Blue & Gold

I like the matchup. They beat us by 1 in overtime last year; both Zeke and Tree are much better than they were last year. Also, while Melo is not the playmaker that AA was, Melo is the better ball handler, which might just be what we need. AA often tried to do too much & would get sloppy. CB will simply play within himself. Harney @ backup PG will be... interesting.

Thanks for the scouting report. Perhaps Barberton's Ken Rector was simply being a gracious winner and being just a bit overly gracious in his comments concerning Jeremiah? His comments really made it sound like he'd almost never seen anything like Jeremiah.

And next year... the MAC will be introduced to the best center in the state of Ohio - 6'9" 280-pound Isaiah "Big Dog" Johnson.

Oops, I spoke too soon. Apparently we've got a 6'8" PG.

NBA-size players? Check. We got 'em! #ThinkingBigger!

IMHO, AJ has a terrific build for a high school kid. He's built like a young Jimmy Conyers... only bigger. He's a good 6'6". He'll be yet another really good "wing" in our offense - running a PG, W, W, P, P. He looks like a typical KD-type of player; he's not going to average 20 PPG, but he could average 10. And with the ability to drive, dunk & hit the three, he's someone the defense will always have to keep track of. And with his athleticism, length and strength, I could see AJ being a monster defender.

^^^ For sure. ^^^ And exactly. Someone posted they wanted to see Tree @ 25 PPG. Not going to happen in KD's system. And that is a good thing. From our perspective, there's never too much pressure on a single player; from the opponent's perspective, they simply cannot focus on trying to shut down one man. Look how the system has survived the unavailability of Q & AA. We don't rebuild; we reload. Why? Because no one averages 25 PPG.

I'm starting to feel a rivalry with Buffalo. It's not close to the same level as OU & K.e.nt, but in watching the K.e.nt-Buffalo game last night, I was a bit torn. I wanted the opportunity to play and beat both of them again.

Great interview! Thank you for posting!

GoZips, did you see the game? Was it televised? I believe the state Final Four is televised. If so, we might just get to see both Isaiah Johnson and Aaron Jackson.

I want K.e.nt. I'm bringing a group of 15! Go Zips!

Amen. And welcome aboard!

Here is another story, from earlier in the season, when Jeremiah Jackson broke Perry's single-game scoring record. He dropped 45 against Jackson. Jackson's a pretty decent team & the article again makes note of the diversity of Jeremiah's offensive skill set.

This is where I stand. I had the game on for about five minutes. That was all I could take. Basketball is supposed to be an entertaining past time.

I found this live blog of the Walnut Hills-Springboro game. It sounds as if Isaiah Johnson and Maverick Morgan battled pretty evenly. Blogger doesn't mention any of Maverick's blocks being on Isaiah, and I'm sure he would have if any of them had been - his blog really centers on the play of these two. He says Isaiah is 6'9" & close to "three bills." He also said something like, "Johnson takes a tumble; dent in the Cintas Center floor." Good job, Isaiah! Win one more so we can watch you on t.v.! Go Zips!

Only one stat gives me pause, that being that Maverick had 5 blocks. Of course it doesn't say who those blocks were on, but the one criticism that I've read of Isaiah's game (that makes some wonder how well his skill set will translate to the college level) is that he doesn't have much lift. If Maverick blocked Isaiah 5 times it could show that Isaiah may have a lot more trouble getting his shot off at the college level than he does at the high school level. This is the main reason I was interested in seeing some photos of Isaiah. He didn't play football this year and apparently lost about 30 pounds. I'm hoping he can run a little faster and jump a little higher than he could when scouts were making their assessments. Anyway, he sure is one big, powerfully-built dude.

Isaiah Johnson was his team's leading scorer & his Walnut Hills team beat Maverick Morgan's Springboro team tonight 52-46. Isaiah's line: 16 points (7-15 shooting) & 12 rebounds. If Walnut Hills wins on Saturday night they'll be in the state Final Four & I believe we'll be able to see him on t.v.

Tall_@ss_tree. Thanks, GT. Another excellent piece.

Ooooh, fun! I'm a visual guy, so I much enjoy these. Thank you! Good job!

Congratulations, Coach D! Much deserved! Go Zips!

Yes, thank you, George! Very good work. For years I've called the BJ the Cleveland Beacon Journal, but this year you've really done Akron right. So thankful!

1st time, non-violent offense. Maybe AA will get the proverbial slap on the wrist? KD's been adamant about backing AA. Is there a chance AA plays here next season?

A little bit more on Jeremiah Jackson.

In my book, the fact that assessment was given by Barberton HC Ken Rector is significant. Ken's seen a lot of good basketball & has a future D-1 player of his own in Joshua Williams. I like Jeremiah's size @ 6'1". We haven't had a >6' PG in quite a while. In one of the linked articles, Massillon's HC said Jeremiah was the best offensive player he's seen since GlenOak's Ray McCallum (sp?). That's saying a lot.