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Monday, January 18, 2010
Flyin’ to the Hoop all-event team filled with big stats and stars
Here is the Flyin’ to the Hoop all-event team, as announced at the end of the three-day, 18-game showcase:
Brandon Knight, 6-3 senior guard, Pine Crest School (Fort Lauderdale, Fla.)
Knight, the nation’s No. 1-ranked senior recruit, put on a show in both of Pine Crest’s games this weekend, wins against Princeton and Jefferson. His combined two-game stat line: 75 points, 18 rebounds, 9 assists. Plus, he might’ve had the biggest assist of all. Kentucky coach John Calipari, who is one of the final coaches in the running for the uncommitted Knight, flew to Cincinnati and drove to Kettering to see him in person, to the crowd’s delight.
Devonta’ White, 6-0 senior guard, Centennial High School (Roswell, Ga.)
After scoring 28 points with six rebounds and six assists in Centennial’s Saturday loss against Marion-Franklin, the point guard for the No. 3-ranked big school in Georgia torched Chaminade Julienne for 26 points, two rebounds and five assists in CJ’s dramatic final-minute win. Combined, White made 21-of-33 shots.
Geron Johnson, 6-3 senior guard, Dunbar
Johnson was one of the driving forces behind Dunbar’s blistering charge against Whitney Young (Chicago), ranked No. 16 nationally by USA Today, in a 98-76 win on Sunday night. Johnson finished with 13 points on 6-of-12 shooting and pitched in six rebounds, five assists and two steals while continuing to impress with his quickness and transition ability.
Gorgui Sy Dieng, 6-10 senior center, Huntington (W.Va.) Prep
In Huntington Prep’s game against Alter on Sunday, a 57-47 Huntington Prep win, Dieng scored 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting and grabbed 15 rebounds while collecting four blocks and two assists for the first-year, privately owned academy. Dieng, from Senegal, gained notice last summer at the Nike Global Challenge when he held Adreian Payne, the 6-10 Jefferson center and Michigan State recruit, to no field goal and no rebounds in a game.
Joe Staley, 6-3 senior forward/center, Chaminade Julienne
Against Centennial on Monday, Staley finished with 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting with five rebounds. He also made the deciding free throw with 14 seconds left in CJ’s 59-58 win. As he has all season, Staley showed a set of smooth inside moves that continues to get him to the basket, even with taller players guarding the post.
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Wayne’s Trice says Warriors ‘haven’t played well this entire year’
Wayne basketball coach Travis Trice took awhile talking to his team following the Warriors’ 53-43 loss against Montverde (Fla.) Academy in the Flyin’ to the Hoop boys basketball event on Monday, Jan. 18, at Trent Arena.
When he came out, he wasn’t much nicer.
One might think the coach of a 9-2 team with losses only to respected Gahanna Lincoln and Montverde, ranked No. 25 nationally by USA Today, would be somewhat pleased.
First quote: “We haven’t played well this entire year.”
Later, he talked about “trying to tell the guys about working hard every game.”
And that Montverde, despite the ranking, was “a team, I’m sorry, that was primed and ready for us to beat them.”
“Mentally,” Trice said, “we were very weak tonight.”
One of Wayne’s biggest problems Monday was the lack of offensive production by Travis Trice Jr. The Greater Western Ohio Conference’s leading scorer, at 23.3 points per game, finished with six points on 2-of-14 shooting, including 1-of-8 on 3-point attempts.
Trice was playing against taller guards — including 6-5 James Bell, a Villanova recruit who finished with 22 points, and 6-5 Jamail Jones, a Marquette recruit. But Trice Sr. said his son’s decision-making should have been better.
“If guys are taller, you don’t try shooting over them,” Trice Sr. said of some of Trice Jr.’s shots that were high arcs to avoid the long opponent arms. “I know some people don’t think so, but he’s been one of the best players in Dayton over the past couple years, and when things aren’t working, he has to be able to turn it into something else.”
But, wait a minute. Isn’t Wayne 9-2 and No. 1 in the DDN area Division I ratings?
“We’re 9-2, but we’ve probably only played a game and a half of good basketball all season,” Trice Sr. said.
Well, if the gap between how Wayne is currently playing and how the Warriors should be playing is so vast — “very, very big” was how Trice Sr. put it — we’d certainly like to see Wayne at full-potential.
That just wasn’t how the Warriors played Monday night.
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Here’s hoping for Dunbar-CJ, Round 2
Dunbar and Chaminade Julienne have provided two of the most inspiring performances in the Flyin’ to the Hoop boys basketball event at Trent Arena.
Dunbar, on Sunday night, sprinted out in front of nationally ranked Whitney Young and won 98-76. This afternoon, Jan. 18, CJ came from 13 points down in the third quarter to topple Centennial, which is ranked No. 3 among Georgia big schools, 59-58 on a free throw by Joe Staley with 12 seconds left and a wild defensive stop.
