Columbus Weekend Preseason – Top Players
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This past weekend I went to the All-Ohio Preview on Friday night where I saw New Albany vs Independence, Northland vs Newark, Whitehall Yearling vs Shaker Heights, Africentric vs Taft, and Pickerington Central vs Walnut Ridge. Then on Saturday, I…
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Continue ReadingThis past weekend I went to the All-Ohio Preview on Friday night where I saw New Albany vs Independence, Northland vs Newark, Whitehall Yearling vs Shaker Heights, Africentric vs Taft, and Pickerington Central vs Walnut Ridge. Then on Saturday, I went to Pickerington North’s scrimmages where I saw Emmanuel Christian, Africentric again, Olentangy Orange, Canton McKinley, Pickerington North, and Gilmour Academy. This article will talk about the top players from this very talented packed weekend.
Royal is ranked the best player in the 2023 class in Ohio and on Friday night he had the gym buzzing. The first thing you notice about royal is how big he is. The 6’6 wing is a very big body. He has a thick lower half and a huge frame up top. He simply bullies people. He also has a great skill set. Makes great decisions with the ball. Pretty jumper. He has great athleticism and uses his size very well when getting rebounds and catching alley-pop dunks.
Easter shot was not falling in the earlier games at the Pickerington North hosted scrimmages but in the third game he got it going and it was fun to watch. All throughout the day his ability to attack the basket and have some spectacular finishes was there. He has incredible finishing ability. His size and athleticism were on full display. Easter is one of the most talked about players in Ohio and you can see why when he has it going.
This transfer should take Africentric to the next level. The Nubians last year won the city league and with a player like Freeman, they are favorites to repeat. Swain did not play for the Nubians this weekend so Freeman had the offensive responsibility and that’s a good spot to be in. Freeman’s offensive bag is very deep. He has unlimited range on his shot and is super skilled. Natural scorer. Tough finisher. Once he and Swain are on the court together Afrocentric will be very tough to stop.
Lawson is just getting better and better. The sophomore had a very promising freshman season but he is ready to take Pickerington North to a new level this year. Lawson seems to be way more comfortable being the primary ball handler and scorer. He also seemed to have gotten way more bouncy. He had a two-handed fast-break dunk that looked like he jumped off a trampoline. Lawson seemed to take his matchup against Easter very seriously as he was putting up great defensive pressure on him all game. He is a really naturally skilled guard.
Elmer is a special player. He simply is able to do things on the court that others are not able to do. He is tall and long with freaky good athletic ability. He is a high flier that finishes at the rim really strong. He has a really good jumper too that he can fall back on when the defense is doing their all to stop him from getting to the rim. Very efficient player.