I attended the Detroit Country Day - Saginaw Arthur Hill game Saturday night as my default game. I really wanted to attend the Romulus - Kalamazoo Central game but couldn't work it into my schedule and of course missed the better game. Anyway more on that later.
Detroit Country Day maintained their number 1 position in my rankings based on a furious fourth quarter pull away victory where they scored 30 points in the 4th to finish off SAH, 86-68. DCD started strong out of the box led by Amir Williams 8 points and 7 rebounds in the first quarter to stake them to a 21-7 lead. SAH Big man Jordan Hare picked up his second foul only 4 minutes into the game and sat for the remainder of the half. DCD led 39-26 at half as SAH outscored Country Day 19-18. Saginaw had an explosive 3rd quarter outscoring Country Day 30-17 to tie the game at 56 at the end of three. Arthur Hill got back into this with aggressive defense, quickness and attacking the basket. Just as Saginaw did it to Country Day they returned the favor in the 4th quarter by outscoring them 30-12 and running away with this one. Amir Williams was dominating presence underneath. He scored 32 points, had 18 rebounds, and 6 monster dunks. He was 8-10 from the free throw line and the remainder of his scoring came from within 6 feet. Jordan Price contributed 14 and Lee Bailey chipped in 12 in the win. Country Day is a deep team with players like sharpshooters Zavadil and Umasanker coming off the bench. Then you add sophomore Austin Price, who is too good to be sitting the bench as much as he does. However I did notice a weakness to this team in this game, their defense. They are known for have tough defenders but I will tell you that I did not see it in this game. They were definately outquicked in this game and Chris Fowler has been slowed by the knee injury and is not the defensive player he once was. Benjamin Batts led SAH with 21 and got by the DCD defense too easily in the second half. Jordan Hare also played well considering the limited time he played. He went right at Williams in the second half and hit three consecutive bank half hooks over Williams. He finished with 15 points, 13 in the second half with 2 dunks. He showed some tenacidy that I hadn't seen in him before. He will be tough to stop next year especially if he puts on about 25 lbs of muscle.
Hillsdale was there looking at Fowler. I hope for football because this guard is not as good as he thinks he is.
Albion was also there but not sure who they were looking at. Ray McCallum was there to see his old team mates play.
Romulus will move up in my rankings based on their strength of schedule and 69-68 come from behind victory over K-Zoo Central last night. Justin Moss led Romulus with 14 points but as usual was very balanced. This team is deep as well and I am really looking forward to their showdown with Country Day on Thursday, 3/3 at DCD. This will decide the number 1 ranking going into States.
SNOB's Rankings:
1. Detroit Country Day (1)
2. Romulus (3) Move up based on SOS and win over Kzoo Central
3. Ann Arbor Huron (2)
4. Detroit Southeastern (4)
5. Lansing Sexton (6)
6. Kalamazoo Central (7)
7. Saginaw (5)
8. Detroit Cody (9)
9. Gull Lake (12)
10. Lansing Eastern (10)
11. Grand Rapids Christian (13)
12. Flint Powers Catholic (15)
13. Chandler Park Academy (16)
14. Southfield (11)
15. Warren DeLaSalle (14)
My Strongsville Spy reported in late last night that he just saw a great game in the Cleveland area. The Number 1 team in the state of Ohio, Garfield Heights, who was 19-0 got knocked off by #15 Strongsville (15-5) 86-79 in OT in the season finale. Strongville was lead by their Big man, Aaron White (Iowa) with 36 points and guard Gurjeet Gil who finished with 27 pts. Garfield is a talented team and whose star player, Trey Lewis will be attending Penn State, who my spy says has better all around game than Keith Appling. Lewis had 24 but sophomore Tony Farmer led the losers with 30 points.
In case you were wondering, Ohio has some pretty good high school basketball too.
College Hoops
Jimmer Fredette and BYU showed they are the better team in the Mountain West and will fare well in the tournament with their 80-67 win over San Diego State. Fredette had 25 pts and showed he can shoot and score from the Moon. He has no limit on his range. He shots are as deep as Peeper Roberson (Saginaw) used to take except Fredette's go in. Fredette is from a small community in Glen's Falls NY called Lake George. I know it well as I spent a few lost weeks there in my youth vacationing and partying. It is known for its beautiful lake and a quaint resort town but soon will be known as the place Jimmer Fredette grew up. BYU stroked 14 - 3 pointers in that game and have others that can shoot as well. They are a tall team and will make some noise in the Dance. As Good as Fredette is, Kawhi Leonard is better. This kid is only a sophomore and has some much athleticism it is scary. He can flat out play.
My Syracuse boys pulled out another strong win over Georgetown, 58-51 as Scoop Jardine came to play and led the Orange with 17.
St. John's did it again and knocked off another top 15 team, this time on the road, beating Villanova 81-68. Dwight Hardy had 34 points and is the leader of this team that is on a mission. With the win, they might finish in the top 4 of the big east which would give them a double bye. My bold prediction is that St. John's is going to win the big east tournament. They are dancing for sure. They are the comeback team of the Year.
Kentucky beat Florida as I predicted, why not, they were at home.
I believe there is a relation between the #1 seed and the Sports Illustrated cover jinx. #1 Duke falls to Va Tech, 64-60 and that might be enough to get Va Tech in to the tournament.
Baylor, who I thought was out, is a little closer to being in after knocking off #21 Texas A&M, 58-51.
#5 Texas gets upset by Colorado 91-89 but that victory won't be enough to get Colorado (18-10) in to the tourney.
#10 Arizona gets clobbered by UCLA 71-49 and UCLA (21-8) is quietly kicking it into gear, just in time.
#18 Vanderbilt (21-7) is a team to keep an eye on in the tournament.
Michigan's big win over Minnesota gets them one step closer to the dance. A win over MSU on Thursday, will secure a spot for them. Hardaway and Morris are playing outstanding basketball for the Wolverines. Hardaway was 5-5 from behind the arc in the first half over Minnesota.
MSU lost ugly at home today to Purdue. Johnson showed Izzo and the Spartans the importance of a big man that can contribute on both ends. MSU will probably make the dance but I think they don't deserve it.
In case you haven't figured it out by now, my loyalties lie with the Orangemen and the Big East. Marshon Brooks broke the Big East single game scoring record this past week by scoring 52 in a 94-93 loss to Notre Dame. He broke a record that stood for almost 20 years. Brooks can flat our score, he is 2nd in the nation in scoring averaging 25 a game. You don't hear much about him because Providence is not one of the 11 teams that will make the Tourney. The Big East is the BIG BEAST. They will most definately get 11 teams in. They have 8 teams in the AP top 25, which has never happened before in the NCAA. They have 10 teams in the RPI top 40 and 26 out of 70 games between ranked opponents have been Big East clashes. It will be interesting to see how they will be distributed throughout the brackets in the NCAA.
That's it for now. Don't forget the big games on Thursday, 3/3:
Michigan State at Michigan
Romulus at Detroit Country Day
High School playoffs begin March 7 cultivating in the State Semi-finals at the Breslin Center March 24-26.
Your Basketball SNOB
Ray McAllum
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Thursday, February 24, 2011
My Old Kentucky Home
My Old Kentucky Home never rang so true as it has this year for the Wildcats. Why you ask......because they are horrible on the road this year. This Kentucky team has a record of 19-8 yet is ranked #22 in the country. Their home record is 16-0 and you guessed it, that makes their road record a dismal 3-8. How many teams do you know of that are in the top 25 and have lost 8 road games. Now I am not saying they are not a top 25 worthy team in fact based on their strength of schedule and their close road loses they are deserving. What I am saying though is strong teams find a way to finish and win on the road. Here is a breakdown of their road losses:
UCONN lost 84-67 one of only a few blowout losses
North Carolina lost 75-73
Georgia lost 77-70
Alabama lost 68-66
Mississippi lost 71-69
Florida lost 70-68
Vanderbilt lost 81-77
Arkansas lost 77-76 On Wednesday night
Six of those losses were by 4 points or less and five of those were by 2 or less. The Kentucky teams of old found a way to win those games. They have lost 4 consecutive road games and lost 6 of their last 7 road contests. The good news is that they have only three games left with two at home. If they hold true to this consistent performance they should upset #13 Florida on Saturday at Home and then avenge an earlier road loss to Vanderbilt on Tuesday before taking it the road to probably lose to Tennessee on the final regular season game. What a tale of two teams, 16-0 at home and 3-8 on the road. Their three road wins you ask............Portland, Louisville & South Carolina. With the SEC tournament held in Atlanta they will have to see if they can muster up some good old fashion home cookin' to carry them into the Big Dance or they could see an early second round exit in the field of 65.
Cincinnati's win over Georgetown last night in DC gives the Bearcats another claw in their paw as they head into the big dance.
Marquette's big 74-67 OT win over Connecticut tonight in Storrs should make Marquette the 11th Big East team to get a bid to the Big Dance.
Wisconsin's three point bank shot desperation buzzer beater was a shot to the gut of Michigan and may have dashed the Wolverines last chance at securing a bid to the tournament. What a shame as they played well enough to win this game.
Don't forget the following games this weekend:
Saturday
#7 BYU at #6 San Diego State University 2:00
#17 Syracuse at #11 Georgetown 12:00
#13 Florida at #22 Kentucky 4:00
#23 St. John's at #15 Villanova 2:00
Sunday
#4 Pittsburgh at #16 Louisville 2:00
#8 Purdue at Michigan State 1:00
On an NBA note - how about the debut for Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups at the Garden in the NY Blue. Three players score 20 or more for the Knicks and Stoudamire gets 19 on significantly less number of shots than Anthony. Carmelo drops 27 points with 10 rebounds in his new Blue uniform and Billups chips in 21. It was a party at the Garden last night but how long will this party last with the likes of Stoudamire and Anthony that both are use to be center stage spotlight. Time will tell if either team or egos wins out in this one.
