCF - University of Central Florida located in Orlando (where one of my good friends son attended for a few years before he realized that he couldn't get a degree if he didn't go to classes - sorry Zeke) and currently ranked in the top 25, in fact I believe they are ranked #20 in one poll. This team is currently 14-0 with two nice wins over Florida and Miami (would be even more impressive if it was football wins) but they play in the very weak Conference USA. Even though I do not think they are a top 25 team or deserving of that ranking this team could stay there for a while. Their only threat is Memphis, who they get on 1/26. They are known for the team with Michael Jordan's son. Sophomore guard, Marcus Jordan is their leading scorer averaging 18 a game. But what people don't know is that there are two Michigan products on this team and both are contributing. Tom Herzog, yes you read that right, the same Tom Herzog (7 footer from Flint Powers) that played at Michigan State and reminds me of Dr. Seuss, is averaging 20 minutes a game. They also have Freshman Isaah Sykes from Detroit Denby that is playing about 17 minutes a game. This team will get more ink as will their coach - Donnie Jones - who is known for recruiting talent and turning programs around. He sure has made a nice first impression on the Knight following.
University of Detroit won over Loyola tonight 83-71 and Freshman Ray McCallum continues to play well. He led the team in assists tonight with 6 and was second highest scorer with 16.
Boy does Xavier miss Jordan Crawford (another Detroit product). Xavier is off to an uncharacteristic 9-6 start and lost again tonight to a top 25 team, Cincinnati by 20. They were only able to score 46 points, heck I think Crawford had a couple of individual games last year that he went for more than this, well...maybe not...but close. Also absent from this team this yer is pure shooter Brad Redford who tore up his knee before the start of the real season. They could surely have used his outside shooting abilities to help this team this year.
Connecticut lost again - in a close one - to a top ranked team - Notre Dame but it serves to show that I feel this team is good but overrated. Once again Walker took 25 shots in the game. They will lose again to Texas on Saturday.
High School Update
Saw tonight where Saginaw destroyed Saginaw Arthur Hill (80-54) at Saginaw Valley State but the game was marred by a brawl in the stands where 6 people were taken into custody. These games have always and will continue to be intense and prideful contests not only for the players but for the fans and frustrated old jocks that are still trying to relive their past. Now this fight was started by young adults and kids but I have been to some of these games and let me tell you, the senior adults get just as passionate and heated at these games. They had 3500 people there tonight for a high school game. Got to love the following and passion but lets not let it spill over into real life feuds. As I suspected Saginaw won easily and is clearly the better team. Do not see much in SAH other than a gutsy, give it everything he's got player in Lydell Simon and Junior prospect Jordan Hare. Unfortunately that will never be able to compete with the athleticism and depth that Saginaw has this year.
Saw Taylor Perry (Jr - committed to Western Michigan) again this week in a blow out win over a pathetic Andover team. He looks solid and looked stronger and better than the game I saw a week earlier but the competition was nothing in this game either. He continues to go to the hole hard, was able to score both inside and outside (did not take a lot of shots) rebounded well again but still missed four penetrating layups or short distance shots. Has to improve at finishing around the basket.
I live one town over from Troy and have yet to see James Young play this year. Saw him twice last year as a freshman and in summer ball and was very impressed with his build, strength and ability to score. He had another big scoring night last game out with 31. This sophomore could be a real good one. Will get to a game of his soon.
Thanks to the Bank Hoops site and my buddy Double B - informed me that Matt Costello will not be playing in the game tomorrow night against SAH as he was ejected from his prior game and now has to sit out. Without him playing I am not going to make the trip. I will catch him in another good contest somewhere along the way.
Some Ohio hoops of interest for this Friday. My buddy Mannix is going to the game and will provide me with a report to get out to anyone interested. They game is between Medina and Strongsville of Cleveland. Medina features the #1 rated Power forward in the Junior class in the state of Ohio. He is 6'7" Kenny Kaminski who has already committed to Michigan State. Strongsville counters with the #1 rated power forward for the state of Ohio for the Senior class, Aaron White. White will be playing at Iowa next year. Wish I could be there to see this talent but will rely on my main man Mannix to deliver the scoop.
Got to hit the sack. That's it for now. Your Basketball Snob
If you came to see Benson and Wright - you did not see much. Benson was in foul trouble early and picked up his fourth at the 15 minute mark of the second half. In addition, he looked slow and sluggish on the defensive side of the ball tonight but fortunately it did not hurt them. Hudson picked up the slack well down low and Drew Valentine played decent and contributed double digit points. For some reason though, this guy just looks and plays very awkward on the basketball court. Not sure why Wright wasn't playing, he was on the bench and did not look hurt but I suspect there was something wrong with him. I will have to get my OU spies out to investigate this for me. He is a component on this team that they will need. They also got a scare in this game when Eackles went down with what appeared to be a very bad ankle injury. Fortunately he came back and saw the court for the last few minutes. If this team stays healthy and gets their bench healthy (I swear there were more players inactive or hurt on the bench than reserve players - Petros, Lucas-Perry, Cushingberry, Sikora) there is no reason why they should not win the conference again and a championship. I will be very surprised if they lose more than 2 games the rest of the way. I have to give credit to Kampe as he is securing talent, getting the most out of his talent and developing talent for the next level. This team, and Kampe's sideline antics (that is why my wife goes to the games to see him jump up and down and yell) are entertaining to watch. Oh, by the way, the quickest kid on this team is Ryan Bass the freshman from Dayton Dunbar in Ohio. He doesn't get a lot of playing time but when he is on the floor watch how quick this kid is.
