Tuesday & Wednesday Scrimmage Report.......

Two high profile scrimmages in two days for CPHR as we continue to watch teams show signs of how good they can be this year. Here are our thoughts from Tuesday and Wednesday action.....

Middletown's Chance Sorrel

Results from Tuesday's four team scrimmage at Dayton Dunbar HS: 

• Taft: Finished with a 3-0 record behind the shooting stroke of senior wing Jalean Lowe, who hit about a dozen triples in the three games. Senior post Adolphus Washington is slowly getting his basketball touch back and was effective on the block against the bigger Northland defenders. With Orlando Berry and Jermaine Freeman taking care of ballhandling duties the Senators got a lift from senior wing Fred Cannaday, starting for the injured Dwayne Stanford. Fred was able to take defenders off the dribble, hit the three pointer, and provided great energy on the defensive end. If the scrimmage at Dunbar taught us one thing it's that the road to the Ohio Division II State Title goes through Taft. 

• Middletown: Still playing without two starters, as Jalin Marshall and Zach Edwards recover from football injuries, the Middies played very well posting a 1-2 record with a win over Columbus Northland. While the Middies did struggle against the pressure defense of Taft and Dunbar they got solid attacking play from senior combo guard Geovonie McKnight. The key to the Middletown season might be how productive sophomore forward Vince Edwards and sophomore center Chance Sorrel are inside. Both had very good games in the win over a larger and physical Northland squad. 

Northland's Ty Hairston

• Dayton Dunbar: The hosts left the gym unhappy with their 1-2 win, the lone win coming against Middletown, but there obviously is talent on the team and it seems like they just had a bad day. Senior forward Deontae Hawkins and junior forward Damarion Geter weren't particularly active and Dunbar decided to shorten their rotation, which also hampered their intensity. Senior guard Andre Yates and senior wing Gary Akbar handled most of the scoring load for the Wolverines. Ultra-talented young guards Willie Greene (sophomore) and AJ Harris (freshman) struggled some against the pressure of such accomplished older players but showed that they have the talent to be stars at the highest level. 

• Columbus Northland: The almost unanimous preseason #1 team in Ohio at the Division I level did not play like it at Dunbar by posting a 1-2; with their lone win coming off a controversial no-call goaltending play against Dunbar. Northland did have two players produce however. Senior post Devon Scott looks like he might be a steal for the University of Dayton as his production on the boards and defense was matched by an increased offensive awareness down low, as well as flashing to the high post and passing the ball out of some of the Vikings' set plays. The other intriguing piece to the puzzle was the lone non-senior starter in SG Ty Hairston. Although he has some development left to do Hairston showed nice aggressiveness as well as some passing and ball-handling abilities. 

Results from Wednesday's three team scrimmage at Aiken:

Dunbar's AJ Harris

• Aiken: The Falcons are much improved in both their halfcourt offense and defense, providing a nice change of pace from the usual Aiken teams. Offensively senior SG Willie Moore did a nice job driving the lane and creating shots for the hot shooting sophomore SG Correy Cavins. The team also was effective in getting high-low action and lobbing the ball to senior forward Paul Woodson for easy scores. Defensively Aiken pressured the ball, led by senior PG Stevon Nelms, and forced some turnovers. It was poor ballhandling decisions against pressure that cost the Falcons some wins as late in games their lack of depth did show some. Aiken finished 1-1 against Winton Woods and 1-1 against Princeton. 

• Princeton: The Vikings might be a little disappointed in dropping both games to Winton Woods and splitting with Aiken but they were playing without likely leading scorer Malcolm Smith, a senior wing, who is out a few days with a minor injury. Senior combo guard Deion Isham was excellent today in attacking the rim and creating offense. Princeton got better play off the bench today but it is still a little tough to figure out exactly which players will fit best into Coach Anderson's rotation as most have played with inconsistency. 

• Winton Woods: In games CPHR saw Winton Woods posted the most wins, with a 2-0 record over Princeton and a 1-1 split against Aiken. This team is young but the talent is crazy! 6'7 junior wing Kwan Cheatham looked much improved today as his signature three point shot was falling and he was more active inside on the boards. Junior forward Trent Donald also was a high scorer for the Warriors as his power inside was tough for teams to match. The Warriors are another team that is extremely effective as a pressing defense but not yet refined at playing against the press as sophomores Ronnie Rousseau and Demetrius Suesberry showed their obvious talents but they also have to work on slowing down against pressure and not forcing the issue. By mid-season Winton Woods might be the team to beat in Division I locally. 

After enjoying Thanksgiving tomorrow CPHR will be spending all day Friday and Saturday in the gym seeing some of the top teams in Cincinnati, and Soutwest Ohio; stay tuned!