Time for a Change

After two plus seasons of covering high school basketball in the Cincinnati area we at CPHR are reluctantly coming to you today to announce that we will no longer be running the website.

Unfortunately, time constraints and other basketball related projects have made it so that it is impossible to continue running this site on a consistent basis. The last thing that we would want to do would be to let our information continue to suffer, so we feel as a team that it is simply best to move on towards our other projects.

We would like to sincerely thank everyone who has ever visited this site, and especially those who have been kind enough to spread the word. One thing that we'll never stop doing as CPHR staff is trying to help young players from the area. We will still be running our statewide scouting based website, Triple Double Prospects, and from time to time plan on dropping scouting reports off of games that we are able to attend in the Cincinnati area. The hope is that with less projects on our plates we'll then have more time to focus on each individual project, such as content on TDP.

CPHR definitely looks at this moment as bittersweet, and the end of an era. As much as it is time for us to move on, we will very much miss every moment of the high school scene; and the purity of the game that is often lacking at other levels of basketball.

Before we sign off there are a few people that we would like to thank for working with us over the years, and for friendships that will last a lifetime. A few names that come to mind are Rich Hoyt, Kurt Stubbs, Ty Kish, Rodger Bohn, John Stovall, Rob Taylor, Tre Potter and Brad Konerman.

Also, we would like to thank the high school coaches, college coaches, AAU coaches, parents, fans and players who have not only frequented this site but also added to it with comments and feedback; it's been an absolute pleasure.

Thank you again for all the pleasant memories, and we look forward to seeing all of you around the city.

Yours truly,

CPHR Staff - Corey Albertson, JB Burgin, Daniel Watkins

Game Recap: Lakota East 72 Winton Woods 68

Stedman
 Lowry

By: Daniel Watkins

These D1 powerhouses both came into tonight’s matchup hoping to kick their week off with a big win. Lakota East led by senior guard Stedman Lowry looked to continue their winning ways and reach 5-0 while Winton Woods lead by junior point guard Ronnie Rousseau looked to win their second in a row in this young season.

From the tip it was obvious that Lakota East guard Stedman Lowry came out to play with his hot shooting performance in the first qtr giving him 15 early points as the Firebirds took a 22-21 lead going into the second. In the second qtr East continued with their hot shooting while taking their biggest lead of the game with 4 minutes left in the half at 37-29. With under a minute to go in the first half two quick scores by Winton Woods Ronnie Rousseau cut the lead in half and giving East a 43-39 halftime lead.

The opening part of the 3^rd qtr was very slow paced with little scoring for either team. With 4:30 to go Winton Woods began increasing their on ball pressure and started to force a few East turnovers. Thanks in part to those East turnovers Winton Woods Senior Forward Trent Donald started to feast on the East defense in numerous ways. Whether it was from the free throw line, tip ins, jumpers you name it, Mr. Donald was converting on them all. The senior forward pulled off 10 straight points to end the 3^rd, giving Winton Woods the 54-53 advantage.

This intense early season matchup came down to the 4^th qtr to see whose defense would make more key stops. With less than 5 minutes left in the final qtr East Stedman Lowry drained a 3 from the top of the key giving East a 62-60 lead. From that point on there was nonstop action until the buzzer sounded. After a crucial put back on offense by Winton Woods Trent Donald the warriors found them self up 67-66 with 2 minutes left. East caught Winton Woods sleeping on defense while throwing a layup alley-opp to give them a one point lead with under 1 minute left. After pair of free throws were made by East, Winton woods found themselves down 3 points with 15 seconds left. A costly turnover in the closing moments by Winton Woods Senior Forward Kwan Cheatham (Akron Commit) all but sealed it giving East the hard-fought road win 72-68.

After scoring 13 points in the first half Lakota East did a good job of slowing down the explosive Winton woods point guard Ronnie Rousseau who finished with 15 points. Winton Woods Trent Donald led all scorers with 28 huge points (12 of those coming in the 3^rd) Kwan Cheatham also chipped in 11 points to help the Warriors tonight. For East Stedman Lowry continued his early season scoring ways with 27 points. While only scoring 7 points in the second half Stedman did just enough to help his firebirds keep their perfect record at 5-0. Also for East senior guard Robbie Harpring was in double digits with 14 points.