Look for my High School rankings coming out this weekend. Good night from Your Basketball SNOB
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UCONN lost 84-67 one of only a few blowout losses
North Carolina lost 75-73
Georgia lost 77-70
Alabama lost 68-66
Mississippi lost 71-69
Florida lost 70-68
Vanderbilt lost 81-77
Arkansas lost 77-76 On Wednesday night
Six of those losses were by 4 points or less and five of those were by 2 or less. The Kentucky teams of old found a way to win those games. They have lost 4 consecutive road games and lost 6 of their last 7 road contests. The good news is that they have only three games left with two at home. If they hold true to this consistent performance they should upset #13 Florida on Saturday at Home and then avenge an earlier road loss to Vanderbilt on Tuesday before taking it the road to probably lose to Tennessee on the final regular season game. What a tale of two teams, 16-0 at home and 3-8 on the road. Their three road wins you ask............Portland, Louisville & South Carolina. With the SEC tournament held in Atlanta they will have to see if they can muster up some good old fashion home cookin' to carry them into the Big Dance or they could see an early second round exit in the field of 65.
Cincinnati's win over Georgetown last night in DC gives the Bearcats another claw in their paw as they head into the big dance.
Marquette's big 74-67 OT win over Connecticut tonight in Storrs should make Marquette the 11th Big East team to get a bid to the Big Dance.
Wisconsin's three point bank shot desperation buzzer beater was a shot to the gut of Michigan and may have dashed the Wolverines last chance at securing a bid to the tournament. What a shame as they played well enough to win this game.
Don't forget the following games this weekend:
Saturday
#7 BYU at #6 San Diego State University 2:00
#17 Syracuse at #11 Georgetown 12:00
#13 Florida at #22 Kentucky 4:00
#23 St. John's at #15 Villanova 2:00
Sunday
#4 Pittsburgh at #16 Louisville 2:00
#8 Purdue at Michigan State 1:00
On an NBA note - how about the debut for Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups at the Garden in the NY Blue. Three players score 20 or more for the Knicks and Stoudamire gets 19 on significantly less number of shots than Anthony. Carmelo drops 27 points with 10 rebounds in his new Blue uniform and Billups chips in 21. It was a party at the Garden last night but how long will this party last with the likes of Stoudamire and Anthony that both are use to be center stage spotlight. Time will tell if either team or egos wins out in this one.
Look for my High School rankings coming out this weekend. Good night from Your Basketball SNOB
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Monday, February 21, 2011
Top 10 Dumped Again
Another week and weekend where the Top 10 went down to defeat in numbers. Seven of the top 10 teams lost this week, only Duke, San Diego State and BYU won. I don't recall a year where we have had so much change with the top spot or within the top 10. This is a very balanced year and one where March Madness could come down to 10-12 possible teams that could win it. Here is a quick recap.
1. Kansas (25-2) Gets smoked by rival Kansas St 84-68 but bounces back with win over Colorado on Saturday
2. Texas (23-4) Loses to Nebraska on Saturday 70-67
3. Ohio State (25-2) Loses to #11 Purdue in one of the toughest and loudest places to win, Mackey Arena, 73-62
4. Pittsburgh (24-3) Becomes another MSG victim of St. John's, 60-59. St. John's is making a lot of noise
5. Duke (25-2) Wins 79-57 over Georgia Tech - they will be new number 1 and will stay there until NCAA
6. San Diego St (27-1) Beats Air Force 70-58. Should get number 2 spot but probably won't. Not enough respect for this team
7. BYU (25-2) Tops TCU 79-56. Looking forward to showdown with SDSU this coming weekend
8. Notre Dame (21-5) Drop game at West Virginia 72-58 on Saturday
9. Georgetown (21-6) Loses to #13 UCONN 78-70 on Tuesday but rebounds to win over USF on Saturday by 61-55 margin
10 Wisconsin (20-6) Lose to #11 Purdue on Wednesday 70-62 but bounce back against Penn St to win 76-66 on Sunday
You should see Duke #1 and San Diego State University # 2 but they won't put them at #2 because of Strength of schedule. You should also see Purdue and Arizona enter the top 10 and it would not surprise me to see St. John's in the top 25 as they have a SOS rating of 3 and RPI rating of 16 and just beat a very physical Pittsburgh team. The Big East will get 10 teams in for sure and now have a good shot of getting 11 in. That is dominance.
Speaking of the Big East, my Syracuse Orangemen had another scare at home against Rutgers as Rutgers missed a 3 at the end of regulation that would have given them a HUGE upset at the Carrier Dome. The Orange survived in OT thanks to Chris Joseph and won 84-80.
Michigan is keeping their NCAA hopes alive with a nice come from behind win at Iowa in OT as well. They won 75-72 and were paced by an unbelievable freshman performance by Tim Hardaway Jr who scored 30 and had a nasty in your face dunk down the stretched that he also got fouled on and converted the free throw. This young team is really starting to come together and will be a contender next year. They have won 4 out of the last 5 and need to win 2 of their last 3 to have a chance to make the dance. It will not be easy as they face Wisconsin at Home, Minnesota on the road and finish at home vs. Michigan State. That last game on Saturday March 5th could decide which Michigan team makes it in to the NCAA's.
Michigan State won a big game on College Game Day Saturday as Kalin Lucas once again carried this team to victory. He scored 25 and was not to be denied on this night in their 61-57 victory over Illinois. The Spartans are now 15-11 but only 7-7 in league play. They have 4 games remaining and will have to win at least three to be eligible for the Dance. They do have SOS on their side but must win at Minnesota and beat Iowa at home for sure. The games that will challenge them will be at home against Purdue (Saturday 2/27) and on the road at Michigan on 3/5. Sparty is at least playing more with a sense of urgency and desperation and they will need that to succeed.
Western Michigan won another close game at home on Saturday over Illinois State, 68-65. They have now won 6 of their last 7 and have won their last three at home by margins of 2, 3 and 2. They are 16-10 and are leading the Western Conference of the MAC with a 7-4 record. They are led by Demetrius Ward (Detroit Pershing) who has scored in double figures for 10 straight games now.
University of Detroit Mercy is fading fast and is at a disappointing 6th place in the Horizon league with a 9-8 conference record. They have lost 3 of their last 4 games and now sit at an even 500 record of 15-15 on the season. I was expecting better from this team especially with the addition of Ray McCallum. While he does lead the team in scoring at 14 a game and leads in assists I thought his play would translate to more wins. What will be interesting is if he will be a recruiting magnet for the better Detroit PSL players to stay at home and join forces with him going forward.
Oakland University continues to roll up the wins and the points. They won again at home for their 20th win of the season and 25 consecutive home conference win. They are now 20-9 on the season and 15-1 in conference and virtually impossible to beat at home in conference play. In their 105-96 win over South Dakota State they were led by 22 apiece from both Larry Wright and Travis Bader. Bader once again was strong from behind the arc as he was 6-10 from 3 point land. This Oakland team is very good and one that I predict will win a NCAA first round game for their first time ever this year.
Purdue's win over Ohio State showed that they can play with anyone and are a team to watch come tournament time. E'twaun Moore's record high 38 points was sick as no one from Ohio State could stop him.
Some great games this week and weekend getting us all amped for conference and tournament play.
Monday 2/21 #17 Syracuse (22-6) vs. #15 Villanova (21-6)
Wednesday 2/23 #23 Temple (21-5) vs. #5 Duke (25-2) - We will see if the Atlantic 10 can compete with the Dukies
Wednesday 2/23 #10 Wisconsin (20-6) vs. Michigan (17-11) - just a local game of big interest
Saturday 2/26 #6 San Diego State (27-1) vs. #7 BYU (25-2) - A chance for SDSU to avenge their only loss of the season
Saturday 2/26 #9 Georgetown (21-6) vs. #17 Syracuse (22-6) - at Verizon Center in DC
Saturday 2/26 #14 Florida (21-5) at #22 Kentucky (19-7) - Kentucky is terrible road team but this one is at home. Should be good game
Saturday 2/26 #15 Villanova (21-6) vs. St. John's (17-9) - St. John's is visiting but should be ranked in top 25 by then
Sunday 2/27 #4 Pittsburgh (24-3) at #16 Louisville (20-7) - We will see how well Pitt rebounds. Strength vs. Athleticism in this one
Sunday 2/27 #14 Purdue (22-5) at Michigan State (15-11) - local interest game again and Purdue will be in top 10 by then
Enjoy the games, it is heat up time for some or freeze and stay out in the cold.
Your Basketball SNOB
1. Kansas (25-2) Gets smoked by rival Kansas St 84-68 but bounces back with win over Colorado on Saturday
2. Texas (23-4) Loses to Nebraska on Saturday 70-67
3. Ohio State (25-2) Loses to #11 Purdue in one of the toughest and loudest places to win, Mackey Arena, 73-62
4. Pittsburgh (24-3) Becomes another MSG victim of St. John's, 60-59. St. John's is making a lot of noise
5. Duke (25-2) Wins 79-57 over Georgia Tech - they will be new number 1 and will stay there until NCAA
6. San Diego St (27-1) Beats Air Force 70-58. Should get number 2 spot but probably won't. Not enough respect for this team
7. BYU (25-2) Tops TCU 79-56. Looking forward to showdown with SDSU this coming weekend
8. Notre Dame (21-5) Drop game at West Virginia 72-58 on Saturday
9. Georgetown (21-6) Loses to #13 UCONN 78-70 on Tuesday but rebounds to win over USF on Saturday by 61-55 margin
10 Wisconsin (20-6) Lose to #11 Purdue on Wednesday 70-62 but bounce back against Penn St to win 76-66 on Sunday
You should see Duke #1 and San Diego State University # 2 but they won't put them at #2 because of Strength of schedule. You should also see Purdue and Arizona enter the top 10 and it would not surprise me to see St. John's in the top 25 as they have a SOS rating of 3 and RPI rating of 16 and just beat a very physical Pittsburgh team. The Big East will get 10 teams in for sure and now have a good shot of getting 11 in. That is dominance.
Speaking of the Big East, my Syracuse Orangemen had another scare at home against Rutgers as Rutgers missed a 3 at the end of regulation that would have given them a HUGE upset at the Carrier Dome. The Orange survived in OT thanks to Chris Joseph and won 84-80.
Michigan is keeping their NCAA hopes alive with a nice come from behind win at Iowa in OT as well. They won 75-72 and were paced by an unbelievable freshman performance by Tim Hardaway Jr who scored 30 and had a nasty in your face dunk down the stretched that he also got fouled on and converted the free throw. This young team is really starting to come together and will be a contender next year. They have won 4 out of the last 5 and need to win 2 of their last 3 to have a chance to make the dance. It will not be easy as they face Wisconsin at Home, Minnesota on the road and finish at home vs. Michigan State. That last game on Saturday March 5th could decide which Michigan team makes it in to the NCAA's.
