And again, the Grizz!

No one puts in more recruiting road time than Oakland associate head coach Jeff Smith. But he may be able to kick back for a minute this spring, as the Grizzlies have got another in the truck for the class of '08 -- 6-6 junior Drew Maynard of Lake Orion.

Maynard may give Grizzlies fans flashbacks to a former star of the O-Rena -- Brad Buddenborg, with the strong build, big ups and NBA three-point range. Maynard is already a 1,000-point scorer at the prep level, and this season made second-team Class A all-state honors per Bankhoops.com despite facing every gimmick defense imaginable.

Stars of the Class A and B finals
The Class B state final was as entertaining as that in any class, with a bunch of talented athletes getting after it, up and down the floor. Country Day should again be congratulated for its total team effort, with guys who could average 20 for most any team in the state -- Darryl Nobles, Clayton Beard -- putting out for the good of the whole.

The Class A final wasn't all that, but what can you say, Saginaw is simply a powerhouse. If nothing else, everyone in Michigan now knows who Dramond Green is. He leads the list of the weekend's standouts from the Breslin Center.

1. Draymond Green 6-7 Jr Saginaw
Showed off his sweet all-around offensive game in the final against Redford, with 27 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Has point guard skills and smarts as a big forward, and a soft shooting touch, as well. He’s a heads up passer from the high or low post.

“I hadn’t had a dominant game since Christmas,” Green said. “I threw some passes, made some rebounds, whatever my team needed me to do.”

“His basketball IQ is off the charts,” Saginaw coach Lou Dawkins said. “He’s the front-trunner in the class of ’08 for Mr. Basketball.”

2. Kelvin Grady 5-11 Sr East Grand Rapids
Was a flawless playmaker up until making two turnovers in crunch time of the final against Country Day. Of all the players at Breslin, he was the best pure athlete. He can get the ball from point A to B like no other guard in the state. There’s not a lot of flash in Grady’s game, but a ton of substance. He’s a very well-trained point guard who delivers the ball in the right spots.

3. Corperryale Harris 6-5 Sr Detroit Redford
Hadn’t seen schemes like De La Salle presented in the semis all year, held to 2-of-8 first-half shooting; nor a team as big, talented and well-coached as Saginaw since ... Redford’s first game with Saginaw. The result, Manny struggled -- he had 31 points in the final, but that was still below his season average.

“He showed he deserved (Mr. Basketball),” Draymond Green said. “Scoring 31 shots on Bobby Lewis is incredible. Some of those shots he hit in the first half were amazing.”

Against DLS, he forced passes to teammates that he should know, by know, aren’t ready to produce. And Harris’ outside shot remains askew. But -- there were flashes of his talent, with attacks on the basket for contorting layups that no other player in the state can mimic. Harris is a raw talent, and hopefully Michigan gets the right coach to mold it.

“Harris is a class kid and a great player,” De La Salle coach Greg Esler said.

4. Justin Anyijong 6-9 Sr East Grand Rapids
Showed a lot. Justin has always had great fundamentals, and they were on full display at the Breslin. He had a terrific pump-fake, one-dribble 17-footer that not many 6-9 kids are going to make. And even though Justin is, and probably always will be, skinny, he held his ground against one of the most powerful players in the state, Flint SWA’s Leviante Davis and was a real shot-blocking presence. Anyijong had 19 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks in the final; 19 points, 14 boards and six blocks in the semis. Toledo coaches Lamar Chapman and Nate Tuori had to be very happy with what they saw.

5. Darnell Brown 6-2 Jr Birmingham Country Day
Squatty power guard with some explosion, creativity and confidence to his game. Brown has a sweet corner three-point shot and was Country Day’s leading scorer in both games, with 20 against Lakeshore and 22 against East Grand Rapids.

6. Darryl Nobles 6-5 Sr Birmingham Country Day
Consistent, all-around, team-first player. How many seniors would have the patience to repeatedly work the ball into their sophomore big man, instead of jacking it themselves? Darryl is a terrific defender who can close quickly with his speed and long limbs. He made strong, smart cuts away from the ball, and showed a soft touch inside. Nobles’ outside shot came and went, but it didn’t look fundamentally flawed. Nobles played all but one minute of the two games. He had nine rebounds and six assists in the semis, 14 points in the final. Could he be the next Marcus Stout?

7. Demarcus Grady 6-2 Sr East Grand Rapids
He thrives at the Breslin. He was an iron man, playing the entirity of both games. But the Grady Cousins, they don’t get tired. Damn-the-torpedoes driver, intense all-around player, team leader, and improving shooter. He’ll make a helluva in intramural player at Northern Illinois.

