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| November 19, 2007 |
| Columbus City League |
Basketball
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Harvest Prep 34 - Independence 25
Idependence surprised me. THey are young and inexperienced but long and
lean with some quickness. I think that by the middle of the season they could be
a tough team in the City League South. Harvest Prep is young and played
without their best big man but they look like they will develop into a nice team
with a good possiblity to advance rather far in the tourney.
Westerville South 34 - Eastmoor 28
Eastmoor was the most disappointing team to me. Antonio Bumpus is a very
nice player but when your team plays reckless undiscipline ball it is very easy to
get caught up in that ride. I thought Westerville South would really struggle
without BJ Cunningham this year but not so. They are not a team that you could
look past.
Portsmouth 27 - Gahanna 24
Gahanna has nice guard play with the Taylors. Their inside game needs some
work. Portsmouth had some decent size and a good guard that sometimes
makes questionable decisions with the ball. They will be kind of tough in their
league. Robbie Taylor controlled the game early but eventually Portsmouth size
overcame them. Steve Taylor looked good at times and like a true freshman at
others.
Cincinnati Western Hills 28 - Africentric 24
Africentric will not be a force. They have two guards and that about sums it up.
Tim Mapp is the driving force and Jay Meadows is a decent running mate but
doesn't seem to handle physical play very well. Western Hills has a nice guard
that shook up both of the Nubians backcourt duo. He was quite impressive but
unfortunately I didn't catch his name.
Bowling Green 29 - Cincinnati Woodard 29
Bowling Green and Cincinnati Woodard played to a tie. Both looked sloppy and
out of sync. Sorry but I am just being honest there. Not a normal performance
from Bowling Green who has been very well schooled fundamentally when I
have seen them play in the past. I will say that #33 for Bowling Green works his
butt off on defense. He guarded a guy 6 inches taller than him and wouldn't give
up the paint. Kudos to his effort.
Detroit Northwestern 21 - Brookhaven 20
Brookhaven was in it to win it against Detroit Northwestern but Northwestern out
worked them. Northwestern escaped with a one point victory. Chris Johnson is
cat quick and very explosive. Brookhaven did have problems connecting on
passess. Detroit Northwestern has a great point guard and very athletic big
men. They would be a force to be reckoned with if they were located in OHIO.
Northland 30 - Toledo Libbey 29
The big game of the night was Columbus Northland versus Toledo Libbey. Let
me tell you this, if you ever want to see an impressive dunking exhibition see
Libbey in scrimmage or preview lay up line. INCREDIBLE leaping ability from
just about everyone on the team. EVery kind of dunk imaginable in pregame.
When the game started Northland appeared to be tight (intimidated......nah).
Libbey eked out to lead that reached 17-13. Early in the 2nd quarter the highlight
of the night happened. JD Weatehrspoon of Northland caught a pass on the
baseline and rose over a Libbey big man and dunked the ball HARD with two
hands. That ignited Northland on a run which lead them to forge ahead of
Libbey. William Buford hit a couple of jumpers to regain the lead for Libbey but
with less than a minute to play Northland down by one point, the Vikings spread
the team out and gave the ball to Devon Moore. Moore showed why he is a
premier point guard in this state. He dribbled, drove and dished to JD
Weatherspoon who went strong to the basket. JD was fouled and hit both free
throws putting Northland back in the lead by one point. With four seconds left
Libbey was unable to get off a quality shot and lost by one point. Great effort by
both teams. Jared Sullinger showed that he is great talent inside and outside.
Sullinger owned the boards and showed he could shoot midrange jumpers as
well as three pointers. He even helped break the press and bring the ball up the
court. Sullinger also showed he is a formidable shot blocker as he blocked a
lob dunk attempt and a couple of other shots. For the record Toledo Libbey a
1,000,000 dunks in warmups and 0 dunks in the game. William Buford showed
that he is quick and has range on his jump shot. He will be a force on just about
every level he plays. He has great confidence. Look for both of these teams to
have very successful seasons.
-Vic
Idependence surprised me. THey are young and inexperienced but long and
lean with some quickness. I think that by the middle of the season they could be
a tough team in the City League South. Harvest Prep is young and played
without their best big man but they look like they will develop into a nice team
with a good possiblity to advance rather far in the tourney.
Westerville South 34 - Eastmoor 28
Eastmoor was the most disappointing team to me. Antonio Bumpus is a very
nice player but when your team plays reckless undiscipline ball it is very easy to
get caught up in that ride. I thought Westerville South would really struggle
without BJ Cunningham this year but not so. They are not a team that you could
look past.
Portsmouth 27 - Gahanna 24
Gahanna has nice guard play with the Taylors. Their inside game needs some
work. Portsmouth had some decent size and a good guard that sometimes
makes questionable decisions with the ball. They will be kind of tough in their
league. Robbie Taylor controlled the game early but eventually Portsmouth size
overcame them. Steve Taylor looked good at times and like a true freshman at
others.
Cincinnati Western Hills 28 - Africentric 24
Africentric will not be a force. They have two guards and that about sums it up.
Tim Mapp is the driving force and Jay Meadows is a decent running mate but
doesn't seem to handle physical play very well. Western Hills has a nice guard
that shook up both of the Nubians backcourt duo. He was quite impressive but
unfortunately I didn't catch his name.
Bowling Green 29 - Cincinnati Woodard 29
Bowling Green and Cincinnati Woodard played to a tie. Both looked sloppy and
out of sync. Sorry but I am just being honest there. Not a normal performance
from Bowling Green who has been very well schooled fundamentally when I
have seen them play in the past. I will say that #33 for Bowling Green works his
butt off on defense. He guarded a guy 6 inches taller than him and wouldn't give
up the paint. Kudos to his effort.
