Happy Thanksgiving

Buckeye Prep would like to wish everybody  a very happy Thanksgiving! Enjoy spending time with family and friends, as life is truly short!!

Central Ohio High School Scrimmage-Misc. Notes

Jalen Robinson, Jordan Potts & Devon Scott

Billed as the 6th Annual Making the Right Call Boys Basketball Scrimmage, the one day event was held at the USA Sports Academy in Columbus, featured 18 teams from central, northern and southern Ohio, and afforded the teams in attendance the opportunity for some great pre-season work. Each team played anywhere from 4 to 9 abbreviated games consisting of 12-minute halves with a running clock. The following teams participated in the event: Thurgood Marshall, Westerville Central, Northland, Columbus Africentric, Eastmoor, Groveport, Bishop Hartley, Toledo Central Catholic, Toledo Rogers, Gahanna, Walnut Ridge, Columbus East, Trotwood Madison, Dayton Meadowdale, Dublin Scioto, Chillicothe, Indian Lake, New Albany and Pickerington Central.

Although I was there for only a short period of time, one thing I noticed was the fact the Northland is good. I know that comes as no surprise to anybody who even remotely follows high school basketball in this state, but seeing the size in the front court and the quality of their guard play just makes me wonder who can beat these guys. Boasting 3 division one players in Jordan Potts (UNC Greensboro), Jalen Robinson (Dayton) and Devon Scott (Dayton), the Vikings are the class of the state in Division I. If that wasn’t enough, Northland brings in first year head coach in Sean Taylor, formally from Columbus Eastmoor Academy, who always seemed to have done more with less. That will no longer be a problem for Taylor, who has always been considered one of the better coaches in central Ohio, as he now has his hands on the wheel of a high octane machine. Look for the Northland program to make big strides this year, and to reach new heights as a program under Taylor's leadership.

Grant Harris, Isaiah Brooks, Adam McCall & Dymeier Finch

I was also really impressed with Columbus Walnut Ridge. Although the Scotts possess good front line size with Malik Dime & Alasane Kah, the pressure their guards bring could be the key to their success, and is going to cause a lot of problems for central Ohio teams. With Grant Harris, Adam McCall, Dymiere Finch and Isaiah Brooks, Walnut Ridge has a lot of depth in the backcourt, and Coach Jason Bates has the flexibility to call in reinforcements to keep up the constant pressure. Throw in 6’3 Roy Alexander on the wing and it is easy to see why Ridge has a chance at a deep run in March.

I saw some good things with Thurgood Marshall. The small but scrappy bunch did better than anybody on Saturday at standing up to the neighborhood (Northland). 6’3 Joe Thomasson is the engine on that team and will be counted on to generate the bulk of Marshall’s offense.

Although Coach Sean Taylor left for richer soil at Northland, the cupboard is far from empty at Eastmoor Academy. Eastmoor has solid guard play with John Draper and Doug Richey, and is blessed with a lot of young talent in Xavier-Holston Sims, Elijah Barbour and Jalon Lewis. With experience, Eastmoor should remain relevant for the next couple of years.

I watched Gahanna play a few games and it was evident that they lack size in the post. In addition, with several new faces in the starting lineup, solid guard play will be important for the Golden Lions if they plan to contend for a league title this season. Junior Aaron Jackson’s play and leadership should dictate the level of success Coach Tony Stiab and his team achieves this season. There was a lot of good basketball on Saturday and I'm already hyped for the season to tip off.

Pictures

Africentric Middle School Boys Basketball Preview Recap

Seth Towns-6'4 C Columbus was Fantastic!

I spent Friday night checking out the action at the Africentric Early College Middle School Preview.  In terms of the format, the 6^th year event featured 12 middle school teams who each played 2, six minute quarters. Unlike the suburban middle schools, Columbus City League middle schools combine 7^th and 8^th graders, so a majority of the players were 8th graders.


One of the top teams at the event was Ecole Kenwood, and the clear top player was Seth Towns, a 6’4 center from Columbus. I have seen Towns play on several occasions, and in fact, he is listed as one of Buckeye Prep’s top 10 players, but his play on Friday night was eye opening. Towns impacted the game in every category. He scored the ball at all three levels, he rebound, he blocked a ton of shots, he pushed the ball in transition, found open teammates with the pass, and established himself as one of the top players in the state and a potential division athlete. Although Towns is thin, he is long, athletic and agile. If Towns continues to develop he could be special.

James May 5'9 SG Sherwood MS

Towns was not the only player who logged in a solid performance on Friday. Some of the other standouts included: Antwon Vaughn (Champion), Korey Burks (Hilltonia), James May (Sherwood), Osaretin Onaiwue (Sherwood), Azenda Johnson (Sherwood), Dexter Kolawski (Arts Impact), Clevon Beard (Woodward Park), Naquon Haynes (Woodpark), LeRieus Agnew (Westerville Genoa), Ryan Kennedy (Westerville Genoa), Nathan Moore (Berwick), Jalen Spencer (7^th grade-Mifflin), Kyree Bell (Africentric) and Keauntay Monie (Africentric).

Preview Team Results:

Champion MS-17 Buckeye MS-14

Echole Kenwood MS-15 Hilltonia MS-10

Sherwood MS-27 Arts Impact MS-22

Westerville Genoa MS-24 Woodward Park MS-13

Mifflin MS-25 Berwick MS-20

Africentric MS-19 Groveport Community School-4

Top10 Players 
Pictures

More Buckeye Prep Elite Showcase Videos

Below is a link to 2 additional highlight videos from the fall session of the Buckeye Prep Elite Showcase. Big ups to Cap City Hoops' Darnell Strickland for hooking up the videos!!.

Hightlight Video #3
Highlight Video #4
Highlight Video #2
Highlight Video #1

Taylor Gets Another 1000

2008 Gahanna Lincoln graduate Robbie Taylor has once again reached a personal basketball milestone. As he did his senior year with the Golden Lions to move up to 3rd on the school’s all-time leading scorers lists, the Mount Vernon senior guard recently scored his 1000th career point. Last night in Richmond, Indiana, against the 21st ranked Indiana University East, Taylor drained a 3-pointer with less than 1 minute left in the contest, and celebrated his 21st birthday with a 21 point outburst and his 1000th career point.

So far this season Taylor is off to a fast start and is averaging a little over 21 points per game. Just this past weekend Taylor was named Tournament MVP of the A+ Auto Brokers Invitational Tournament. In May of this year, Taylor will graduate from the NAIA Division II school with a business finance degree and plans to reside locally. Below is a link to a story about last night’s contest.

Article

Scott Chooses the Flyers

Devon Scott-6'8 C Northland

Earlier this morning, Northland's Devon Scott committed to Archie Miller and the Dayton Flyers. The 6'8 center will join Northland teammate Jalon Robinson in the Flyers' front court next. In an earlier story on Scott's decision we mentioned the fact that Scott was heavily considering Ohio University and Dayton. Congratulations to the UD coaching staff and the Scott family!