Game Recap: Taft 70 Hughes 67

Taft's Tamarik Washington

When you walk into a gym on a Friday night all you can hope for is a close game and a high intensity atmosphere. Hughes and Taft sure brought the best of both worlds in those departments on Friday night at Taft’s downtown campus. With early placing in the CMAC standings at stake, the two teams battled back and forth all game long. Hughes controlled the first and third quarters, but in addition to the second quarter, Taft won the most important quarter, the fourth. 

Taft 70 Hughes 67

Senators coach Mark Mitchell is what you would describe as a risk taker. With only one minute to play and his team down 67-63, Mitchell put in junior guard Semaj Stevens (who had only played about two minutes earlier). That last minute of play was all Taft, and Stevens was one of the key reasons. After Taft junior guard Marcus Scott converted a four point play to tie the game the Senators got a steal and Stevens found himself at the foul line for the chance to put Taft back ahead. Stevens made one free throw, then came up with another loose ball off of a Hughes turnover and scored a layup with just two seconds left to give Taft a three point win.

The Big Red held the lead for most of the game, but turnovers down the stretch, missed free throws and foul trouble cost them in the end. After a dispute with the official score book, Angel Rivera was sent to the bench with less than a minute left after receiving what was ruled his fifth foul.

Both teams proved that they’re upper echelon CMAC teams, and that as we expected it’s going to be a competitive year in the city league.

Taft was led by the 15 points off of the bench by junior guard Tamarik Washington, and the 11 points of junior power forward Robert Smith. The Senators also got 8 points from Scott, 8 points from junior guard Antonio Gibson, 6 points from junior guard Kenny Kaufman, 6 points from junior wing Keron  Harris and strong contributions on the defensive end from DeAndre Smith and Devon Matthews.

The game was billed as the first matchup between Aaron Oden, a junior combo guard for Taft and the Senators most talented player, against his old school, Hughes. Oden was aggressive in attacking the rim in the first half, but missed the entire second half after sustaining a concussion going for a loose ball late in the half. Oden finished with 5 points in the Taft win.

Hughes got a game high 18 points off of the bench from a sharpshooting Mike Collins, who hit several big shots to keep Hughes in the game late in the third when the Senators were making a run. The Big Red also got 13 points from athletic junior power forward Dwight Nared, 12 points from their senior point guard Angel Rivera, and 9 points off of the bench from talented junior wing Derrick Long.

One of the reasons that Taft came out on top was because they were able to limit the Big Red’s second and third best offensive players (behind Angel Rivera) in Terry Cook and Kevin Daniels to just a combined 8 points in the loss.

Overall, this was one of the better CMAC games that CPHR has been to in the last couple of years, and it really set the tone for what’s to come in the remainder of the year. Taft did make one thing clear, you better control your home court if you plan on being a champion. 

JB's Friday Nights Picks

Middletown junior combo forward
 Vincent Edwards

Okay hoop fans we are in the second week of High School Sports and we have some good match-ups this week.  I went 2-1 (4-2 overall) Tuesday and I'm still looking to get my first sweep.  CPHR and the fans are ready, so here you go! 

  

Hughes at Taft

 

Hughes (1-0) comes into the Senators Home Court looking to stay undefeated.  The Big Red are coming off a thumping of the Woodward Bulldogs 70-46.  Hughes is led by Senior G Angel Rivera who opened up with a double-double (18points and 11 assists) looks to continue to put up some numbers and get some help from Senior G Terry Cook, Junior's Kevin Daniels and Dwight Nared.  Look for the transfer Junior F Derrick Long to get on track.  The Big Red will have to deal with a lot of pressure and be patient on offense to upset the Senators. Coach Mitchell and the Senators look to bounce back after going 2-1 last week with an impressive opening night victory over Aiken 67-58, then Saturday they have a tough loss at Covington Catholic 66-47, and a good victory over Lexington Dunbar.  Two victories in 3 days, is it too much for the Senators.  I would think not as "Mitch" year end and out has one of the best conditioned teams.  Taft looks for Kenny Kaufman and Marcus Scott to pick up most of the scoring load.  Dictating the tempo will be the name of the game as they look to score quick and often, whether it's in the open court or off of pressure.  This will be a good one for the books.