The two have already played, in the season’s second game that became a five-point Dunbar win.
Beginning in the minutes following that game at Dunbar High School, we found ourselves hoping the two would meet again.
Dunbar has improved to 11-0 with the state’s No. 1 ranking in Division II, and CJ is 11-1 and No. 5 in D-II.
“If we play them again, that means we’ve gone pretty far in the tournament, which is a positive,” said Staley, who finished with 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting. “That would mean we’re doing our jobs.”
Unfortunately, even though many of the Dunbar players and coaches stopped by Flyin’ to the Hoop on Monday, we couldn’t line them up on the Trent Arena floor this afternoon.
We wish we could. Regardless, we’re still hoping for Round 2.
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Memphis recruit leads big-time fourth quarter against Lakota East
Lakota East, which led the defending Georgia big-school state champion 26-22 at halftime, pushed to a 45-39 advantage to start the fourth quarter. The Thunderhawks had lost Sunday to drop to 5-5, and they were leading the No 4-ranked team in Georgia, Wheeler High School from Marieta, Ga. The players were excited.
A Cameron Lee basket made it 47-41 East with 7:20 left in the game, but the Thunderhawks didn’t score for the next four minutes in what became a 69-54 loss at the Flyin’ to the Hoop boys basketball event.
It was as strong a performance in one quarter as we saw, especially for a team as talented as Wheeler that needed a late surge.
During that four minutes East went without a point, Wheeler scored 15 consecutive points with a mix of pressure defense that forced turnovers (East committed 24 in the game) and energy produced by Jelan Kendrick, the 6-foot-6 Memphis recruit ranked the eighth-best senior nationally by Rivals.com.
After not playing much of the first half, Kendrick finished with 14 points, all scored in the final quarter as Wheeler made 14-of-16 free throws in the frame. The Wheeler pressure, meanwhile, frustrated East.
“That last quarter for some reason we felt like there was a shot clock,” said East assistant Clint Adams, who coached the team while head coach Wally Vickers tended to a family emergency.
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Top recruit scores 39, and Jefferson misses key scorer in Flyin’ loss
In front of Kentucky coach John Calipari, Pine Crest School’s Brandon Knight, the nation’s No. 1 recruit who remains uncommitted, scored 39 points in leading Pine Crest to a 68-61 defeat of Jefferson to the Flyin’ to the Hoop boys basketball event on Monday, Jan. 18.
Adreian Payne, the 6-10 Jefferson center and Michigan State recruit, scored 16 points on 4-of-11 shooting and grabbed 13 rebounds in the matchup between top 20 recruits. Payne is ranked No. 20 nationally by Rivals.com.
But Jefferson played its third game without injured forward Cody Latimer, who suffered a scary injury against Meadowdale on Jan. 9. Jefferson coach Art Winston said Latimer was heading up for a dunk when a Meadowdale player tripped and undercut him, causing Latimer to land awkwardly on the ground.
Latimer, a junior who picked up much of the scoring when teams focused defenses on Payne, was knocked unconscious for a few moments and sustained a concussion and a broken toe. Winston said Latimer also felt effects on his shoulder, which was already fatigued from football season.
Latimer left the Jefferson locker room with a pizza following the game and walked down the hall telling reporters he was feeling better, but a man pushed him along and said any questions about his injury should go to Winston.
Winston said Latimer would miss three to four weeks with the injuries.
Jefferson, ranked No. 7 in the state in Division IV, dropped to 8-2 with the loss.
Pine Crest, meanwhile, won its second Flyin’ to the Hoop game after topping Princeton by three points on Saturday. In two games, Knight scored a combined 75 points in bringing both big crowds and Calipari to Kettering.
Calipari had originally planned to land a helicopter on the Fairmont soccer field before fog canceled that idea Monday morning. Calipari and an assistant instead took a private jet.
But, that wasn’t without its problems, either. The weather caused the jet to be diverted from several Dayton-area landing strips, and the coaches instead landed in Cincinnati and rented a car to drive to Kettering.
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UD signee Ralph Hill impresses at Flyin’
During the summer, after Westerville North senior Ralph Hill committed to play basketball at the University of Dayton, Flyers coach Brian Gregory sent him a list of things to work on.
He CC’d Westerville North coach Kevin Thuman. A major priority: Shooting hundreds of free throws per day.
The work has showed. Thuman said Hill is averaging better than 90 percent from the line this season, and the 6-6 senior made 8-of-8 free throws as part of his 28 points in North’s 67-56 defeat of Flora Macdonald Academy on Monday, Jan. 18, at the Flyin’ to the Hoop boys basketball event at Trent Arena.
Hill made 9-of-15 shots and 2-of-6 3-pointers while collecting nine rebounds, three assists and three steals.