Michigan State won a big game on College Game Day Saturday as Kalin Lucas once again carried this team to victory. He scored 25 and was not to be denied on this night in their 61-57 victory over Illinois. The Spartans are now 15-11 but only 7-7 in league play. They have 4 games remaining and will have to win at least three to be eligible for the Dance. They do have SOS on their side but must win at Minnesota and beat Iowa at home for sure. The games that will challenge them will be at home against Purdue (Saturday 2/27) and on the road at Michigan on 3/5. Sparty is at least playing more with a sense of urgency and desperation and they will need that to succeed.
Western Michigan won another close game at home on Saturday over Illinois State, 68-65. They have now won 6 of their last 7 and have won their last three at home by margins of 2, 3 and 2. They are 16-10 and are leading the Western Conference of the MAC with a 7-4 record. They are led by Demetrius Ward (Detroit Pershing) who has scored in double figures for 10 straight games now.
University of Detroit Mercy is fading fast and is at a disappointing 6th place in the Horizon league with a 9-8 conference record. They have lost 3 of their last 4 games and now sit at an even 500 record of 15-15 on the season. I was expecting better from this team especially with the addition of Ray McCallum. While he does lead the team in scoring at 14 a game and leads in assists I thought his play would translate to more wins. What will be interesting is if he will be a recruiting magnet for the better Detroit PSL players to stay at home and join forces with him going forward.
Oakland University continues to roll up the wins and the points. They won again at home for their 20th win of the season and 25 consecutive home conference win. They are now 20-9 on the season and 15-1 in conference and virtually impossible to beat at home in conference play. In their 105-96 win over South Dakota State they were led by 22 apiece from both Larry Wright and Travis Bader. Bader once again was strong from behind the arc as he was 6-10 from 3 point land. This Oakland team is very good and one that I predict will win a NCAA first round game for their first time ever this year.
Purdue's win over Ohio State showed that they can play with anyone and are a team to watch come tournament time. E'twaun Moore's record high 38 points was sick as no one from Ohio State could stop him.
Some great games this week and weekend getting us all amped for conference and tournament play.
Monday 2/21 #17 Syracuse (22-6) vs. #15 Villanova (21-6)
Wednesday 2/23 #23 Temple (21-5) vs. #5 Duke (25-2) - We will see if the Atlantic 10 can compete with the Dukies
Wednesday 2/23 #10 Wisconsin (20-6) vs. Michigan (17-11) - just a local game of big interest
Saturday 2/26 #6 San Diego State (27-1) vs. #7 BYU (25-2) - A chance for SDSU to avenge their only loss of the season
Saturday 2/26 #9 Georgetown (21-6) vs. #17 Syracuse (22-6) - at Verizon Center in DC
Saturday 2/26 #14 Florida (21-5) at #22 Kentucky (19-7) - Kentucky is terrible road team but this one is at home. Should be good game
Saturday 2/26 #15 Villanova (21-6) vs. St. John's (17-9) - St. John's is visiting but should be ranked in top 25 by then
Sunday 2/27 #4 Pittsburgh (24-3) at #16 Louisville (20-7) - We will see how well Pitt rebounds. Strength vs. Athleticism in this one
Sunday 2/27 #14 Purdue (22-5) at Michigan State (15-11) - local interest game again and Purdue will be in top 10 by then
Enjoy the games, it is heat up time for some or freeze and stay out in the cold.
Your Basketball SNOB
Friday, February 18, 2011
Powers Catholic CHARGES past Detroit Consortium
I traveled to Flint last night with my Sports Jockey (wife) to watch the Flint Powers Catholic - Detroit Consortium Prep showdown. I must admit, I felt that Consortium would win this game and as it happens a lot with me.......I was wrong. The Chargers came out strong and fast and Javonte Hawkins lit it up for 14 first quarter points and single handily outscored the Cougars. Hawkins drained 4 three pointers and staked Flint Powers to a 21-13 lead first quarter lead that they would never relinquish. The final score ended up being 73-52 and both Patrick Lucas-Perry and Hawkins were a two man show for the Chargers as they both chipped in 26 apiece with their combined scoring equalling the total (52) for Consortium.
Hawkins and Lucas-Perry were extremely impressive. When one was filling it up the other was observing and they traded off each quarter. Hawkins hit for 14 in the first, 10 in the 3rd. Lucas-Perry had 9 in the 2nd and 9 more in the 4th quarter. Hawkins has raised his game. The 6'5 Junior swing guard/forward has a real nice soft shot and outside jumper range of 22-25 feet. He was 5-7 from 3 point range and everyone that went in was all net. On several occasions he demonstrated explosive steps from the baseline to get to the basket. He is long so he covers great distances in a hurry with his long strides. He also has a real nice ball fake that he used effectively to get the defenders up in the air when he was on the perimeter and used it to go around them to the hole. Lucas-Perry showed me the smarts, confidence and quickness that seem to run in the family. He was exceptional from the point position either stroking the outside jumper (3 - three pointers) or distributing the ball on drives. He was 7-8 from the foul line and only had 2 turnovers the entire game.
In the 4th quarter Consortium was making a run at it and had cut the Powers lead to 49-42 with 5:30 left when Vince Adams (SR-Guard) came alive and scored 8 of his 10 total points including a nice one hand slam on a breakaway late to put an exclamation point on the victory. Adams is a nice defender and a real nice compliment guard player to Lucas-Perry. FPC had leads of 21-13 after one, 33-25 at half, 48-34 after three before barraging Consortium with a 25 point 4th quarter. I was really surprised on Consortium's inability to score on Flint's 1-3-1 zone defense. The lone bright spot for Consortium on this game was Jr guard, Travon Baker. He is a talented and quick guard that has some great moves and can dish off the drive. The problem in this game was his teammates inability to hold on to his passes and convert around the rim. Baker led the scoring with 13 and what really hurt Consortium was losing Super Soph, Vince Hunter, to early foul trouble. He picked up two quick fouls and exited the game only 4 minutes into it. He picked up his third early in the third and for some reason did not see the floor at all in the 4th quarter. I have to admit, being a retired ref, the calls certainly were going in favor of Flint. Detroit Consortium had 6 offensive fouls called on them this game and 3 of those, in my opinion, were bad calls. The Detroit coach obviously felt this way as well based on his courtside demeanor. I believe this Detroit Consortium team is well coached but something was off in this game for their coach. I couldn't understand why he went with a small lineup as he did not have the right personnel on the floor to bust the zone. He had much bigger size that he failed to utilize down low against Flint where they could have been more successful. In the 4th quarter he had Hunter (6'5), Wilms (6'10) and Peoples (6'5), who is a long player that can jump, on the bench. In my opinion he had the wrong mix of players and it showed as they had cut the lead to 7 only to lose by 21. Wilms, a talented and skillful 6'10 Junior does not start for this team and I don't know why. He did not get into the game until 3 minutes were left in the first quarter and trailing 15-9. He did get into foul trouble but only had 3 for the game and did not see much time on the floor. This kid needs playing time and is not getting it here. I think he has great upside. Now my sports jockey commented that she has seen him twice now and is not impressed, hasn't shown her anything yet. Once again.....I could be wrong and she could be right........but as the saying goes "I'd rather be happy than right". Bottom line for Consortium is that they were the number 1 team in Class C and got it handed to them last night and did not look strong in the process. They are a talented team but just didn't seem to gel as a unit, or at least the unit he had together last night didn't gel. If they can pull it all together they should rebound from this loss and be ready to compete in East Lansing in late March.
The other game that I wanted to attend was the Saginaw - Bay City Western game. Good thing I didn't go to this one. Saginaw blew them out 60-28. Not much of a game and Saginaw played without West Virginian signee, Tommy McCune. This was a real shock to me because I saw when I was out of town this week that Romulus handled Saginaw quite easily in beating them 72-54. That win might just get Romulus another notch up in my rankings. It also makes the 3/3 game with #1 Detroit Country Day look like a state championship game. Looking forward to that one.
I was surprised by how easily Southfield beat Pontiac, 70-50 on Tuesday. This Southfield team is very athletic but they have to gain that consistency to return to the Breslin Center
Great matchup tonight for the PSL championship between Detroit Cody and Detroit Southeastern. I think Southeastern is the better team and should win this one. They are another team that has a great shot at visiting the campus of Michigan State in March.
Have a Good weekend from your Basketball SNOB
Hawkins and Lucas-Perry were extremely impressive. When one was filling it up the other was observing and they traded off each quarter. Hawkins hit for 14 in the first, 10 in the 3rd. Lucas-Perry had 9 in the 2nd and 9 more in the 4th quarter. Hawkins has raised his game. The 6'5 Junior swing guard/forward has a real nice soft shot and outside jumper range of 22-25 feet. He was 5-7 from 3 point range and everyone that went in was all net. On several occasions he demonstrated explosive steps from the baseline to get to the basket. He is long so he covers great distances in a hurry with his long strides. He also has a real nice ball fake that he used effectively to get the defenders up in the air when he was on the perimeter and used it to go around them to the hole. Lucas-Perry showed me the smarts, confidence and quickness that seem to run in the family. He was exceptional from the point position either stroking the outside jumper (3 - three pointers) or distributing the ball on drives. He was 7-8 from the foul line and only had 2 turnovers the entire game.
