All-Saturday Teams
The last day of Ohio high school basketball included some crucial individual performances in the four State Championship games. Whether is it was a block by Miles McBride in the Archbishop Moeller-Massillon Jackson game or a split of the defense by Jayvon Graves for St. Vincent St. Mary, the players came to play yesterday.
So, congratulations to all four of the Northeast Ohio teams who captured titles yesterday —Massillon Jackson, St. Vincent St. Mary, Villa Angela-St. Joseph’s, and Lutheran East. But, for this particular piece, we’re here to commemorate the best players in those title games.
Side note: these all-star teams are only indicative of performances from Saturday. We highlighted 40 individual performances from the Semifinal round. For those you can check here, here, here, and here.
1st Team All-Saturday
Point Guard- Miles McBride (2019), Moeller
Shooting Guard- Jayvon Graves (2017), St. Vincent St. Mary
Small Forward- Jeremiah Davenport (2018), Moeller
Power Forward- Alonzo Gaffney (2019), VASJ
Center- Logan Hill (2017), Jackson
MVP: This weekend, Jayvon Graves established himself as Ohio’s best guard in the senior class by leading St. Vincent St. Mary with two profound performances. Let’s focus on Saturday though, where he continually split defenders on his way to layups. The 6’2” explosive athlete resembled Dwayne Wade on a few takes, especially when he dunked over a defender with extreme power. All in all, he finished with 25 of their 45 total points, on 55-45-75 splits and 6 rebounds. The senior was arguably also the best defensive player on Saturday, tallying 7 steals with his quick hands and defensive instincts.
The others: It feels strange to have two guys from the same team that lost to Jackson, but McBride and Davenport kept Moeller in the game. Defensively, Davenport held Kyle Young to five points and swatted a few of his shot attempts. He also could not be tamed going to the rim. McBride is more of a smooth player. His mid-range heroics, whether it was turnaround jumpers or contested pull-ups, were enough to move him up considerably in the next 2019 player rankings.
As far as the big men, both finished possessions for their Championship teams by soaring for rebounds. Both are elite leapers. Gaffney swatted shots and grabbed defensive rebounds to start their secondary break. The VASJ sophomore also finished off a couple lobs by easily dropping in dunks. Hill on the other hand was more pronounced on the offensive glass. There were multiple occasions when he would clean up a missed opportunity in transition by flying in and tipping the ball in. Hill’s anticipation on the boards and creativity around the basket will light up Toledo Rocket crowds for years to come.
2nd Team All-Saturday
Point Guard- Jerry Higgins (2018), VASJ
Shooting Guard- Jaret Pallotta (2018), Jackson
Small Forward- Jordan Burge (2018), Lutheran East
Power Forward- Justin Johnson (2017), Roger Bacon
Center- Austin Rotroff (2018), Wauseon
Let’s keep this brief. Higgins is a cerebral point guard who makes sure his team is united and shuts down angles on defense. Pallotta hit the biggest shot of the day on a tie-breaking triple with 1:23 left. Burge is extremely solid around the basket, and shut down Wellington’s 6’7” Noah Berry in the second half. The Roger Bacon 6’4” prospect could really play three positions next year because of his finishing ability and athleticism. Rotroff was the best unsigned center this weekend by far. He’s a terrorizing rim-protector and is smooth with his back to the basket.
All-Defense
Point Guard- Craig McGee (2017), Roger Bacon
Shooting Guard- Jayvon Graves (2017), St. Vincent St. Mary
Small Forward- Jeremiah Davenport (2018), Moeller
Power Forward- Kyle Young (2017), Jackson
Center- Austin Rotroff (2018), Wauseon
Defensive MVP: Jeremiah Davenport was the surprise of the tournament. He was tasked with guarding 6’7” Butler commit Kyle Young last night. Davenport did more than hold his own against one of the country’s finest, he wore him out and actually won the individual battle. Davenport is a tough kid who crashes the rebounds and never stops hustling. Davenport also had a couple ridiculous blocks against an athletic Young in transition.