Five Takeaways: Columbus DeSales at St. Charles
Columbus DeSales’ 55-47 win at St. Charles, on Friday, tied the Stallions with Bishop Watterson atop the Central Catholic League to end conference play. DeSales maintained a comfortable five to 12 point lead for what felt like the entire game…
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Continue ReadingColumbus DeSales’ 55-47 win at St. Charles, on Friday, tied the Stallions with Bishop Watterson atop the Central Catholic League to end conference play.
DeSales maintained a comfortable five to 12 point lead for what felt like the entire game and the contest showed us several things about each program.
Desmond Watson is a mismatch!
DeSales 6’4” sophomore wing/forward Desmond Watson’s 18 points were the difference last night. As a face-up 4, Watson wasn’t blowing by with speed. Instead, the crafty finisher has a lot of wiggle before and after picking up his dribble in the post. Scored tough contested shots over size. Uses his strong body to be the enforcer.
While on one end his skill bothered St. Charles’s forwards, on the other Watson defended all types of players. Watson can both move his feet with wings and defend size inside. If he continues to combine those physical tools and skills with the motor we saw last night, Watson is going places.
DeSales has everything … besides size.
It starts with smart guard play from collegiate-level talent in Kobe Righter in Kayin Derden. Righter is heady at the point of attack and puts pressure on the defense with his scoring and passing ability. Derden is supremely efficient on the wing, scoring 11 points last night without hardly ever possessing the ball.
Then, they have prototypical glue guys both in the starting lineup and off the bench. We’re referring to Anthony Sciarroni, 10 points and four rebounds, and Obed Achirem. Sciarroni, especially, was diving all over the floor and beating up his defender with physicality.
Watson, too, is their swiss army knife who is probably the most talented guy on the team. But he’s forced to defend 5s at 6’4”. DeSales needs a big to alleviate defensive pressure from him and provide a presence on the glass. While they enter the Division II Columbus 2 District as Sectional favorites, they might make it way farther with a serviceable 6’6” player.
St. Charles will be heard from soon
St. Charles, 12-8, returns all but one player in their rotation next season, including their most promising four or five players. Freshmen Jared Frey and Derrick James are especially exciting.
Frey leads the team in scoring and has the look of a Division I 2-guard. The lefty’s IQ impressed us as he made good decisions on the drive and delivered the ball to the hot hand with patience. Capable primary creator because of his ball-handling and IQ. He’s also a dangerous scorer. Shoots it with distance and has a plethora of separation moves off the bounce. DeSales shaded defenders over towards him all night and forced him to pass.
James is a 5’7” guard who played hard and shot it OK. Quick and high-effort defender. We will learn more about him as time goes on.
Big night for Victor Searls
St. Charles 6’7” center Victor Searls scored the ball pretty much every time he dove to the basket, whether he was rolling to the rim or going after an offensive rebound. A big body, his size was too much for DeSales if he picked up momentum. He’s quick off the ground for a guy with his frame. Shot an extremely high-percentage because of his soft touch over the shoulder. Searls also made terrific reads when DeSales threw a second defender on the catch. On defense he was able to change several shots at the rim.
Derden will be a steal
This isn’t a new observation, but we still don’t know what else D-II and NAIA programs need to see. Derden gets to his spots so quickly because of his length and skill. He’s finishing at a high level. His jumper needs to a be a tad more consistent, but that should come with time. Able to stay attached to his matchup on defense at an elite level.
Derden also seems like a fun guy to play with. Even though he can fill it up, Derden doesn’t need the ball and isn’t going to take away shots from your leading scorer. Communicates well and likes to defend. Plays with an enthusiasm.