In the 4th quarter Consortium was making a run at it and had cut the Powers lead to 49-42 with 5:30 left when Vince Adams (SR-Guard) came alive and scored 8 of his 10 total points including a nice one hand slam on a breakaway late to put an exclamation point on the victory. Adams is a nice defender and a real nice compliment guard player to Lucas-Perry. FPC had leads of 21-13 after one, 33-25 at half, 48-34 after three before barraging Consortium with a 25 point 4th quarter. I was really surprised on Consortium's inability to score on Flint's 1-3-1 zone defense. The lone bright spot for Consortium on this game was Jr guard, Travon Baker. He is a talented and quick guard that has some great moves and can dish off the drive. The problem in this game was his teammates inability to hold on to his passes and convert around the rim. Baker led the scoring with 13 and what really hurt Consortium was losing Super Soph, Vince Hunter, to early foul trouble. He picked up two quick fouls and exited the game only 4 minutes into it. He picked up his third early in the third and for some reason did not see the floor at all in the 4th quarter. I have to admit, being a retired ref, the calls certainly were going in favor of Flint. Detroit Consortium had 6 offensive fouls called on them this game and 3 of those, in my opinion, were bad calls. The Detroit coach obviously felt this way as well based on his courtside demeanor. I believe this Detroit Consortium team is well coached but something was off in this game for their coach. I couldn't understand why he went with a small lineup as he did not have the right personnel on the floor to bust the zone. He had much bigger size that he failed to utilize down low against Flint where they could have been more successful. In the 4th quarter he had Hunter (6'5), Wilms (6'10) and Peoples (6'5), who is a long player that can jump, on the bench. In my opinion he had the wrong mix of players and it showed as they had cut the lead to 7 only to lose by 21. Wilms, a talented and skillful 6'10 Junior does not start for this team and I don't know why. He did not get into the game until 3 minutes were left in the first quarter and trailing 15-9. He did get into foul trouble but only had 3 for the game and did not see much time on the floor. This kid needs playing time and is not getting it here. I think he has great upside. Now my sports jockey commented that she has seen him twice now and is not impressed, hasn't shown her anything yet. Once again.....I could be wrong and she could be right........but as the saying goes "I'd rather be happy than right". Bottom line for Consortium is that they were the number 1 team in Class C and got it handed to them last night and did not look strong in the process. They are a talented team but just didn't seem to gel as a unit, or at least the unit he had together last night didn't gel. If they can pull it all together they should rebound from this loss and be ready to compete in East Lansing in late March.
The other game that I wanted to attend was the Saginaw - Bay City Western game. Good thing I didn't go to this one. Saginaw blew them out 60-28. Not much of a game and Saginaw played without West Virginian signee, Tommy McCune. This was a real shock to me because I saw when I was out of town this week that Romulus handled Saginaw quite easily in beating them 72-54. That win might just get Romulus another notch up in my rankings. It also makes the 3/3 game with #1 Detroit Country Day look like a state championship game. Looking forward to that one.
I was surprised by how easily Southfield beat Pontiac, 70-50 on Tuesday. This Southfield team is very athletic but they have to gain that consistency to return to the Breslin Center
Great matchup tonight for the PSL championship between Detroit Cody and Detroit Southeastern. I think Southeastern is the better team and should win this one. They are another team that has a great shot at visiting the campus of Michigan State in March.
Have a Good weekend from your Basketball SNOB
Monday, February 14, 2011
Saginaw Soaring
Saginaw is up to its old ways.....pressure defense, full court trap presses, uptempo basketball and oh yeah........Winning. With their 67-63 win over Kalamazoo Central (#4) on Saturday they are now 14-2 and have won 7 straight and 13 of their last 14. Their only two losses this year are to Detroit Country Day (#1) and Lansing Eastern. I was at their loss against Lansing Eastern and they did not play well. I saw them their next game at Delta College against Chicago Orr, who had beaten Detroit Country Day earlier in the year, and asked one of the players beforehand if they were going to rebound and get back on the winning track. One of the players made the statement that they had several people playing sick during the Lansing Eastern loss and that they were not going to lose again. Well they completely dismantled the Chicago Orr team that day (91-47 on 1/17/11) and they have not lost since. This team is playing extremely well and is being led by a very underrated guard named Marquaivas Ford. This kid is an athlete and boy can he get to the hole and create. He had 23 against Kalamazoo Central in leading them to the win. This team is deep, athletic and now have a confident floor leader that puts the Nasty in Sagnasty. They are peaking and soaring at the right time and have now soared up my rankings. See rankings below.
Flint Carman-Ainsworth had a big win over Flint Powers Catholic last week as super soph Denzel Watts led the team with 19 points in the 62-57 victory. They too, like Saginaw, are getting on a run. They have won 5 in a row and defeated two ranked teams (FPC and Saginaw Buena Vista) in the last week. They are now 12-4 on the season.
There are some great games this week. Unfortunately for this Blog SNOB I have to travel out of town and will miss the showdown between Saginaw (#5 now in my latest poll) and Romulus (#3) on Tuesday night.
On Thursday (2/17) you have two great games between Detroit Consortium (#1 in Class C) at Flint Powers Catholic and the really big game between Saginaw (#5) at Bay City Western (#8). I would love to be at the Saginaw - Western game as Matt Costello is playing great now but I know that will be a sell out and I would hate to drive that far to get shut out. I will be at the Flint Powers Game. This Detroit Consortium team has 4 potential D-1 players. They will give Flint a game and I predict they will beat them on Powers Catholic's own court.
Basketball SNOB Rankings with last poll in parenthesis
1. Detroit Country Day (1)
2. Ann Arbor Huron (2)
3. Romulus (3)
4. Det. Southeastern (5)
5. Saginaw (10)
6. Lansing Sexton (7)
7. Kalamazoo Central (4)
8. Bay City Western (11)
9. Det Cody (8)
10 Lansing Eastern (6)
11 Southfield (13)
12 Gull Lake (15)
13 Grand Rapids Christ (18)
14 Warren DeLaSalle (8)
15 Flint Powers Cath (14)
16 Chandler Park Aca (16)
17 Det. Douglass (12)
18 Ypsilanti (17)
19 Petosky (19)
20 Inkster (NR)
Dropped Out - East Kentwood
Flint Carman-Ainsworth had a big win over Flint Powers Catholic last week as super soph Denzel Watts led the team with 19 points in the 62-57 victory. They too, like Saginaw, are getting on a run. They have won 5 in a row and defeated two ranked teams (FPC and Saginaw Buena Vista) in the last week. They are now 12-4 on the season.
There are some great games this week. Unfortunately for this Blog SNOB I have to travel out of town and will miss the showdown between Saginaw (#5 now in my latest poll) and Romulus (#3) on Tuesday night.
On Thursday (2/17) you have two great games between Detroit Consortium (#1 in Class C) at Flint Powers Catholic and the really big game between Saginaw (#5) at Bay City Western (#8). I would love to be at the Saginaw - Western game as Matt Costello is playing great now but I know that will be a sell out and I would hate to drive that far to get shut out. I will be at the Flint Powers Game. This Detroit Consortium team has 4 potential D-1 players. They will give Flint a game and I predict they will beat them on Powers Catholic's own court.
Basketball SNOB Rankings with last poll in parenthesis
1. Detroit Country Day (1)
2. Ann Arbor Huron (2)
3. Romulus (3)
4. Det. Southeastern (5)
5. Saginaw (10)
6. Lansing Sexton (7)
7. Kalamazoo Central (4)
8. Bay City Western (11)
9. Det Cody (8)
10 Lansing Eastern (6)
11 Southfield (13)
12 Gull Lake (15)
13 Grand Rapids Christ (18)
14 Warren DeLaSalle (8)
15 Flint Powers Cath (14)
16 Chandler Park Aca (16)
17 Det. Douglass (12)
18 Ypsilanti (17)
19 Petosky (19)
20 Inkster (NR)
Dropped Out - East Kentwood
Sunday, February 13, 2011
High School All Americans Announced - Detroit Represented
The McDonald's High School All American Basketball teams have been announced and once again there is representation from the D. Last Year we had two All Americans represented from Michigan. Keith Appling (Detroit Pershing - Michigan State) and Ray McCallum (Detroit Country Day - Univ of Detroit) and this year McCallum's teammate from the state Championship team a year ago, Amir Williams was selected. Williams is a 6'10" Center from Detroit Country Day and will be representing the state of Michigan for the West side in the game to be played in Chicago on March 30th.
It is a shame that a talented big man of his caliber could not stay in state and play for a much needed Spartan team next year but instead he will be filling the shoes of Jared Sullinger at Ohio State, who will most likely be leaving after his first year and will be a can't miss lottery pick in the NBA draft. All is not lost however for Izzo, as he is getting a High School All American player, and if I am correct, the first one from outside this state. Brandon Dawson, who is the #20 player in the country from Lew Wallace HS in Gary, Indiana has committed to play at Michigan State next year.
I have been fortunate enough to see 10 of these 24 participants, 2 live and 8 in televised games. Most of the other players I have at least seen footage or videos from AAU or You Tube. They are a talented lot in deed but I think the WEST team has the superior talent. Here is a quick rundown on some of the players followed by the rosters for each side.
- Austin Rivers is clearly the number one player and is a scoring machine. He has a great step back jumper to go along with his ability to score off the drive. - Michael Gilchrist plays for the number 1 team in the country (St. Patrick's - NJ) and has an outstanding inside and outside game. He has been compared to Scottie Pippen in his game and ability to contribute in any aspect of the game.
- Marques Teague is brother of Jeff Teague (Wake Forest - Atlanta Hawks).
- Cody Zeller is the third Zeller brother to be named All American.
- Marshall Plumlee follows his two older siblings and carries on the family tradition of playing at Duke for Coach K.
- Myck Kabongo is actually from Toronto and continues the pipeline for Rick Barnes at Texas who has now migrated three Canadians down to Texas
- Quinn Cook continues the long line of All American Players from Oak Hill Academy of VA.
- Rakeem Christmas is from Academy of New Church in Pennsylvania. This happens to be the alma matter of my good friend Mark Elder, who started the AAU TEAM Basketball program in North Oakland County some 10 years ago. He continues to stay active in it today and does a great job with the kids and the program. Christmas is quite the shot blocker and will help plug some holes that Syracuse will be needing next year.
- LeBryan Nash could be the best dunker of the bunch
Kentucky has 4 commits in this game
Duke has 3 commits in this game
North Carolina, Louisville, Ohio State & Syracuse all have 2 commits each playing in this game.
Here is a list of the teams and players.