Michigan once again faded in the second half of last nights game with Wisconsin and after taking a lead into halftime ended up losing by 16. Although they have some nice freshman talent, their youth and inexperience continues to show. They play undisciplined at times and take some ill advised or untimely shots. They are learning and will continue to take some more lumps along the way. They will be lucky to finish middle of the pack in the Big Ten this year. After playing number #24 Wisconsin it doesn't get any easier as they host #3 Kansas this Sunday and then welcome in #2 Ohio State on Wednesday. Expect two big losses but if they were able to muster up an upset it would be a big boost for this young ball club.
Lets talk about UCF - WHO? - Yes UCF - University of Central Florida located in Orlando (where one of my good friends son attended for a few years before he realized that he couldn't get a degree if he didn't go to classes - sorry Zeke) and currently ranked in the top 25, in fact I believe they are ranked #20 in one poll. This team is currently 14-0 with two nice wins over Florida and Miami (would be even more impressive if it was football wins) but they play in the very weak Conference USA. Even though I do not think they are a top 25 team or deserving of that ranking this team could stay there for a while. Their only threat is Memphis, who they get on 1/26. They are known for the team with Michael Jordan's son. Sophomore guard, Marcus Jordan is their leading scorer averaging 18 a game. But what people don't know is that there are two Michigan products on this team and both are contributing. Tom Herzog, yes you read that right, the same Tom Herzog (7 footer from Flint Powers) that played at Michigan State and reminds me of Dr. Seuss, is averaging 20 minutes a game. They also have Freshman Isaah Sykes from Detroit Denby that is playing about 17 minutes a game. This team will get more ink as will their coach - Donnie Jones - who is known for recruiting talent and turning programs around. He sure has made a nice first impression on the Knight following.
University of Detroit won over Loyola tonight 83-71 and Freshman Ray McCallum continues to play well. He led the team in assists tonight with 6 and was second highest scorer with 16.
Boy does Xavier miss Jordan Crawford (another Detroit product). Xavier is off to an uncharacteristic 9-6 start and lost again tonight to a top 25 team, Cincinnati by 20. They were only able to score 46 points, heck I think Crawford had a couple of individual games last year that he went for more than this, well...maybe not...but close. Also absent from this team this yer is pure shooter Brad Redford who tore up his knee before the start of the real season. They could surely have used his outside shooting abilities to help this team this year.
Connecticut lost again - in a close one - to a top ranked team - Notre Dame but it serves to show that I feel this team is good but overrated. Once again Walker took 25 shots in the game. They will lose again to Texas on Saturday.
High School Update
Saw tonight where Saginaw destroyed Saginaw Arthur Hill (80-54) at Saginaw Valley State but the game was marred by a brawl in the stands where 6 people were taken into custody. These games have always and will continue to be intense and prideful contests not only for the players but for the fans and frustrated old jocks that are still trying to relive their past. Now this fight was started by young adults and kids but I have been to some of these games and let me tell you, the senior adults get just as passionate and heated at these games. They had 3500 people there tonight for a high school game. Got to love the following and passion but lets not let it spill over into real life feuds. As I suspected Saginaw won easily and is clearly the better team. Do not see much in SAH other than a gutsy, give it everything he's got player in Lydell Simon and Junior prospect Jordan Hare. Unfortunately that will never be able to compete with the athleticism and depth that Saginaw has this year.
Saw Taylor Perry (Jr - committed to Western Michigan) again this week in a blow out win over a pathetic Andover team. He looks solid and looked stronger and better than the game I saw a week earlier but the competition was nothing in this game either. He continues to go to the hole hard, was able to score both inside and outside (did not take a lot of shots) rebounded well again but still missed four penetrating layups or short distance shots. Has to improve at finishing around the basket.
I live one town over from Troy and have yet to see James Young play this year. Saw him twice last year as a freshman and in summer ball and was very impressed with his build, strength and ability to score. He had another big scoring night last game out with 31. This sophomore could be a real good one. Will get to a game of his soon.
Thanks to the Bank Hoops site and my buddy Double B - informed me that Matt Costello will not be playing in the game tomorrow night against SAH as he was ejected from his prior game and now has to sit out. Without him playing I am not going to make the trip. I will catch him in another good contest somewhere along the way.
Some Ohio hoops of interest for this Friday. My buddy Mannix is going to the game and will provide me with a report to get out to anyone interested. They game is between Medina and Strongsville of Cleveland. Medina features the #1 rated Power forward in the Junior class in the state of Ohio. He is 6'7" Kenny Kaminski who has already committed to Michigan State. Strongsville counters with the #1 rated power forward for the state of Ohio for the Senior class, Aaron White. White will be playing at Iowa next year. Wish I could be there to see this talent but will rely on my main man Mannix to deliver the scoop.
Got to hit the sack. That's it for now. Your Basketball Snob
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