COLUMN
Basketball in full swing
November 30, 2009
By Tommy Kopetskie, NorthRaleighSports.com
Sorry for the delay on this week's Case of the Mondays.
I was busy avoiding area law enforcement after an "incident" at my home this weekend involving my SUV, a fire hydrant, a neighbor's tree and my wife waving a golf club.
Plus, these damn TMZ people won't stop rummaging through my garbage and parking in my front yard.
Anywho... it's time to talk local sports.
In the past two weeks, I have seen four of the five local boys basketball teams, and I figured I'd share some of my early thoughts on each squad.
Sanderson (2-1)
The Spartans have cruised in their two victories — pasting Cary and Athens Drive by 20 and 12 points, respectively — but looked lackluster in a eight-point loss to Southeast Raleigh.
I saw the Southeast Raleigh match-up, and while Sanderson struggled offensively — the contest with the Bulldogs was riddled with fouls and free throws — I see good potential there.
Matt James is so long, he will cause headaches for opponents all year. Once he gets into the flow of the basketball season, he could be real trouble.
Chris Carter is equally a mismatch problem, and a capable scorer.
Plus, guard Kevin Black dropped in an 18-point performance against Athens Drive, which is a good sign.
If the Spartans' perimeter players can open up the floor for Carter and James inside, victories will follow.
Millbrook (2-1)
Millbrook's Tyrrel Tate is just an old-fashioned scorer. I saw him drop in 22 points in a 71-64 loss at Knightdale without having to break a sweat.
Although the senior has struggled since, 12 total points in the Wildcats' next two contests — both wins — Jarrick Brown has picked up the pace scoring a team-high 25 total points in the victories.
Danny Mizerk has shown a solid touch from the outside already, and Donzell Hill is the energy rebounder every team needs.
Leesville Road forward Quinton Marshall has proved to be a good offensive threat in the Pride's two games this season, averaging just under 15 points a game.
Leesville Road (1-1)
Pride head coach Roderic Brewington isn't afraid to sub in anyone off Leesville Road's deep bench, which will get deeper once football player Gerroid Doughty joins the team this week.
While it might be a little while before all the squad's roles and responsibilities are in place, Leesville won't have any problems battling teams once a tough conference schedule commences.
Having seen the Pride just once, I came away impressed with Troy Williamson running the point as well as shooting. He hit a huge trey with a minute left against Green Hope last week. Chandler Hawkins and Quinton Marshall showed me good all-around gamesl, able to hit from the outside as well as drive.
Wakefield (3-0)
The Wolverines have been the biggest storyline of the young season, knocking off Clayton on opening night on a late lay-up, thumping Holly Springs by 30 points and thwarting a competitive Knightdale squad by 25 points a few days later.
While there is no one dominant player like years past — i.e. Darius Johnson-Odom or Antonio Stabler — Wakefield appears to have all the right parts.
Forwards Keith Armstrong and Jake Lenox hit the glass hard. (Head coach Pat Kennedy called Lenox the team's "glue.") Guards Dominique McDonald and Xavier Saddler-Mee can get to the bucket on anyone. And Nigel King and Maurice Nash pose match-up nightmares with their size and strength.
They appear to be the best bet to battle league frontrunner Enloe.
Five things I think this week
1. I have little doubt Maurice Nash is going to posterize someone this year, just as soon as he gets a few games under his belt. After missing all of last year following knee surgery, Nash appears to be just getting his feet under him. Ditto this for Sanderson's Matt James.
2. Want to see how good Leesville Road boys basketball team is? This week will be a great test as the Pride play three game in four nights, beginning Monday at Panther Creek. On Tuesday, Leesville hosts Durham Riverside and finishes with Apex Thursday. This challenge will be draining, but like I said earlier, the Pride have great depth to lead them through this gauntlet of games.
(The Leesville girls team faces the same steep challenge, and are 0-2 heading into Monday.)
3. The Wakefield girls basketball team (3-0) faces its first proven opponent Wednesday, playing at Green Hope. The Lady Falcons are 4-0 this season and have a 59-point win over Leesville to their credit.
Not that the Lady Wolverines should be scared having won their first three games by an average of 21 points.
4. Millbrook and Leesville Road's wrestling teams head to the Jim King Invitational at Orange High in Hillsborough for some great early-season reps.The 20-team tournament will be brimming with top-tier talent for the Wildcats and Pride to get quality mat time in. Friday's action begins at 3:30 p.m., and Saturday's starts at 11 a.m.
5. In person, I saw Wake Forest-Rolesville's Trea Jones (pictured) score six touchdowns this year — in just three games.
It is a shame that the senior will likely miss Friday night's Eastern Regional Final against Jack Britt because you want to see the best take on the best.
That said, this injury gives a clear advantage to the Buccaneers and expect them to win by 10 points. With Jones, it would have been a push either way.
Best play I saw in person last week
This is a tough one because of the Turkey Day break cutting the schedule down. I'll give it to Troy Williamson for hitting a trey with Green Hope defender in his grill with less than 15 seconds remaining. Everyone knew he had to take the shot, and he stepped up anyway. Unfortunately, it didn't lead to a Pride win.
Recruiting tidbit
According to Wakefield assistant football coach Hunter Jenks, Nigel King attended the LSU/Arkansas football game Saturday night in Baton Rouge. The prized Wolverine wideout saw the Tigers escape with a late 33-30 victory thanks to a missed Razorback field goal in overtime.
Toby Gerhart for Heisman?
I have watched approximately one half of Stanford football this season, but it was more than enough time for me to fall in love with Toby Gerhert. Follow this link, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nh6Zz3F8Qyo, to see the Stanford running back punish the Notre Dame defense Saturday night.
He beat the Irish so bad, police should be investigating him, not Tiger's wife.
Random thought
I thought Cyber-bullying was fun — kidding — until I heard about this...
http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-ginger-beating,0,999291.story
What happened to just beating up kids because you just didn't like them? Of course, this comes from a person who's never been in a fight in his life.
Kids need to spend more time outdoors than sitting at their computers, updating their facebook pages. (Though I truly believe five minutes a day on NorthRaleighSports.com will lead to a fulfilling and good life, and should be encouraged to everyone who can read and open Internet Explorer.
E-mail your thoughts to tommy@northraleighsports.com.