EAST
# 3 Michael Gilchrist (St. Patrick's - NJ) 6'7 F Kentucky
# 5 James McAdoo (Norfolk Christian - NC) 6'8 F North Carolina
# 7 Brad Beal (Chaminade - Missouri) 6'3 SG Florida
#13 PJ Hairston (Hargrave Military - VA) 6'6 SG North Carolina
#16 Rakeem Christmas (ANC - PA) 6'9 C Syracuse
#18 Michael Carter-Williams (St. Andrews - RI) 6'5 SG Syracuse
#22 Kentavious Caldwell Pope (Greenville - GA) 6'4 SG Georgia
#27 Chane Behanan (Bowling Green - KY) 6'7 PF Louisville
#29 Shannon Scott (Milton - GA) 6'2 PG Ohio State
#30 Johnny O'Bryant (East Side High - MS) 6'10 PF LSU
#37 Marshall Plumlee (Christ - NC) 6'11 C Duke
#39 Quinn Cook (Oak Hill - VA) 6'1 PG Duke
WEST
# 1 Austin Rivers (Winter Park - FLA) 6'4 SG Duke
# 2 Anthony Davis (Perspectives - ILL) 6'10 PF Kentucky
# 6 LeBryan Nash (Lincoln - TX) 6'7 SF Oklahoma State
# 8 Marquis Teague (Pike - IND) 6'2 PG Kentucky
# 9 Myck Kabongo (Findley Prep - NV) 6'2 PG Texas
#10 Adonis Thomas (Melrose - TENN) 6'6 SF Memphis
#11 Khem Birch (Notre Dame Prep - MA) 6'9 C Pittsburgh
#12 Cody Zeller (Washington - IND) 6'11 PF Indiana
#15 Kyle Wiltjer (Jesuit HS - OR) 6'9 PF Kentucky
#17 Wayne Blackshear (Morgan Park - ILL) 6'5 SG Louisville
#20 Brandon Dawson (Lew Wallace- IND) 6'6 SF Michigan State
#36 Amir Williams (Detroit Country Day - MI) 6'10 C Ohio State
The Game will be televised at 10 EST on March 30th - don't forget to tape it or watch it.
Your Basketball SNOB
It is a shame that a talented big man of his caliber could not stay in state and play for a much needed Spartan team next year but instead he will be filling the shoes of Jared Sullinger at Ohio State, who will most likely be leaving after his first year and will be a can't miss lottery pick in the NBA draft. All is not lost however for Izzo, as he is getting a High School All American player, and if I am correct, the first one from outside this state. Brandon Dawson, who is the #20 player in the country from Lew Wallace HS in Gary, Indiana has committed to play at Michigan State next year.
I have been fortunate enough to see 10 of these 24 participants, 2 live and 8 in televised games. Most of the other players I have at least seen footage or videos from AAU or You Tube. They are a talented lot in deed but I think the WEST team has the superior talent. Here is a quick rundown on some of the players followed by the rosters for each side.
- Austin Rivers is clearly the number one player and is a scoring machine. He has a great step back jumper to go along with his ability to score off the drive. - Michael Gilchrist plays for the number 1 team in the country (St. Patrick's - NJ) and has an outstanding inside and outside game. He has been compared to Scottie Pippen in his game and ability to contribute in any aspect of the game.
- Marques Teague is brother of Jeff Teague (Wake Forest - Atlanta Hawks).
- Cody Zeller is the third Zeller brother to be named All American.
- Marshall Plumlee follows his two older siblings and carries on the family tradition of playing at Duke for Coach K.
- Myck Kabongo is actually from Toronto and continues the pipeline for Rick Barnes at Texas who has now migrated three Canadians down to Texas
- Quinn Cook continues the long line of All American Players from Oak Hill Academy of VA.
- Rakeem Christmas is from Academy of New Church in Pennsylvania. This happens to be the alma matter of my good friend Mark Elder, who started the AAU TEAM Basketball program in North Oakland County some 10 years ago. He continues to stay active in it today and does a great job with the kids and the program. Christmas is quite the shot blocker and will help plug some holes that Syracuse will be needing next year.
- LeBryan Nash could be the best dunker of the bunch
Kentucky has 4 commits in this game
Duke has 3 commits in this game
North Carolina, Louisville, Ohio State & Syracuse all have 2 commits each playing in this game.
Here is a list of the teams and players.
EAST
# 3 Michael Gilchrist (St. Patrick's - NJ) 6'7 F Kentucky
# 5 James McAdoo (Norfolk Christian - NC) 6'8 F North Carolina
# 7 Brad Beal (Chaminade - Missouri) 6'3 SG Florida
#13 PJ Hairston (Hargrave Military - VA) 6'6 SG North Carolina
#16 Rakeem Christmas (ANC - PA) 6'9 C Syracuse
#18 Michael Carter-Williams (St. Andrews - RI) 6'5 SG Syracuse
#22 Kentavious Caldwell Pope (Greenville - GA) 6'4 SG Georgia
#27 Chane Behanan (Bowling Green - KY) 6'7 PF Louisville
#29 Shannon Scott (Milton - GA) 6'2 PG Ohio State
#30 Johnny O'Bryant (East Side High - MS) 6'10 PF LSU
#37 Marshall Plumlee (Christ - NC) 6'11 C Duke
#39 Quinn Cook (Oak Hill - VA) 6'1 PG Duke
WEST
# 1 Austin Rivers (Winter Park - FLA) 6'4 SG Duke
# 2 Anthony Davis (Perspectives - ILL) 6'10 PF Kentucky
# 6 LeBryan Nash (Lincoln - TX) 6'7 SF Oklahoma State
# 8 Marquis Teague (Pike - IND) 6'2 PG Kentucky
# 9 Myck Kabongo (Findley Prep - NV) 6'2 PG Texas
#10 Adonis Thomas (Melrose - TENN) 6'6 SF Memphis
#11 Khem Birch (Notre Dame Prep - MA) 6'9 C Pittsburgh
#12 Cody Zeller (Washington - IND) 6'11 PF Indiana
#15 Kyle Wiltjer (Jesuit HS - OR) 6'9 PF Kentucky
#17 Wayne Blackshear (Morgan Park - ILL) 6'5 SG Louisville
#20 Brandon Dawson (Lew Wallace- IND) 6'6 SF Michigan State
#36 Amir Williams (Detroit Country Day - MI) 6'10 C Ohio State
The Game will be televised at 10 EST on March 30th - don't forget to tape it or watch it.
Your Basketball SNOB
All the MSG St. John's Wants
MSG - commonly known to be used in Chinese food and cause adverse effects or reactions is not what I am referring to here in the headline. The MSG in this heading is referring to Madison Square Garden, the home away from campus home for the St. John's Red Storm. However, it is having the same effect as the additive for top 10 teams. St. John's has beaten 4 top 10 teams this year in the Garden. How is that for performing on one of the biggest sports stages in the biggest city in America.
They have taken down Georgetown 61-58, Notre Dame 72-54, Duke 93-78 and most recently Connecticut 89-72. Senior Guard Dwight Hardy led the way with 33 points. This Red Storm team is surging now and leaving teams behind in their wake. No one expected anything from this team at the start of the year, in fact, in some publications, they were picked to finish either second to last or dead last in the Big East. Steve Lavin has done unbelievable things with this team this year and with his upcoming recruiting class (#3 in the country) but I for one am quite suspicious. Regardless, you can not argue with the success. They are now 15-9 on the year and ahead of Syracuse in the big east standings with a 7-5 conference record, while Syracuse sits at 7-6 in the Biggest and Baddest Conference in College Basketball. They are performing now and if they continue to perform I think this team has a good shot at making it into the field of 64, sorry my bad, field of 65. Want to guess where the Big East tournament is held......Madison Square Garden........Bolds well for the Johnies.
Speaking of the Big East - here is my current rankings for the Big East.
1. Pittsburgh (23-2 - Strong, deep team, tough to beat at Home. Wannamaker wanting to make it all the way this year. Just knocked off Nova in Villanova where they had not lost at home in over 4 years.
2. Georgetown (19-5) - Hottest team right now with 8 wins in a row. Freeman playing outstanding. Getting excellent play from perimeter. Big game with UCONN on 2/16
3. Notre Dame (21-4) - Hansbrough getting as much ink lately as older brother Tyler used to get. Match up type team that could get knocked off early in NCAA tournament
4. Villanova (19-6) - Good all around ball club, can defend, can play uptempo or slow it down.
5. Connecticut (18-5) - Losing some steam as the season winds down. Walker is a stud but will get double teamed and draw best defenders come tournament time. Unless this team finds different players to step up Walker can only carry this UCONN team as far as the elite 8
6. Louisville (19-6) - The athletes are beginning to play nice on the playground. This team is gelling at the right time and it may be poised to take a deep run in the Big East Playoffs.
7. Syracuse (20-6) - My Cuse boys are almost as frustrating to watch as the Spartans. They dropped two in a row to Georgetown and Louisville this past week as once again below average defense, foul trouble and inconsistent guard play is hurting the Orange.
8. St. John's (15-9) - Watch out for this team
9. West Virginia (16-8) - If they get the right matchups they can be a challenge for teams that are not expecting a lot from this Huggins team
10. Cincinnati (19-5) - This team gets no recognition but at 7-5 in the Big East they are now starting to get looks.
Ohio State goes down to Wisconsin on Saturday - was this a surprise. To me, it would not have been if you called this before the game started. Heck, Ohio State had lost I believe their last 6 or 8 times in Wisconsin. They rarely lose at the Kohl's Center where they are something like 150-19 or something ridiciolous like that. They were favored by boys in Vegas too. But once the game was being played and Ohio State jumped out to a 16 point lead, there was no way I thought this team would relinquish the lead, even in the Kohl's Center. Despite the loss, this is still one, if not the best team, in the nation. They have everything you want in a team from athleticism, balance scoring, perimeter shooters, defenders, transition players, rebounding strength, etc. They will be a Final Four team.
Ohio State was not the only team blowing a big lead in a big game this past week. The improving North Carolna Tarheels looked like they were going to upset Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium in one of the biggest rivalry games in all of college sports but they could not hand on and the crowd of Cameron Crazies carried the Dukies to a come from behind 6 point win.
Steve Fisher just keeps on winning at San Diego State - this team is legit. Watch out for them.
My College Hoops Top 10 Rankings:
1. Pittsburgh
2. Ohio State
3. Texas
4. Kansas
5. Duke
6. San Diego St - 25-1 - Have to give this team some recognition
7. Georgetown
8. BYU
9. Notre Dame
10 Wisconsin
College Player of the year candidates:
Jared Sullinger - Ohio State - this man is amazing. For a big man he has great hands, quick feet, strong body with control, gets great position on the low post and finishes or draws the foul and is one big man that can knock down a free throw consistently. He is My pick for National player of the year
Jimmer Fredette - BYU - He can shoot and he can score. He may not be tall (6'1") but he can create and he has long, long range. He may not be a lottery pick but will be a late first round pick in the draft
Kemba Walker - Connecticut - extremely talented - can hurt you a number of ways. Can flat out score.
