Zips Next Point Guard

[Blue & Gold]

Chillicothe 59, Newark 53 OhioVarsity.com Chillicothe took on Newark in the second game of the Play By Play Classic, matching Akron recruit Anthony Hitchens and athletic forward Ray Chambers against Newark's tandem of 6-foot-9 junior Dane Kopp and guard Cody Dennison. Ultimately the scoring of Hitchens and Chambers proved to be too much for Newark to handle, as their late surges throughout the second half were never quite enough to give them the lead and Chillicothe was able to walk away with a 6-point victory.Hitchens paced Chillicothe with 24 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists. He was able to get his shot off on virtually anyone that Newark threw at him, whether it was via his dribble drive or deep outside jumpers. The diminutive guard struggled shooting the ball however, as he was just 8 for 24 in field goal attempts. The future Zip made an impact on the defensive end as well, gathering three steals en route to being named his team's MVP.Chambers, an athletic forward, also contributed with 17 points and 7 rebounds. He was a bit too much for Newark to handle inside, proving to be far more athletic then anyone they had to offer. Not overly skilled, the 6-foot-7 senior does the majority of his damage within five feet of the basket, using his strength to overpower most defenders. Chambers has reportedly given a soft verbal commitment to Ohio University, but is still fielding offers from other programs according to those close to the situation.Kopp, a 6-foot-9 junior, had a strong performance for Newark, posting 14 points and 8 rebounds in defeat. The lengthy forward showed off a soft touch from mid-range and finished well inside, despite his slender frame. He mentioned that he is hearing from a ton of MAC schools and Bowling Green has already offered him a scholarship for 2009.Toledo Libbey 72, Lakewood St. Edward 58 St. Edward was able to stay in the game early due to the strong shooting of their wing players, but Libbey's stable of athletic players ultimately proved to be too much to handle for the Eagles' guards, who committed 16 turnovers in the game. The game MVP awards went out to Libbey's William Buford (26 points and 11 rebounds) and St. Edward's 6-foot-6 senior Conor Tilow (22 points).Buford's 26 points came in impressive fashion, as he showed Ohio State fans what they have to look forward to once he steps on campus next fall. He scored via a variety of pull-up jumpers and athletic dribble drives to the basket, while also throwing down a couple of impressive dunks in the victory. The 6-foot-5 senior showed why he is ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 4 shooting guard in the class of 2008 and he is going to be the main reason why Libbey is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the Division II state tournament this year.St. Edward senior Tom Pritchard had issues with foul trouble on Saturday, allowing him to only play 20 minutes before fouling out. He finished with 9 points and 6 rebounds on the day facing constant double teams, while struggling to get touches on the offensive end. The absence of Delvon Roe to a knee injury has made things noticeably more difficult for the Indiana recruit, who now faces two defenders virtually every time he steps on the court.

[Blue & Gold]

Now that I read the article again, nowhere does it mention that Ray Chambers is awaiting his standardized test results. I must have read that elsewhere.

[GJGood]

I caught the replay of yesterday's semi-final game on ONN late last night.Humpty is for real. He proved that in the first thirty seconds. First, he inbounded the ball utilizing a full court pass to a wide open Ray Chambers resulting in thegame's first dunk. Not fifteen seconds later Humpty dished the ball under the basket that led to an easy lay up. Two asists in the first minute.Cillicothe's opponent was the then number one ranked division II team in the state. A team that was then 25-0. Thus, they were not some sad sack opponent.Humpty knocked twenty-four points, mostly pretty, pretty pull up jumpers. He had several assists and rebounds. His partner in destruction was again Ray Chambers.I would love to see Chambers walk on at Akron.Humpty is a high school senior, not a veteran NBA player. Of course he has short comings. He is certainly not the world's best defender. He will get better ondefense or sit.Overall, he is fun to watch. Humpty is easily the quickest and best ball handling guard Akron has seen in years. You are going to love him.Some of you can view the playoff game on Time-Warner cable by going to free on demand channel 1111.Newspaper Account

An Akron alum living here outside of Columbus I make it a point to see Zip recruits in my local area I have seen a lot of high school basketball the last few years. I love the fact that so many Zips, like Linhart, the McKnights, Steward, and Hitchens are coming out of central Ohio.I would like to comment on the Hitchens conversation. He certainly is an impressive point guard and can easily be the most talented PG in the MAC in the near future. I do, however, see a problem occasionally with his decision making, especially in the area of taking ill-advised shots. Hopefully that trend will go away when surrounded by a bunch of D-1 college players. For what it is worth, though, I still say the Zips next great guard is Ron Steward. I'd actually have him ahead of Hitchens when it comes to being a college ready player at the conclusion of his high school time. I really hope he will be healthy next season. If he is the Zips could have the best 1-2 (and even 3 with McNees) punch at point guard in the MAC, and I don't mean eventually I mean by the second half of next season once these guys have gained just a little experience.

Wow, I'm really excited and quite intrigued to hear you say that you'd pick Steward over Hitchens right now! While I have never had the opportunity to see Steward play ball, I was literally shocked when I saw how fast, quick and skilled Humpty is! So your comment really whets my appetite to see Steward do his thing! Steward must be an amazing talent as well! And, as you could tell from last night's bitterly disappointing loss to Can't, we desperately need athleticism at the PG position. Ironically, it looks like that may be our calling card as soon as next season w/ Steward & Humpty. (Additionally, Darryl Roberts is a quick player and new recruit Alex Sullivan is also heralded for his quickness and athleticism.)

Yes, I think Hitchens may be the more talented of the two but I worry more about his decision making. Steward seemed to me to be more of a PG in command of the offense while staying within the gameplan of the offense. Humpty at times seemed to want to put the offense on his shoulders and try to carry the team by himself. Plus Steward may be the better defender of the two. That is a tough call though. I just hope Steward gets healthy and uses this year of observation and learning to its maximum benefit. If KD can find ways to frequently get Hitchens and Steward on the floor simultaneously and neither has a "me first" mentality then Zip fans are probably going to be very happy before they graduate from the program.

[apalmison]

If KD can find ways to frequently get Hitchens and Steward on the floor simultaneously and neither has a "me first" mentality then Zip fans are probably going to be very happy before they graduate from the program.Thanks all for the updates on the recruits. It appears to me that KD has a way of coaching the guys to be team players. I was very impressed with the lack of selfishness in the game against WMU. It was one of the things that stood out most to me in that particular game.