 

Pick-Taft Coach Mitchell just keep finding ways to keep that in-state record one to watch. 75-68

  

Aiken at Winton Woods

Winton Woods look to bounce back after a defeat against Roger Bacon Tuesday 68-56.  Coach Gillespie knows what he has in Ronnie Rousseau, Kwan Cheatham, Trent Donald, Latrell Tidwell and Martin Jones.  It's time for it to show up on the floor. The Warriors have been in some great practices this week and are reaady to get after it.  The Falcons and Coach Leon Ellison have some obstacles to climb too.  Injuries and a suspension leave them short-handed for this one but don't count them out.  Austin Grimes and Kameron Moore should pick up most of the slack. Demontae Jones and Sophomore's Wesley Kennedy and Damon Harris are getting experience as we speak.  All good teams tripumph over adversity.

 

Pick- Winton Woods 80-65. Aiken healthy will be a force to be rekoned with.

 

Middletown at Lakota West

 

Middletown (0-1) and Coach Andrews comes in to the Thunderbirds looking to overcome a 66-61 defeat to Beavercreek in the opener.  Junior Vincent Edwards leads the Middies after opening up with 24 points and 15 rebounds.  Jalin Marshall chipped in with 20.  The Middies need contributions from Chance Sorrell, Kobie Johnson, Khylan Jackson and Ryan Smith if they look to get a victory.  The Thunderbirds look to the Big Three (Tyler Williams, Monty Boykins, Ali, Barnes), Zach MooYoung and Tyler Bowling.   They have as much talent as any in the state this is no new battle to the league.  Everyone knows the rivalry now they have to play as their GMC League play opens.

 

Pick- Lakota West. Edwards will score, but too much West, led by Boykins. 85-65.

JB's Tuesday Night Picks

By: JB Burgin

After the first week of the season CPHR seen a whole lot of surprises, while some things have stayed the same.  Let's take a quick peek at some of the top games coming up on Tuesday. After last weekend I’m ahead at 2-1.

West High at Lakota East:

JB says Dorian Jordan is
the key for Princeton on Tuesday.

 Can the veteran leadership of the Mustangs handle the hostile environment at East? Both Teams have good size but I would give the edge to the Thunderhawks. Look for the Mustangs to dictate tempo and look to score early and often in this match-up. On the other hand, look for the Thunderhawks to be patient with the ball handle the pressure of the Mustangs and execute on offense.  This could be the game of the night, so look for a good one.  Let's see who will come out on top.  The Thunderhawk's are led by Alex White, Stedman Lowry, Myo Baxter and Robbie Harpring.  The Mustangs are led by Marquez Carpenter, Kevin Bracy-Davis and Will Clifton.  Look for sophomore point guard Dejuan Sherman to really step up in this game if the Mustangs are looking to come away with a victory.

Pick: Lakota East 72-60

Winton Woods at Roger Bacon:

Roger Bacon, coming off a thumping of Finneytown, looks to defend their home court against the Warriors of Winton Woods.  Carlas Jackson, Erik Edwards, and Austin Frentsos are looking to battle against one of the deepest and most talented teams in the city. Winton Woods is coming off a 71-59 victory over Centerville where Ronnie Rousseau erupted for 38 points, look for him to keep his aggressiveness. Kwan Cheatham, Trent Donald, Latrell Tidwell and Martin Jones will complete the scoring for the Warriors. Coach Gillespie will look to get more balanced scoring out of his squad, but it's been seen already that Rousseau is a force to be reckoned with.

Pick: Winton Woods 80-65

Elder at Princeton:

In the season opener for both teams Coach Anderson of the Vikings looks to his guard play, mainly Dorian Jordan a three-year starter and a flat-out winner, to make enough plays to win the game. Look for contributions from Jordan Bradley, Deiontay Waiters Darius Hilson and wing Eric Tivis for the Vikings. The Panthers and Coach Schoenfield are happy to have the services of Devin Pike, after sitting out last year because of the transfer rule.  His frontcout mate of junior Taylor Lee will be needed this year to compete within the GCL. 

Pick: Princeton 55-43