Your Basketball SNOB
They have taken down Georgetown 61-58, Notre Dame 72-54, Duke 93-78 and most recently Connecticut 89-72. Senior Guard Dwight Hardy led the way with 33 points. This Red Storm team is surging now and leaving teams behind in their wake. No one expected anything from this team at the start of the year, in fact, in some publications, they were picked to finish either second to last or dead last in the Big East. Steve Lavin has done unbelievable things with this team this year and with his upcoming recruiting class (#3 in the country) but I for one am quite suspicious. Regardless, you can not argue with the success. They are now 15-9 on the year and ahead of Syracuse in the big east standings with a 7-5 conference record, while Syracuse sits at 7-6 in the Biggest and Baddest Conference in College Basketball. They are performing now and if they continue to perform I think this team has a good shot at making it into the field of 64, sorry my bad, field of 65. Want to guess where the Big East tournament is held......Madison Square Garden........Bolds well for the Johnies.
Speaking of the Big East - here is my current rankings for the Big East.
1. Pittsburgh (23-2 - Strong, deep team, tough to beat at Home. Wannamaker wanting to make it all the way this year. Just knocked off Nova in Villanova where they had not lost at home in over 4 years.
2. Georgetown (19-5) - Hottest team right now with 8 wins in a row. Freeman playing outstanding. Getting excellent play from perimeter. Big game with UCONN on 2/16
3. Notre Dame (21-4) - Hansbrough getting as much ink lately as older brother Tyler used to get. Match up type team that could get knocked off early in NCAA tournament
4. Villanova (19-6) - Good all around ball club, can defend, can play uptempo or slow it down.
5. Connecticut (18-5) - Losing some steam as the season winds down. Walker is a stud but will get double teamed and draw best defenders come tournament time. Unless this team finds different players to step up Walker can only carry this UCONN team as far as the elite 8
6. Louisville (19-6) - The athletes are beginning to play nice on the playground. This team is gelling at the right time and it may be poised to take a deep run in the Big East Playoffs.
7. Syracuse (20-6) - My Cuse boys are almost as frustrating to watch as the Spartans. They dropped two in a row to Georgetown and Louisville this past week as once again below average defense, foul trouble and inconsistent guard play is hurting the Orange.
8. St. John's (15-9) - Watch out for this team
9. West Virginia (16-8) - If they get the right matchups they can be a challenge for teams that are not expecting a lot from this Huggins team
10. Cincinnati (19-5) - This team gets no recognition but at 7-5 in the Big East they are now starting to get looks.
Ohio State goes down to Wisconsin on Saturday - was this a surprise. To me, it would not have been if you called this before the game started. Heck, Ohio State had lost I believe their last 6 or 8 times in Wisconsin. They rarely lose at the Kohl's Center where they are something like 150-19 or something ridiciolous like that. They were favored by boys in Vegas too. But once the game was being played and Ohio State jumped out to a 16 point lead, there was no way I thought this team would relinquish the lead, even in the Kohl's Center. Despite the loss, this is still one, if not the best team, in the nation. They have everything you want in a team from athleticism, balance scoring, perimeter shooters, defenders, transition players, rebounding strength, etc. They will be a Final Four team.
Ohio State was not the only team blowing a big lead in a big game this past week. The improving North Carolna Tarheels looked like they were going to upset Duke in Cameron Indoor Stadium in one of the biggest rivalry games in all of college sports but they could not hand on and the crowd of Cameron Crazies carried the Dukies to a come from behind 6 point win.
Steve Fisher just keeps on winning at San Diego State - this team is legit. Watch out for them.
My College Hoops Top 10 Rankings:
1. Pittsburgh
2. Ohio State
3. Texas
4. Kansas
5. Duke
6. San Diego St - 25-1 - Have to give this team some recognition
7. Georgetown
8. BYU
9. Notre Dame
10 Wisconsin
College Player of the year candidates:
Jared Sullinger - Ohio State - this man is amazing. For a big man he has great hands, quick feet, strong body with control, gets great position on the low post and finishes or draws the foul and is one big man that can knock down a free throw consistently. He is My pick for National player of the year
Jimmer Fredette - BYU - He can shoot and he can score. He may not be tall (6'1") but he can create and he has long, long range. He may not be a lottery pick but will be a late first round pick in the draft
Kemba Walker - Connecticut - extremely talented - can hurt you a number of ways. Can flat out score.
Your Basketball SNOB
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Romulus Rolls over Saginaw Arthur Hill
I took a drive over to Romulus tonight to see what I thought would be a somewhat competitive game. It was for about 3 quarters then it was lights out and a long bus trip home for the Lumberjacks of SAH. Romulus ended up outscoring SAH 31-12 in the 4th quarter to stake claim to one of the best teams in the area. The final score was 85-56. Romulus plays team ball and moves the ball extremely well. They go 8 deep and don't lose much when their starters take a breather. EC Matthews, the talented 6'4 sophomore guard, comes off the bench for this team along with sophomore Wes Clark and senior Stephon Edwards. They actually start 4 guards and one forward. Tonight at guard it was seniors James Boler, Derrick Stephens and Jaymyles Coleman along with Junior Ray Lee at the fourth guard spot and Senior Forward (Toledo) Justin Moss. Justin Moss led the scoring with 17 points to go along with his 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and a dunk. Myles Coleman chipped in 12 as well. Lee and Matthews only contributed 4 each but served up several dimes on the night.
Romulus came out strong out of the gate and led 21-7 after one but Saginaw started getting second chance opportunities and close buckets to close the halftime score to 34-28. Romulus stretched the lead again to 54-44 and when Lydell Simon, the heart of the Arthur Hill team, went out with a head injury from a nasty landing and it was all over for the Lumberjacks. Romulus used a string of 4 straight layups to pull away for good. Jr. Jordan Hare had an impressive game for SAH with 17 points, 10 rebounds, 8 blocked shots and 3 dunks including a reverse slam. Simon pitched in 13 points in the losing effort.
Romulus is a good basketball team but I did notice some potential weaknesses that could hurt them against strong teams come tournament time. They start a small lineup and it was obvious in this one that they can be outboarded by the opponents on the opponents offensive end. While they move the ball extremely well, I have a sense that they could struggle with quicker, pressing teams. Several times Ray Lee got caught in traps and appeared to panic a bit. I don't really see a floor leader on this team and that could cost them when they need someone to take over or energize the squad if they fall behind. I believe they might struggle with certain types of presses. However, they have 3 to 4 guys that can shoot the ball from outside, 4 guys that can handle the ball fairly well with good speed and they have the big man who is so strong underneath. Even though Moss got three of his shots rejected by Hare, he kept coming back and was a perfect 5-5 on the free throw line. He is tough down low and difficult to stop when he gets his momentum going. EC Matthews did not start and played a little more than half the game. He did help on the press and was able to get the ball up the court. I like his game. This kid has a smooth lefty stroke that reminds me of Paul Williams (Renassiance - Dayton). He is a good shooter from 18-20 range. He can handle the ball, is quicker than he looks, takes long strides with the ball and had an unbelieveable spin move in the lane for a bucket tonight. This kid will only improve the more he sees the court.
Ray Lee is a player that has the potential to turn it up a notch but seems to play reserved at times. He can go very strong to the hole and he likes to distribute. I don't think he is a good outside shooter and he needs to improve his defense. Wes Clark was a sparkplug off the bench and is only a sophomore. Romulus plays one of the toughest schedules and has come out virtually unblemished against Toledo St. Johns, Ann Arbor Huron, Chicago Vocational, Pershing, Hillcrest (Chi), Muskegon Heights and SAH. They still have to play Kalamazoo Central (2/26) and Detroit Country Day (3/3) both on the road before the tournament. Those last two games will be telling as to how good this team really is.
As for Jordan Hare, there is no question this kid is a talent but there are many aspects of his game he needs to work on. He is a great shot blocker but he defends a space instead of a man. He needs to put on some weight and strength. He was getting pushed around in the paint like a rag doll by Moss all night. He is a good outside shooter but does not look for the shot when he gets it on the elbow or on the free throw line. He is not too aggressive fighting for position and wanting the ball, he definately needs to get more physical. In his defense, the Saginaw players, except Simon, never once looked for him when he was posting on the block. It was as if he wasn't on the court with them. Bad coaching by not recognizing that they had to get him the ball especially when they had no one to penetrate once Simon went out. He does a lot of high post picks but holds his picks way too long and does not roll to the basket. Most of his points came off offensive rebounds but he does not stay active enough on the glass for a guy his size and with tremendous length and quick ups.
The Game I really wanted to be at tonight was Detroit Country Day at Kalamazoo Central but couldn't get over to that side of the state. My son goes to Western and was interested in going to the game but couldn't find anyone else that could go or drive so I don't even have a scout to report on the game. Not quite sure if they actually played though because I did not have it on their schedule but the Oakland Press today reported the game as tonight. As of 1 AM I still have not seen anything.
Speaking of Western Michigan, they have won 13 of 14 games. Could be making a run for the MAC title.
Oakland University finally lost, to UIPUI, who they completely trashed earlier in the year. Oh well, this team was bound to lose one league game after winning 20 straight. They are a real good basketball team. In fact they are better than MSU right now. In the beginning of the season, one of my buddies, double B, made the statement that Oakland was top 25 material. It was partly in jest but he was making the statement following the close loss to the Spartans in December. I got all over him and told him he was delusional. It looks like there is more truth to that statement now more than ever. I was the dilusional one to think that MSU could make another run at the final four. As of right now, they are NIT (not in tournament).
I have to come forward and say that I was completely off on my NFL Gridiron competition. Nothing like getting humbled nationally. I was in 7th place going into the Super Bowl and felt I could have finished anywhere from 3rd to 5th place. What I didn't count on was the teams that were behind me that had significant amount of players left. Well.....I finshed 49th nationally. Still not bad with over 300,000 participants but a far cry from the 3-5th place that I was spewing off. Wrong again, what can I tell you.