Even more, Hill was often matched against Flora’s Luke Cothron, a 6-8 North Carolina State recruit who finished with 23 points and eight rebounds.
Thuman said Hill’s commitment to the Flyers has created crowds littered with UD fans even at North games. Hill said he noticed the significant amount of Flyers fans in the crowd for the game on Monday, which North accepted in part to ensure Hill could play in the Dayton area.
“It was great to see the people out here who were excited,” Hill said.
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Calipari has landed
Kentucky basketball coach John Calipari took a private jet and a car to get to Trent Arena, and he arrived in the first few minutes of Jefferson’s game against Pine Crest School at the Flyin’ to the Hoop boys basketball event.
Calipari was escorted to a seat in an area semi-designated for scouting coaches and media, and he has assistant coach Orlando Antigua with him.
Calipari, like many in the building crowd, is here to see Brandon Knight, the 6-3 Pine Crest senior guard who is considered the nation’s top recruit. Knight is reportedly considering Kentucky, Kansas, Connecticut, Florida and Miami.
Flyin’ officials worked Sunday to plan for a helicopter landing for Calipari, but weather scrapped that flight.
During the first time out, Calipari accepted a line of autograph-seekers, and Antigua is helping by passing items to the middle of the row. When the timeout ended, officials asked the autograph-seekers to return to their seats so Calipari could watch the game.
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Dunbar’s major win: The day after
It was hard not to feel the energy of the Dunbar High School basketball team on Sunday night, Jan. 18.
Not just on the court, although that was significant energy against nationally ranked Whitney Young (a Chicago high school). The Wolverines and Dolphins started with an almost unreal pace that left the public address announcer calling for water by the second quarter. It was tough to look up and see the next basket after writing down the previous one.
Dunbar eventually led 51-30 at halftime and by as many as 35 points in the third quarter before beating Whitney Young, ranked No. 16 nationally by USA Today, 98-76.
Then, there was the energy afterward. Parents and players mingled on the Trent Arena floor for long enough that staff had to turn out the lights to encourage an exit, as the victory was the last of six games that day.
But there was a lot to celebrate. Dunbar, ranked No. 1 in the state in Division II, improved to 11-0 and looks to clearly be the team to beat during the tournament.
As the supporters met on the floor and buzzed about the game, you could feel them all wondering the same thing: Just how good is Dunbar?
Wolverines coach Pete Pullen tried to mute the excitement just a bit afterward by saying, “They just played last night, and travel, so they could’ve been tired or fatigued.”
He couldn’t help but smile.
“But I can’t take away anything from our team,’ Pullen said. “We played well, and I’m proud of the kids.”
Now, the stats: Six Dunbar players finished in double figures: Delve Givens (19), Deon Stewart (17), Ryan Bass (13), Geron Johnson (13), Derrick Benson (10) and Devon Carter (10). The Wolverines shot 57.7 percent (41-of-71) and forced 23 turnovers. They made 5-of-10 3-pointers and 11-of-15 free throws.
How about this: Dunbar had 33 points off turnovers.
So, just how good is Dunbar? The Wolverines next face a heated city league game against Meadowdale on Friday before meeting Trotwood-Madison on Sunday afternoon. With Marshall and Jefferson on the schedule, the Wolverines will also face out-of-area opponents Canton GlenOak, Shaker Heights and Buchtel.
The coaches, players and fans are excited, and there’s good reason to be. It was an outstanding performance, particularly in transition. Before his team’s game against Westerville North this morning, Flora Macdonald Academy coach Derrick Bond was buzzing about it.
There was, in fact, only one reason Dunbar was booed on Sunday night.
A foul with 15.5 seconds left that forced Whitney Young to shoot free throws allowed Dunbar the opportunity to get to triple digits. But, guard Roger Williamson quietly walked the ball up the floor to a round of jeers from the crowd.
The fans wanted to see 100 points. But, hadn’t they already seen enough?
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Calipari’s helicopter has been cancelled
Kentucky coach John Calipari’s planned helicopter landing at the Flyin’ to the Hoop boys basketball event today, Jan. 18, has apparently changed to a private jet and a car trip.
Flyin’ president Eric Horstman said word came this morning that weather issues wouldn’t allow the helicopter flight, but Calipari was still expected for the 1:15 p.m. game between Pine Crest School and Jefferson.
Pine Crest features 6-3 guard Brandon Knight, considered by many the nation’s No. 1 recruit who has Kentucky among his favorites. He scored 36 points, a 3-pointer with about 6 seconds left, as Pine Crest beat Princeton, one of Ohio’s best, on Saturday.
Hearing that he was expected to be here, several Kentucky sweatshirts and caps are already visible throughout Trent Arena as Flora Macdonald Academy and Westerville North prepare for the day’s first game.
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