Detroit Northwestern 21 - Brookhaven 20
Brookhaven was in it to win it against Detroit Northwestern but Northwestern out
worked them. Northwestern escaped with a one point victory. Chris Johnson is
cat quick and very explosive. Brookhaven did have problems connecting on
passess. Detroit Northwestern has a great point guard and very athletic big
men. They would be a force to be reckoned with if they were located in OHIO.
Northland 30 - Toledo Libbey 29
The big game of the night was Columbus Northland versus Toledo Libbey. Let
me tell you this, if you ever want to see an impressive dunking exhibition see
Libbey in scrimmage or preview lay up line. INCREDIBLE leaping ability from
just about everyone on the team. EVery kind of dunk imaginable in pregame.
When the game started Northland appeared to be tight (intimidated......nah).
Libbey eked out to lead that reached 17-13. Early in the 2nd quarter the highlight
of the night happened. JD Weatehrspoon of Northland caught a pass on the
baseline and rose over a Libbey big man and dunked the ball HARD with two
hands. That ignited Northland on a run which lead them to forge ahead of
Libbey. William Buford hit a couple of jumpers to regain the lead for Libbey but
with less than a minute to play Northland down by one point, the Vikings spread
the team out and gave the ball to Devon Moore. Moore showed why he is a
premier point guard in this state. He dribbled, drove and dished to JD
Weatherspoon who went strong to the basket. JD was fouled and hit both free
throws putting Northland back in the lead by one point. With four seconds left
Libbey was unable to get off a quality shot and lost by one point. Great effort by
both teams. Jared Sullinger showed that he is great talent inside and outside.
Sullinger owned the boards and showed he could shoot midrange jumpers as
well as three pointers. He even helped break the press and bring the ball up the
court. Sullinger also showed he is a formidable shot blocker as he blocked a
lob dunk attempt and a couple of other shots. For the record Toledo Libbey a
1,000,000 dunks in warmups and 0 dunks in the game. William Buford showed
that he is quick and has range on his jump shot. He will be a force on just about
every level he plays. He has great confidence. Look for both of these teams to
have very successful seasons.
-Vic
Horton brings his kids out, I thought Indy may have been a little
The lost of Ronnie Stewart has already showed when it came to
Eastmoor. He used to keep the Eastmoor offense together with his
presents and ball handling skills. As Vic stated, they played messy
basketball and lacking in the rebounding department. Eastmoor went up
17-11 and went down hill late in the 2nd quarter. Eastmoor maybe could
have won if they played a full game, but without rebounding and discipline
basketball, it would have been hard.
I honestly thought Africentric would have done much better. They have a
decent starting five, but they aren't deep. They struggled with a Western
Hills team that went 2-19 last year. I think Africentric may have come away
with a win if they played a full ball game. I just think the Nubians much
improve if they want to be one of the top dogs in the city.
Brookhaven started off fast but folded down the stretch. Was a little messy
in the last quarter. I personally think they are better than Detroit
Northwestern and if they would have played the entire game, Brookhaven
would have came away with the victory. Watch out for the bearcats this
season.
As for the Northland vs. Libbey game, as Vic pointed out, Libbey's
pregame warm ups may have been the best part of the event. Think of a
dunk and they did it. Tomahawk, Cradle, Windmills, 360, and just about
their entire team was doing those dunks. I hope someone recorded so I
can get a video of it lol. But back to the game, Libbey jumped out early to
an 8-2 lead. Once Northland settle down, they was able to start get some
easy buckets. Jared Sullinger showed that you can no longer just focus on
his inside presents because he has now developed an outside game as
well with a couple of three balls. Down one, JD Weatherspoon was fouled
with 4.0 seconds left where he hit two free throws and sealed the one half
victory for Northland. I sure wish they would have played a full game
because it was very exciting.
As I stated, none of these games count with it being a Preview. That gives
coaches to make some lineup changes and see what they need to
improve to make their team better. Looking forward to a great basketball
season in 07-08.
-Mally
The lost of Ronnie Stewart has already showed when it came to
Eastmoor. He used to keep the Eastmoor offense together with his
presents and ball handling skills. As Vic stated, they played messy
basketball and lacking in the rebounding department. Eastmoor went up
17-11 and went down hill late in the 2nd quarter. Eastmoor maybe could
have won if they played a full game, but without rebounding and discipline
basketball, it would have been hard.
I honestly thought Africentric would have done much better. They have a
decent starting five, but they aren't deep. They struggled with a Western
Hills team that went 2-19 last year. I think Africentric may have come away
with a win if they played a full ball game. I just think the Nubians much
improve if they want to be one of the top dogs in the city.
Brookhaven started off fast but folded down the stretch. Was a little messy
in the last quarter. I personally think they are better than Detroit
Northwestern and if they would have played the entire game, Brookhaven
would have came away with the victory. Watch out for the bearcats this
season.
As for the Northland vs. Libbey game, as Vic pointed out, Libbey's
pregame warm ups may have been the best part of the event. Think of a
dunk and they did it. Tomahawk, Cradle, Windmills, 360, and just about
their entire team was doing those dunks. I hope someone recorded so I
can get a video of it lol. But back to the game, Libbey jumped out early to
an 8-2 lead. Once Northland settle down, they was able to start get some
easy buckets. Jared Sullinger showed that you can no longer just focus on
his inside presents because he has now developed an outside game as
well with a couple of three balls. Down one, JD Weatherspoon was fouled
with 4.0 seconds left where he hit two free throws and sealed the one half
victory for Northland. I sure wish they would have played a full game
because it was very exciting.
As I stated, none of these games count with it being a Preview. That gives
coaches to make some lineup changes and see what they need to
improve to make their team better. Looking forward to a great basketball
season in 07-08.
-Mally
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