Have a good night. Your basketball SNOB
Romulus came out strong out of the gate and led 21-7 after one but Saginaw started getting second chance opportunities and close buckets to close the halftime score to 34-28. Romulus stretched the lead again to 54-44 and when Lydell Simon, the heart of the Arthur Hill team, went out with a head injury from a nasty landing and it was all over for the Lumberjacks. Romulus used a string of 4 straight layups to pull away for good. Jr. Jordan Hare had an impressive game for SAH with 17 points, 10 rebounds, 8 blocked shots and 3 dunks including a reverse slam. Simon pitched in 13 points in the losing effort.
Romulus is a good basketball team but I did notice some potential weaknesses that could hurt them against strong teams come tournament time. They start a small lineup and it was obvious in this one that they can be outboarded by the opponents on the opponents offensive end. While they move the ball extremely well, I have a sense that they could struggle with quicker, pressing teams. Several times Ray Lee got caught in traps and appeared to panic a bit. I don't really see a floor leader on this team and that could cost them when they need someone to take over or energize the squad if they fall behind. I believe they might struggle with certain types of presses. However, they have 3 to 4 guys that can shoot the ball from outside, 4 guys that can handle the ball fairly well with good speed and they have the big man who is so strong underneath. Even though Moss got three of his shots rejected by Hare, he kept coming back and was a perfect 5-5 on the free throw line. He is tough down low and difficult to stop when he gets his momentum going. EC Matthews did not start and played a little more than half the game. He did help on the press and was able to get the ball up the court. I like his game. This kid has a smooth lefty stroke that reminds me of Paul Williams (Renassiance - Dayton). He is a good shooter from 18-20 range. He can handle the ball, is quicker than he looks, takes long strides with the ball and had an unbelieveable spin move in the lane for a bucket tonight. This kid will only improve the more he sees the court.
Ray Lee is a player that has the potential to turn it up a notch but seems to play reserved at times. He can go very strong to the hole and he likes to distribute. I don't think he is a good outside shooter and he needs to improve his defense. Wes Clark was a sparkplug off the bench and is only a sophomore. Romulus plays one of the toughest schedules and has come out virtually unblemished against Toledo St. Johns, Ann Arbor Huron, Chicago Vocational, Pershing, Hillcrest (Chi), Muskegon Heights and SAH. They still have to play Kalamazoo Central (2/26) and Detroit Country Day (3/3) both on the road before the tournament. Those last two games will be telling as to how good this team really is.
As for Jordan Hare, there is no question this kid is a talent but there are many aspects of his game he needs to work on. He is a great shot blocker but he defends a space instead of a man. He needs to put on some weight and strength. He was getting pushed around in the paint like a rag doll by Moss all night. He is a good outside shooter but does not look for the shot when he gets it on the elbow or on the free throw line. He is not too aggressive fighting for position and wanting the ball, he definately needs to get more physical. In his defense, the Saginaw players, except Simon, never once looked for him when he was posting on the block. It was as if he wasn't on the court with them. Bad coaching by not recognizing that they had to get him the ball especially when they had no one to penetrate once Simon went out. He does a lot of high post picks but holds his picks way too long and does not roll to the basket. Most of his points came off offensive rebounds but he does not stay active enough on the glass for a guy his size and with tremendous length and quick ups.
The Game I really wanted to be at tonight was Detroit Country Day at Kalamazoo Central but couldn't get over to that side of the state. My son goes to Western and was interested in going to the game but couldn't find anyone else that could go or drive so I don't even have a scout to report on the game. Not quite sure if they actually played though because I did not have it on their schedule but the Oakland Press today reported the game as tonight. As of 1 AM I still have not seen anything.
Speaking of Western Michigan, they have won 13 of 14 games. Could be making a run for the MAC title.
Oakland University finally lost, to UIPUI, who they completely trashed earlier in the year. Oh well, this team was bound to lose one league game after winning 20 straight. They are a real good basketball team. In fact they are better than MSU right now. In the beginning of the season, one of my buddies, double B, made the statement that Oakland was top 25 material. It was partly in jest but he was making the statement following the close loss to the Spartans in December. I got all over him and told him he was delusional. It looks like there is more truth to that statement now more than ever. I was the dilusional one to think that MSU could make another run at the final four. As of right now, they are NIT (not in tournament).
I have to come forward and say that I was completely off on my NFL Gridiron competition. Nothing like getting humbled nationally. I was in 7th place going into the Super Bowl and felt I could have finished anywhere from 3rd to 5th place. What I didn't count on was the teams that were behind me that had significant amount of players left. Well.....I finshed 49th nationally. Still not bad with over 300,000 participants but a far cry from the 3-5th place that I was spewing off. Wrong again, what can I tell you.
Have a good night. Your basketball SNOB
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Super Sophs
If you look around the state, it is not hard to see that there is some serious talent lurking amongst the state sophomore class of 2013. Most of it rests with the guard positions. It is a good crop with some nationally rated or recognized players gracing the hardwood throughout our state. I am going to take a stab at my ratings and assessment of the players I have seen live and those that I have yet to see play in person. Let me pre-qualify by saying that there is very little separation from player to player in my rankings.
1. Monte Morris – Flint Beecher – all around playmaker – can do it all – point guard that can spot up and shoot from outside, pull up off the dribble but most effective when penetrating to the basket. Finds a way to get to the hole. Sees the floor well and an effective passer and gets the ball to the rim in the paint. Extremely poised on the court. May not be the quickest guard but has long strides and gets by his defender with smart body positioning and deceiving first step. Tough to take the ball from this kid. Not flashy but gets the job done and gets a lot of sneaky 20 point games. Growing 6’0” – 6’1”. If he continues to grow will be nice Big Ten point guard.
2. James Young – Troy – Improved tremendously from last year. Has grown to 6-4 or 6-5 and has thinned down a bit. Has a great stroke from the outside – has tremendous range on his jump shot. Can fill it up from 25 easy. Not tremendously quick but deceptive and can create space to get his shot off. Very good slasher player. Would be a nice 2 guard in D-1. Very long and a decent dribbler. Now playing the point a bit, still needs to work on his ball handling for the next level but goes strong to the basket and will stick around the boards and do some clean up work. Can get up as well. Tough to defend in high school at the guard position due to his length and size.
3. Vincent Hunter – Detroit Consortium – this is my dark horse kid. He is extremely athletic, good size (a solid 6-4) manlike body and possesses a lot of raw talent. He just looks natural on the court and is comfortable playing any position you put him at. He can handle the ball, he bangs it up down low, has another level that he can reach when he wants to. Can really get up and is very graceful, yet powerful, when he attacks the basket. Has really good form on his shot and is not afraid to put it up when being defended. Is a pretty decent defender himself. Looks a bit too carefree at times or perhaps not focused but this kid has talent and the build of a definite Big Ten player.
4. Lorenzo Bonnan – Dearborn Heights Robichaud – I have only seen him once this year but I really liked what I saw. I know Spicer gets most of the pub on this team but this is the kid that impressed me the most. He is very active, all over the court. Both on the offensive and defense side of the ball. He is constantly moving on the offensive side and covers a lot of the court in a hurry. He is a very long, rangy, energetic player who is a tremendous glider to the basket. He controls his body extremely well while in air, has great hang time and can get up. Has a nice pull back jumper and a good looking shot. Not sure just yet how good of an outside shooter he is but has the tools. A bit on the skinny side but if he fills out and continues to progress with his ball handling skills – another good D-1 point guard or 2 man in college
5. Cha Cha Tucker – Lansing Eastern – I know he is one of the most highly rated nationally of the Michigan sophomores but his size hurts him a little. What is exceptional about his game is the ability to dribble out of and through traps, his ability to see the entire floor and be one step ahead of everything. He has and creates energy on the floor. A true point guard by the sense of the definition. He looks to create and pass first but can score when he wants. He is probably the quickest of all the players ranked above him here but I am not sold on his outside shot yet and whether or not he is quick enough to create space to knock down the jumpers against the size and speed of the players on the next level.
6. EC Matthews – Romulus – this 6’3” wing guard is very strong and athletic. He could dominate right now on a very talented team but definitely plays team basketball. He defends well for his size. He does not hesitate to take the ball to the hole strong and he mixes it up under the boards as well. Has a good knack for the basketball. I see good leadership skills in this kid as well. In my mind, he is the difference maker for this teams run this year. If they make it to states and contend for the Championship it will because this kid continues to elevate his game.
7. Austin Price – Detroit Country Day – Nice looking point guard that is not getting enough playing time on this team. He has a smooth game, sees the court well, has nice form on his outside jumper – good from 15-18 foot range. Good ball handler and best of the dribble. Having trouble breaking into DCD lineup with strong defensive guards like Kenny Knight, Lee Bailey and Chris Fowler but he would be starting and playing 30-35 minutes on just about any other team.
Top Sophomores that I have not seen live
1. Bo Ziegler – 6’5 Forward – Detroit Community – same last name as Mt. Pleasant superstar now CMU starter, Trey Ziegler but can’t believe there is connection. You never know though. Certainly is getting the type of hype Trey was getting as a sophomore. Have yet to see him but rated nationally so I need to get to the D and see one of his games to assess his game.
2. Derrick Walton Jr – Chandler Park Academy – 5’10” Scoring machine. From what I have read, this kid is a pass first, score second player so his teammates must be guarded extremely well because this kid is dumping 25+ points a game consistently as of late. Will have to make a special trip to go see him play. Just wonder if he is scoring this much off inferior competition.
3. Steve Haney – Lansing Eastern – Have only seen him on you tube and in warm-ups. Has real nice form on his shot and is supposedly a very accurate shooter from the outside. Apparently he can score from inside as well. With a 6’6” frame and ability to shoot from outside he will be a valuable commodity down the road.
4. Denzel Watts – Flint Carmen-Ainsworth – Very, very quick guard from what I have read. Floor leader and scorer that will race the court. Hoping to see him sometimes before states.
High School Rankings: Top 20 - SNOB Style – These ranking are based on the combination of talent, potential and season results of these teams.