8. Josh Southern 6-9 Sr Saginaw
Not to the extent of Draymong Green, but Southern is another good passer for a big man.

“Our coach teaches us to always reverse pivot and look for the double-team,” Green said.

Josh also showed his sometimes hidden athletisicm, running down a loose ball in a way not many big kids can. His offense is rudimentary, but he carried his weight on the boards. Southern had 15 points, 15 boards against Redford; 11, eight and three blocks against Ann Arbor Pioneer.

9. DaShonte Riley 6-11 So Birmingham Country Day
Major league shot blocker. He doesn’t just get the help-side rejections. DaShonte Riley sent one back in the final, recovering after Justin Anyijong had put a one-on-one move on him. He also sent Kelvin Grady back to earth when he tried a layup down the lane at the end of the third quarter.

On the other end, DaShonte Riley was good in the semis, when he had some man-sized dunks, caught some tough balls, and had an assist out of the post. He wasn’t as smooth offensively in the final, and didn’t always post up like he meant it.

10. Joe Welch 6-8 Sr Stevensville-Lakeshore
Had college coaches asking, who the heck is this guy? People notice, sooner or later, when you’re 6-8 and nimble, with a soft shooting touch. He had to go toe-to-toe with 6-11 DaShonte Riley, but stuck with it and produced. Welch fouled out in the semis with 16 points, dooming Lakeshore’s chances over the final three minutes.

11. Tyrone Ward 6-3 Jr Flint Southwestern
An undersized forward, but he’s very productive thanks to his opportunism, tenacity and athleticism. Hits the offensive glass hard. Finished with team highs of 16 points and 10 rebounds against EGR.

12. Dale Brundidge 6-0 Jr Birmingham Country Day
He’s the only true point guard that played for the Yellowjackets, part of the second unit that was outstanding defensively. Brundidge is really quick with the ball, making good decisions while pushing it, and also was good when Country Day pulled the ball out. EGR had no one that could stop his half court penetration. Not an offensive threat, but an outstanding classic playmaker.

13. Don Fowler 6-2 Sr Warren De La Salle
Terrific floor game. He made some tough shots in traffic. But Fowler’s lefty three-point shots faded late when the Pilots needed them the most. He had 18 points, two assists and two steals in the semis.

14. Bobby Lewis 6-3 Sr Saginaw
Pioneer wasn’t ready for this kind of big, strong, hardcore, defense-first athlete. In the semis, its starting perimeter players had 12 turnovers and shot 5-of-21 in the semis. And Bobby showed he’s not at a total loss offensively, socring 13 in the final.

15. Troy Peter 6-4 Jr Stevensville-Lakeshore
It took Peter a while to get comfortable with the overall athleticism of Country Day. He finished with 15 points and nine rebounds. But Peter wasn’t his normally efficient self, shooting 5-of-17 from the floor, often settling for floaters and early releases ... thanks laregely to 6-11 DaShonte Riley lurking back there. He did make a three-pointer, which is beyond his usual perimeter (18 long balls on the season).

Honorable mention:
Clayton Beard 6-4 Sr Birmingham Country Day
Tristian Calhoun 6-5 Sr Saginaw
Robert Clark 6-3 Sr Saginaw
Anthony Crater 6-2 Jr Flint Southwestern
Leviante Davis 6-4 Sr Flint Southwestern
Cody Edwards 6-4 Sr Warren De La Salle
Kevin Keeler 6-3 Sr Ann Arbor Pioneer
Alex Marcotullio 6-3 So Warren De La Salle
James Nelson 6-0 Sr Birmingham Country Day
Matt Pettit 6-6 Sr Ann Arbor Pioneer
Jerome Tyson 6-0 Sr Detroit Redford
Deonte Wesley 6-8 Sr Saginaw
Daniel West 6-0 Jr Saginaw

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Grizzlies strike again
Right on the heels of yesterday's commitment of Pontiac Northern's Tim Williams, Oakland took a step toward the future today, with a pledge from one of the state's top players in the class of 2008.

That would be Blake Cushingberry, the 6-foot-4 junior from Romeo. Cushingberry isn't an above-the-rim player like the guards the Grizzlies have coming in, Williams and Lansing Christian's Peter Bunn. But he has a college-ready body and a pretty sophisticated inside-outside offensive game, with deep three-point range. This season he led Romeo to the regional level for the first time since 1989.

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