News & Notes
by Alex Schwartz
- Well, I sure was wrong about the South Atlanta (GA) vs. LeFlore (AL) game. I picked Georgia Tech-commit Derrick Favors '09 and South Atlanta to win 71-65, but DeMarcus Cousins '09 and LeFlore were the victors by a double-digit margin, taking control of the game in the third quarter. Favors outplayed Cousins for the most part, and displayed a great mid-range jumper, but the best play of the night went to Cousins. The 6'10 face-up big men drove towards Favors, spun past him, and jammed the ball with about two minutes to go in the game.
- Speaking of South Atlanta, the team squared off with undefeated Oak Hill Academy (VA) at the Spalding Hoophall Classic yesterday. Back in mid-October, Keith "Tiny" Gallon '09 of Oak Hill, who will attend Oklahoma next year, gave me a guarantee that he would put up 30 points and 15 rebounds when his quad faced off with Derrick Favors and South Atlanta as well as DeMarcus Cousins and LeFlore. Well, "Tiny" didn't quite love up to his promise, but he sure came close, dropping 22 points and grabbing 13 rebounds against Favors and Co., en route to seven-point win. Favors, though, had 25 points and 17 boards, though Rivals said Gallon stole the show (all game information is from this article on Rivals).
- West Windsor-Plainsboro South (NJ) is re-asserting itself as a top-notch team. The Pirates, led by 15 points from Chris Johnson '09 and a big game from Jack Dennehy '10, defeated New Egypt (NJ), a contender for the Group I state title. Although Austin Witter '09 was mostly held in check, WWPS still managed to get the 56-53 win over its area rival, showings that the team is probably the number two team in Mercer County behind Trenton Catholic (NJ). Kevin Janowski '09 had 25 points for New Egypt, though Desmond Hubert '11 was held to just 12 for the visitors.
- I'm watching the St. Mark's (MA) vs. Gonzaga (DC) game from the Spalding Hoophall Classic on CN8 as we speak, and it's a matchup of two of the best academic/basketball teams in America. St. Mark's has Nate Lubick '10, who is going to Georgetown, and was recruited by Duke, Michigan, and more. The NEPSAC Class C squad also has Florida-bound Erik Murphy '09, who told me in an interview after the Boost Mobile Elite 24 Classic that he plans on staying in college for four years and graduating. Dave Johnson '09 of St. Mark's is headed to another solid academic school, Quinnipiac. From Gonzaga, Tyler Thornton '10 is headed to Duke, while Ian Hummer '09 spurned some real quality basketball schools to go to his father's alma mater, Princeton. You've got to hand it to the coaches of these teams and the schools as a whole for the academic/athletic achievements of the teams.
- A team that I've been real high on since before the season began, St. Peter's Prep (NJ), is having a great start to the season. The Marauders, led by Myles Davis '11, Keith Lumpkin '11, and Ron Roberts '10, have just one loss and have knocked off Don Bosco Prep (NJ) and Seton Hall Prep (NJ) along the way. Look for SPP to contend for a Tournament of Champions birth. I ranked the team #8 in my first state rankings, and they will be higher next time I put out rankings.
- Well, I sure was wrong about the South Atlanta (GA) vs. LeFlore (AL) game. I picked Georgia Tech-commit Derrick Favors '09 and South Atlanta to win 71-65, but DeMarcus Cousins '09 and LeFlore were the victors by a double-digit margin, taking control of the game in the third quarter. Favors outplayed Cousins for the most part, and displayed a great mid-range jumper, but the best play of the night went to Cousins. The 6'10 face-up big men drove towards Favors, spun past him, and jammed the ball with about two minutes to go in the game.
- Speaking of South Atlanta, the team squared off with undefeated Oak Hill Academy (VA) at the Spalding Hoophall Classic yesterday. Back in mid-October, Keith "Tiny" Gallon '09 of Oak Hill, who will attend Oklahoma next year, gave me a guarantee that he would put up 30 points and 15 rebounds when his quad faced off with Derrick Favors and South Atlanta as well as DeMarcus Cousins and LeFlore. Well, "Tiny" didn't quite love up to his promise, but he sure came close, dropping 22 points and grabbing 13 rebounds against Favors and Co., en route to seven-point win. Favors, though, had 25 points and 17 boards, though Rivals said Gallon stole the show (all game information is from this article on Rivals).
- West Windsor-Plainsboro South (NJ) is re-asserting itself as a top-notch team. The Pirates, led by 15 points from Chris Johnson '09 and a big game from Jack Dennehy '10, defeated New Egypt (NJ), a contender for the Group I state title. Although Austin Witter '09 was mostly held in check, WWPS still managed to get the 56-53 win over its area rival, showings that the team is probably the number two team in Mercer County behind Trenton Catholic (NJ). Kevin Janowski '09 had 25 points for New Egypt, though Desmond Hubert '11 was held to just 12 for the visitors.
- I'm watching the St. Mark's (MA) vs. Gonzaga (DC) game from the Spalding Hoophall Classic on CN8 as we speak, and it's a matchup of two of the best academic/basketball teams in America. St. Mark's has Nate Lubick '10, who is going to Georgetown, and was recruited by Duke, Michigan, and more. The NEPSAC Class C squad also has Florida-bound Erik Murphy '09, who told me in an interview after the Boost Mobile Elite 24 Classic that he plans on staying in college for four years and graduating. Dave Johnson '09 of St. Mark's is headed to another solid academic school, Quinnipiac. From Gonzaga, Tyler Thornton '10 is headed to Duke, while Ian Hummer '09 spurned some real quality basketball schools to go to his father's alma mater, Princeton. You've got to hand it to the coaches of these teams and the schools as a whole for the academic/athletic achievements of the teams.
- A team that I've been real high on since before the season began, St. Peter's Prep (NJ), is having a great start to the season. The Marauders, led by Myles Davis '11, Keith Lumpkin '11, and Ron Roberts '10, have just one loss and have knocked off Don Bosco Prep (NJ) and Seton Hall Prep (NJ) along the way. Look for SPP to contend for a Tournament of Champions birth. I ranked the team #8 in my first state rankings, and they will be higher next time I put out rankings.
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