1. Detroit Country Day 11-2 Defeated Southfield quite easily – not many weaknesses on this team
2. Ann Arbor Huron 10-1 Should not lose again in regular season
3. Romulus 10-1 Have toughest schedule left – will play anyone
4. Kalamazoo Central 10-1 Plays next toughest schedule to Romulus
5. Detroit Southeastern 12-2 10-0 in PSL East division – very tough to do. Trio of Kearney, Gibson and Brown are good as any
6. Lansing Eastern 10-2 Will see how Haney fits in – if nicely this team should be right at home in East Lansing at the end of March
7. Lansing Sexton 10-0 Moving up my rankings based on ability to play as a team and win without best player Valentine for a number of games
8. Warren DeLaSalle 11-1 Will be challenging for them to stay in top 10 with loss of Bryan Mintzer, their top player. Strong defensively but have not played a very strong schedule compared to teams above.
9. Detroit Cody 12-2 Surprise team and another one that went 10-0 in the PSL West – very difficult to do.
10. Saginaw 11-2 Could be peaking at the right time and ready to make a state run.
11. Bay City Western 11-1 The big man, Matt Costello is turning it up a notch
12. Detroit Douglass 12-1 Still commander of the City league in Class B
13. Southfield 8-3 Talent component is there but results haven’t been
14. Flint Powers 10-1 Have dropped but to no fault of their own. Can climb with some wins over upcoming tougher opponents
15. Gull Lake 10-0 Have got my attention with drubbing (75-38) of a decently talented Otsego team
16. Chandler Park Academy 12-1 In the rankings due to Derrick Walton Jr.
17. Ypsilanti 10-0 Undefeated so they get a ranking but play lesser competition
18. Grand Rapids Christian 11-0 Handles usually tough East Grand Rapids pretty easily
19. Petoskey 11-1 Cory Starkey – 6’7” Bucknell Commit gets them on list
20. East Kentwood 10-2 Lost one point game to Rockford (49-48) last week
Must see upcoming High School games:
National Game
2/5 Poly Long Beach #4 vs. #40 Bishop Gorman Las Vegas – 6 D-1 Players
10:00 PM ESPNU
State Games:
2/5 Rochester at Avondale
2/5 Romulus at Muskegon Heights
2/8 Saginaw Arthur Hill at Romulus
2/11 Flint Powers Catholic at Flint Carmen-Ainsworth
2/12 Kalamazoo Central at Saginaw 3 PM
2/15 Saginaw at Romulus
2/17 Detroit Consortium at Flint Powers Catholic
2/19 Kalamazoo Central at Muskegon Heights
2/24 Kalamazoo Central at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix
2/26 Romulus at Kalamazoo Central
2/26 Detroit Country Day at Saginaw Arthur Hill
3/3 Romulus at Detroit Country Day
Your Basketball SNOB
1. Monte Morris – Flint Beecher – all around playmaker – can do it all – point guard that can spot up and shoot from outside, pull up off the dribble but most effective when penetrating to the basket. Finds a way to get to the hole. Sees the floor well and an effective passer and gets the ball to the rim in the paint. Extremely poised on the court. May not be the quickest guard but has long strides and gets by his defender with smart body positioning and deceiving first step. Tough to take the ball from this kid. Not flashy but gets the job done and gets a lot of sneaky 20 point games. Growing 6’0” – 6’1”. If he continues to grow will be nice Big Ten point guard.
2. James Young – Troy – Improved tremendously from last year. Has grown to 6-4 or 6-5 and has thinned down a bit. Has a great stroke from the outside – has tremendous range on his jump shot. Can fill it up from 25 easy. Not tremendously quick but deceptive and can create space to get his shot off. Very good slasher player. Would be a nice 2 guard in D-1. Very long and a decent dribbler. Now playing the point a bit, still needs to work on his ball handling for the next level but goes strong to the basket and will stick around the boards and do some clean up work. Can get up as well. Tough to defend in high school at the guard position due to his length and size.
3. Vincent Hunter – Detroit Consortium – this is my dark horse kid. He is extremely athletic, good size (a solid 6-4) manlike body and possesses a lot of raw talent. He just looks natural on the court and is comfortable playing any position you put him at. He can handle the ball, he bangs it up down low, has another level that he can reach when he wants to. Can really get up and is very graceful, yet powerful, when he attacks the basket. Has really good form on his shot and is not afraid to put it up when being defended. Is a pretty decent defender himself. Looks a bit too carefree at times or perhaps not focused but this kid has talent and the build of a definite Big Ten player.
4. Lorenzo Bonnan – Dearborn Heights Robichaud – I have only seen him once this year but I really liked what I saw. I know Spicer gets most of the pub on this team but this is the kid that impressed me the most. He is very active, all over the court. Both on the offensive and defense side of the ball. He is constantly moving on the offensive side and covers a lot of the court in a hurry. He is a very long, rangy, energetic player who is a tremendous glider to the basket. He controls his body extremely well while in air, has great hang time and can get up. Has a nice pull back jumper and a good looking shot. Not sure just yet how good of an outside shooter he is but has the tools. A bit on the skinny side but if he fills out and continues to progress with his ball handling skills – another good D-1 point guard or 2 man in college
5. Cha Cha Tucker – Lansing Eastern – I know he is one of the most highly rated nationally of the Michigan sophomores but his size hurts him a little. What is exceptional about his game is the ability to dribble out of and through traps, his ability to see the entire floor and be one step ahead of everything. He has and creates energy on the floor. A true point guard by the sense of the definition. He looks to create and pass first but can score when he wants. He is probably the quickest of all the players ranked above him here but I am not sold on his outside shot yet and whether or not he is quick enough to create space to knock down the jumpers against the size and speed of the players on the next level.
6. EC Matthews – Romulus – this 6’3” wing guard is very strong and athletic. He could dominate right now on a very talented team but definitely plays team basketball. He defends well for his size. He does not hesitate to take the ball to the hole strong and he mixes it up under the boards as well. Has a good knack for the basketball. I see good leadership skills in this kid as well. In my mind, he is the difference maker for this teams run this year. If they make it to states and contend for the Championship it will because this kid continues to elevate his game.
7. Austin Price – Detroit Country Day – Nice looking point guard that is not getting enough playing time on this team. He has a smooth game, sees the court well, has nice form on his outside jumper – good from 15-18 foot range. Good ball handler and best of the dribble. Having trouble breaking into DCD lineup with strong defensive guards like Kenny Knight, Lee Bailey and Chris Fowler but he would be starting and playing 30-35 minutes on just about any other team.
Top Sophomores that I have not seen live
1. Bo Ziegler – 6’5 Forward – Detroit Community – same last name as Mt. Pleasant superstar now CMU starter, Trey Ziegler but can’t believe there is connection. You never know though. Certainly is getting the type of hype Trey was getting as a sophomore. Have yet to see him but rated nationally so I need to get to the D and see one of his games to assess his game.
2. Derrick Walton Jr – Chandler Park Academy – 5’10” Scoring machine. From what I have read, this kid is a pass first, score second player so his teammates must be guarded extremely well because this kid is dumping 25+ points a game consistently as of late. Will have to make a special trip to go see him play. Just wonder if he is scoring this much off inferior competition.
3. Steve Haney – Lansing Eastern – Have only seen him on you tube and in warm-ups. Has real nice form on his shot and is supposedly a very accurate shooter from the outside. Apparently he can score from inside as well. With a 6’6” frame and ability to shoot from outside he will be a valuable commodity down the road.
4. Denzel Watts – Flint Carmen-Ainsworth – Very, very quick guard from what I have read. Floor leader and scorer that will race the court. Hoping to see him sometimes before states.
High School Rankings: Top 20 - SNOB Style – These ranking are based on the combination of talent, potential and season results of these teams.
1. Detroit Country Day 11-2 Defeated Southfield quite easily – not many weaknesses on this team
2. Ann Arbor Huron 10-1 Should not lose again in regular season
3. Romulus 10-1 Have toughest schedule left – will play anyone
4. Kalamazoo Central 10-1 Plays next toughest schedule to Romulus
5. Detroit Southeastern 12-2 10-0 in PSL East division – very tough to do. Trio of Kearney, Gibson and Brown are good as any
6. Lansing Eastern 10-2 Will see how Haney fits in – if nicely this team should be right at home in East Lansing at the end of March
7. Lansing Sexton 10-0 Moving up my rankings based on ability to play as a team and win without best player Valentine for a number of games
8. Warren DeLaSalle 11-1 Will be challenging for them to stay in top 10 with loss of Bryan Mintzer, their top player. Strong defensively but have not played a very strong schedule compared to teams above.
9. Detroit Cody 12-2 Surprise team and another one that went 10-0 in the PSL West – very difficult to do.
10. Saginaw 11-2 Could be peaking at the right time and ready to make a state run.
11. Bay City Western 11-1 The big man, Matt Costello is turning it up a notch
12. Detroit Douglass 12-1 Still commander of the City league in Class B
13. Southfield 8-3 Talent component is there but results haven’t been
14. Flint Powers 10-1 Have dropped but to no fault of their own. Can climb with some wins over upcoming tougher opponents
15. Gull Lake 10-0 Have got my attention with drubbing (75-38) of a decently talented Otsego team
16. Chandler Park Academy 12-1 In the rankings due to Derrick Walton Jr.
17. Ypsilanti 10-0 Undefeated so they get a ranking but play lesser competition
18. Grand Rapids Christian 11-0 Handles usually tough East Grand Rapids pretty easily
19. Petoskey 11-1 Cory Starkey – 6’7” Bucknell Commit gets them on list
20. East Kentwood 10-2 Lost one point game to Rockford (49-48) last week
Must see upcoming High School games:
National Game
2/5 Poly Long Beach #4 vs. #40 Bishop Gorman Las Vegas – 6 D-1 Players
10:00 PM ESPNU
State Games:
2/5 Rochester at Avondale
2/5 Romulus at Muskegon Heights
2/8 Saginaw Arthur Hill at Romulus
2/11 Flint Powers Catholic at Flint Carmen-Ainsworth
2/12 Kalamazoo Central at Saginaw 3 PM
2/15 Saginaw at Romulus
2/17 Detroit Consortium at Flint Powers Catholic
2/19 Kalamazoo Central at Muskegon Heights
2/24 Kalamazoo Central at Kalamazoo Loy Norrix
2/26 Romulus at Kalamazoo Central
2/26 Detroit Country Day at Saginaw Arthur Hill
3/3 Romulus at Detroit Country Day
Your Basketball SNOB
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