Detroit PSL Quarterfinals: Preview
Originally scheduled for this Friday, the PSL quarterfinal games have been rescheduled to Sunday, February 11th due to snow. The Public School League is arguably the best conference in the state and there will be no shortage of talent on display at King High School on Sunday. Games for the day include:
Noon: King vs Western
2pm: Cass Tech vs DEPSA
4pm: Henry Ford vs Pershing
6pm: East English vs Renaissance
Here is a breakdown of each game:
King vs Western
King is coming off a 5OT (yes 5OT) victory in the first game of the DPS playoff over Detroit Northwestern. Normally that would induce a certain amount of fatigue on teams, but with the re-scheduling they will get an extra day to rest. Western went winless in conference play, but won their play-in game against Osborn and defeated Denby a day later. King has had success holding other teams’ star players to average games so far this season, so it should be a battle against Western’s Tray Jackson, who holds multiple D1 offers.
Cass Tech vs DEPSA
Cass Tech’s Randy GilbertThis game is a must-see. Both teams are talented and battle-tested. Also, there are a ton of really good players in this game. DEPSA has LIU-Brooklyn commit Gary Solomon, Central Michigan commit PJ Mitchell, Cleveland State commit Deante Johnson and Brian Taylor, who recently picked up an offer from Ferris State. Cass Tech has a pair of senior forwards who are tough as nails in Randy Gilbert (Ferris State commit) and Jalen Tobias. Also, they have forward Kalil Whitehead, who picked up an offer from IUPUI earlier this season, and point guard Tyson Acuff, who is one of the top sophomores in the state. Look for this game to be a dogfight all 4 quarters.
Henry Ford vs Pershing
This should be another good game. Henry Ford has been one of the best teams in the PSL throughout the season, winning games by simply out-grinding their opponents. Pershing is super talented and battle tested – they’ve played arguably the hardest schedule in the state. Henry Ford has Bryant commit Anthony Roberts, who’s capable of going for 25+ any given night. It will be interesting to see if Henry Ford’s defense will prevail in this game, or if Pershing can get hot and turn it into a shootout.
East English vs Renaissance
The nightcap to the day could prove to be the most exciting. In this game is Mr. Basketball candidate and Michigan commit Dave Dejulius, who’s capable of going for 30+ any game. He’s accompanied by guard Tariq Shepherd, who holds a couple D1 offers, as well forward Zavon Godwin, whom Dejulius seems to find for at least 1 alley-oop per game. This game has a chance to be a dunk contest, as Renaissance’s Carrington McCaskill is one of the best dunkers in the state. Reni also has guard Chandler Turner, who holds D1 offers as well. Though not major contributors on their teams, this game also has a matchup between two of the top freshmen in the state in East English’s Simon Wheeler and Renaissance’s Keon Henderson.