High school boys basketball notebook
They’re back Detroit Country Day returns to the area for the fourth straight year to play a Stark County team this weekend when it visits GlenOak on Saturday. GlenOak beat the Yellow Jackets last winter, after Hoover beat them the previous two seasons.
The Yellow Jackets come in at 9-0 and ranked ninth in Michigan’s Class B. Michigan State Head Coach Tom Izzo took in their game Tuesday, getting a first-hand look at 6-foot-11 sophomore DaShonte Riley. He was playing in his first game after an injury and came off the bench.
Another top sub is 6-6 sophomore guard Jordan Dumars, son of former Pistons great Joe Dumars. The starters are guards Darryl Nobles (6-5, Sr.), Dale Brundidge (6-0, Jr.) and James Nelson (6-0, Sr.) and forwards Clayton Beard (6-4, Sr.) and Darnell Brown (6-2, Jr.)
No home game, no problem
GlenOak head coach Jack Greynolds has no problem taking his team on the road. The Golden Eagles have beaten St. Vincent-St. Mary and Solon on neutral floors and won last week at Massillon.
“I like playing on the road, going into other people’s gyms and seeing how we respond,” Greynolds said.
He especially enjoys taking his team to Canton Memorial Field House to play McKinley, as he will tonight.
“You’ve got a lot of people rooting against you, and you can show the character of your team,” he said. “It’s a great venue with a lot of history.”
What he wants
Greynolds appreciates the attitude the players have in the McKinley program.
“They know they have expectations to win, and losing is not acceptable in Canton,” he said. “I love playing those teams. I grew up playing in that type of town (at Barberton). And that’s what I want GlenOak to be eventually.
“But until we beat teams like them consistently and Hoover consistently, we’ll tread water.”
Got to work
McKinley coach Greg Malone is stressing the need for players to challenge GlenOak’s 7-foot-2 Kosta Koufos as best they can tonight. Most of the Bulldogs will be giving up a foot, and Koufos figures to score his share of points. “We have to make him work hard for every point he’s going to get,” Malone said. “You can’t afford to have breakdowns where you give up easy buckets, whether it be to Kosta or ... allowing their perimeter players to get wide-open looks at shots.”
Bright spot in Bedford
Senior forward Marco Richardson is coming off a career-high 30 points and 14 rebounds in the loss to Bedford. Richardson had been in a bit of an offensive slump after opening the season strong.
“He had to go through an adjustment period,” Malone said. Richardson’s fast start made him go from an unknown player to a guy opposing teams focus on.
“He had to realize, ‘I’m a marked man, and they’re going to concentrate on me.’ He had to expand and broaden his game, and he’s doing that.”
Bouncing back Fairless enters tonight looking to snap a two-game losing streak that spoiled its 9-2 start.
“We had a couple of setbacks last week, but we’re 9-4, and that beats being 4-9,” said Fairless coach Matt Kramer, whose team has struggled in recent seasons.
“These kids have basically dragged this program out of the dark ages and back to respectability. They have a chance to get things done. How much we get done will depend on how willing they are to work on defense and being as committed as they have been on offense.”
Defensive lapses cost the offensive-minded Falcons in their two losses.
“We have skill to spare,” Kramer said. “When we get our defensive focus as consistent as our skill, then we’ve got something.”
Protecting the ball
Fairless had an impressive stat in its loss last Friday. The Falcons turned the ball over just five times, a remarkable feat considering they play a fast-tempo game and are encouraged to be aggressive.
It’s the eighth time in 13 games Fairless committed fewer than 10 turnovers.
[More at www.cantonrep.com ]
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