Divison III State Semifinals: 10 Who Impressed
Villa Angela-St. Joseph (VASJ) is set to face Roger Bacon at 5:15 tomorrow for the Division III State Championship.
In the early game today, VASJ, a Cleveland-area juggernaut, dominated on the offensive side with impressive ball movement. When they’re rolling, which they definitely were today, the ball is going to find an open shot. Fairland lost 73-50, but they’re losing nobody to graduation this offseason.
Roger Bacon dominated the second game, more so on defense. For the Spartans, forcing turnovers led to easy fast break points as they won 68-43.
Here are the prospects who shined in these games…
James Johnson (2017), 6’6″ F, Roger Bacon
Johnson fits the Roger Bacon profile in the sense that he isn’t flashy, but he does his job with excellence. The physical face-up four controlled the boards and rejected layup attempts. When he catches a pass beyond the arch it puts the defender in a tough spot because he’s just as likely to shoot as drive. Johnson easily scooted by Archbold’s Rigo Ramos when he drove.
Craig McGee (2017), 6’0″ PG, Roger Bacon
McGee is an athletic finisher who consistently makes smart decisions. He also displayed nice court vision, especially in starting the break with outlet passes. Needs to sure up the outside shot. One of the many guys who stayed disciplined in their defensive responsibilities.
Justin Johnson (2017), 6’4″ W, Roger Bacon
The senior is a phenomenal leaper. On one occasion, Johnson flat-out burned his defender with a couple dribbles right, and with just that much separation threw down a dunk. He also caught a tough lob and had another off two-feet on the break. Look, Johnson’s fundamentals are flawed. But his raw athleticism and slashing ability makes him an interesting non-Division I prospect
Alec Pfriem (2019), 6’4″ G, Roger Bacon
Another blue collar Spartan. Pfriem got involved early by jumping into passing lanes. Offensively, Pfriem doesn’t force, instead making the simple basketball play consistently. Even so, he finished with 12 points on 5-9 shooting and 2-3 from three-point land.
William Butler (2017), 6’1″ G, VASJ
In the State Championship, we fully advise the defense to face-guard Butler. At least make him put it on the floor. Otherwise he’ll continue teeing up deep threes and draining them. The problem is, he’s a crafty finisher that uses his large body to clear space on the drive. The unsigned senior also anticipated some backdoor bounce passes in the second half.
Alonzo Gaffney (2019), 6’8″ F, VASJ
On offense, Gaffney is most effective in the post at this point in his career. He caught and finished a few lob entry passes and dunked on numerous occasions. But you can tell he wants to test out the perimeter skills. Gaffney drifted out and played facilitator often. He’ll have to become more aware out there, as he doesn’t have the best feel quite yet. Defensively, we’re convinced he can guard nearly anyone. His length and foot speed are tremendous defensive qualities.
Jerry Higgins (2018), 5’9″ PG, VASJ
Sure, Higgins had 17 points and never turned the ball over, but his communication was most impressive. Whether he was barking out orders before initiating the offense or talking between stoppages, he was always ensuring cohesiveness.
The high-academic guard compensates for his size disadvantage with ball fakes and a reliable jump shot. Also, Higgins got up pretty high for some rebound attempts today.
Kollin Van Horn (2018), 6’8″ F, Fairland
It appeared that Van Horn was going to be a problem for VASJ early on. Van Horn scored the first six for the Dragons, one of which was a dunk over Gaffney. However his production fluttered considerably after that. Van Horn still showed potential in the way he moves around the court, including an athletic save to keep a loose ball in play. He’s not one of these guys who awakwardly operates as a player. The junior has a nice right-handed hook shot.
Keedrick Cunningham (2018), 6’0″ G, Fairland
Cunningham finished with 15 points. The junior was hot in the second half, scoring primarily on challenged lay-ups. Cunningham has a quick first step. Once he arrived near the basket a quick side-step or jump stop allowed him enough room to convert.
Eli Miller (2018), 5’9″ PG, Archbold
Wouldn’t say that Miller was able to create separation often, but he never looked flustered when dribbling. He had a couple poor passes, but otherwise Miller was solid. He looked for his shot off the dribble unlike his teammates
Highlights via Spectrum
FINAL: @RB_SpartanHoops 68, @ArchboldBBK 43 #Spartans vs @VASJBasketball for the D-III BBall Champ. @Floatteam22 & James Johnson 15 pts each pic.twitter.com/wwvBOkxzEc
— High School Blitz on Spectrum News 1 (@SpecSportsOH) March 24, 2017
The @VASJBasketball defeat @fhsdragonsports 73-50 & advance to the @OHSAASports Boys BBall D-III State Champ. @alonzo_gaffney, 18 pts, 9 reb pic.twitter.com/0kv5yiiKOb
— High School Blitz on Spectrum News 1 (@SpecSportsOH) March 24, 2017