Some observations from Penn. Kennedy Catholic’s win over Garfield Heights
The Garfield Heights Bulldogs not that long ago where considered one of the best teams in the country, earning a spot in the nation’s top 25 rankings early in the year. That’s ancient history.
The Bulldogs lost for the fifth straight time, but it took one of the biggest high school teams you’ll ever see to extend the streak.
Kennedy Catholic out of Hermitage (PA) got a huge performance out of 6’10” Oscar Tshiebwe (2019) and had just enough to firepower to come away with a 50-44 win in the final game of the night at the Dunk 4 Diabetes showcase on Jan. 28 at John Carroll.
Kennedy Catholic improved to 13-2 while Garfield fell to 7-5.
Tshiebwe 22 points and dominated the glass at both ends. He finished strong as you’ll see any high school big man and Garfield Heights coach Sonny Johnson referred to him as “Baby Shaq.”
Tshiebew holds offers from Pittsburgh, West Virginia, Penn State, St. Joe’s, Virginia, Duquesne, Oklahoma State and Georgetown.
Garfield has some talented bigs as well, including 6’9”Alonzo Gaffney (2019) and 6’9” Brison Waller (2019).
Gaffney showed off his well-rounded offensive game as he was able to pull up and drain a deep jumper as well as finish at the rim off the dribble and also battled inside with a physical Kennedy Catholic.
Gaffney finished with 13 points.
Garfield Heights freshman guard Demetrius “Meechie” Johnson battled all night long against a high-major prospect Maceo Austin, who has offers from Pittsburgh West Virginia and drawn interest from the likes of Michigan, Indiana, Purdue and Ohio State. The 6’5″ Austin got the better of the 6’0″Johnson outscoring him 13-2. Johnson, it was well documented, scored 50 in a game earlier this year.
Garfield’s best offensive came from dynamic guard Alex Heath, who scored 14 points. The undersized but lightning-quick guard hit pull up jumpers and got to the paint to create.
Donovan Forte (2018), 6’6″ a Jacksonville State recruit, scored 7 in some very active minutes.
KC’s 6’8” Mattia Acunzo scored 13 and at 6’8” and active has an offer from Canisius and is drawing interest from many mid-major programs. The kid is gritty and does have some offensive skills.