Preseason First Team All-Columbus
Considering team success and one’s individual influence towards winning, who will be the five faces of Columbus basketball this season? Matt Allocco (2020) | 6-4 PG | Bradley Here’s the quickest breakdown of Allocco’s Bradley career: Freshmen year: Allocco averaged 11.2 points, establishing…
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Continue ReadingConsidering team success and one’s individual influence towards winning, who will be the five faces of Columbus basketball this season?
Matt Allocco (2020) | 6-4 PG | Bradley
Here’s the quickest breakdown of Allocco’s Bradley career:
- Freshmen year: Allocco averaged 11.2 points, establishing himself as one of the most intriguing guards in the 2020 class. The Jags lost to Dane Goodwin’s Upper Arlington team in a district final.
- Sophomore year: Last year playing alongside 2018 graduates Braden Norris and Isaiah Speelman. Norris unexpectedly gets injured early in the season, thrusting Allocco into the lead guard role. He averages 11.7 points and Bradley finishes the regular season 21-1 before losing in the regional final to Pickerington Central.
- Junior year: Coming off not only a stellar high school season but also a breakout season on the grassroots circuit. Allocco picks up the scoring with 15.9 per game, also adding 5.5 assists. Bradley, however, is upset by no. 17-seeded Thomas Worthington in a district semifinal.
Despite recent postseason heartbreak, if you were to force me to make a call on who wins the regional title in 2019-20, I’m taking Bradley.
They come into the season with an eclectic cast of heady guards and work-horse defenders. What Bradley lacks is height. Jack Pugh, a 6-foot-5 forward, isn’t playing basketball any longer. Chris Mayfield will come back from injury sometime mid-season. Therefore, Allocco will be their tallest figure as a 6-foot-4 lead guard for the entire season and he may need to defend the 4 or 5 at times even when Chris returns. Nonetheless, there’s no towering figure in the Division I Columbus region who will exploit that issue.
Individually, Allocco will also be remarkably valuable to their success on offense. He handles the ball with pace and anticipates cuts in the motion-heavy offense. The Princeton signee projects to lead them in scoring and assists once again. In the preseason, he has flashed an outside shooting resurgence that would bring a new dynamic to their team.
VonCameron Davis (2020) | 6-5 SF | Walnut Ridge
The Division I Columbus region is wide open. As we saw last year, a state tournament birth can come down to who has the most prolific scorer among the contenders. Last season that was Ben Roderick taking Liberty to a final four; this year Davis holds that belt.
The 6-foot-5 Kent State commit is a high-volume shot-maker with uncanny finishing ability. He is effective on straight-line-drives. Davis plays with Walnut Ridge teammates that must be respected, which opens up driving lanes. The Scots can get out and run, too.
CJ Anthony (2020) | 6-0 PG | Harvest Prep
Anthony is the last of the extremely obvious choices for the Preseason First Team All-Columbus. His résumé includes a Division III Player of the Year award, a State Championship and another state tournament appearance, and he will soon be a three-time First Team All-Ohioan. Pretty good.
Do we need to continue?
I mean, this year it’s possible he averages 30 points per game and adds another POY honor. Playing like a man on a mission, Anthony dropped 24.9 per game last season. They graduated a ton of talent in the 2019 class, raising the level of responsibility for Anthony as a senior.
Keaton Turner (2020) | 6-0 PG | Coffman
Cast as a starter for the first time in his career, this season could be remembered as the Keaton Turner breakout year in some circles. Not only do we believe he could score 20 points per game nightly, but he could also blow-up as a recruit despite coming into the season without an offer. He’s a shifty guard who can shoot from range and with motion off the dribble. Able to get into the lane and make a play.
We like Coffman in the OCC-Central this season, too, which is a huge part of the criteria. And if they’re going to prove us right, Turner will have then been special.
Garner Wallace (2021) | 6-4 SF | Pickerington Central
Those who have observed Wallace during the high school offseasons are aware of his potent scoring ability. This year should be when it begins translating to the winter months. Wallace has scored most of his Tigers buckets in transition as a press-breaker or by actively cutting and rebounding. If they commit to running actions for him, he should nearly double his 10.5 points per game average from last season. Defensively, Wallace is very important to their success as a versatile lock-down defender.
As a team, it’s defense where Pick Central should really thrive given Wallace and Tahleik Walker’s individual prowess. They’ll also be one of the most athletic and experienced rosters in the area.