Tag Archives: Douglass

Top Power Forwards in the Area

13 Jun

The 2014 class is loaded with quality talent at the forward position.  The Metro Detroit area contains big men that can shoot, reb0und, defend, and pass.  The majority of these kids all ready have offers, so it is not like they are sneeking up on anybody.

9258651. Jaylen Johnson (Ypsilanti/ Dorians Pride) 6’9″ 210 lbs- Mr. Johnson’s stock has risen to another level this offseason.  Coming into the high school season, only regional schools knew about him.  But after dominating the Spring portion of AAU and the highly prestigious Pangos All-American Camp, Jaylen has hauled in offers from Oregon, North Carolina State, Iowa State, and Maryland, just naming a few.  The smooth moving forward controls the glass with outstanding athleticism, but what makes college coaches drool is his ability to control the paint.  Look for Johnson to gain in more high-major offers as the Summer goes on.

11865862. Justin Tillman (Detroit Pershing/ Reach Legends) 6’8″ 190 lbs – Justin missed more than half of the high school season due to a foot injury.  But looks to be making up for the missing time this past Spring.  Justin is super athletic, finishing above the rim with highlight reel dunks are put back tip ins, and can step out to the perimeter to make a couple of jump shots.  On the defensive end, Justin makes opponents think twice about putting the shot up, and hauls down rebounds in bunches.  Justin so far has received seven mid-major offers, including the likes of Bowling Green, Toledo, Oakland, and Indiana State.

Jamal Poplar3. Jamal Poplar (River Rouge/ Michigan Mustangs) 6’8″- Jamal transferred from Willow Run this past season so he had to sit out the first portion of the season.  But came back strong, which has transitioned nicely into the AAU season.  Poplar has the ability to play all five positions on the court.  Jamal can shoot up to the three point arch, get to the basket off the dribble from the perimeter, handle the ball in the open court, and finish through contact at the rim.  Jamal will be a solid high major prospect by the time high school season get under way.

yante4. Yante Maten (Lahser/ The Family) 6’8″ 210 lbs- Yante has a variety of skills on the basketball court he can use to beat a defender.  Maten can stretch you to the three point line, use his athleticism to go over you, or seal you off creating angles to use with his back to the basket.  Yante so far has offers from Oakland, U of D, Kent State, and Eastern Michigan.

5. Isaac Bowles (Cass Tech/ Judges Court) 6’7″ 215 lbs- Simply put, a rebounding machine. Isaac, before transferring to Cass Tech the second semester from Cezar Chavez Academy, had 38 rebounds in a game, good enough to be put in the state record books.

6. Andre Frederick (Detroit Douglass/ Michigan Hurricanes) 6’7″- What stands out to me about Frederick’s game is that he is a very active defender with quick footwork that is used to block shots.  Even if you are a guard on the perimeter, you better watch out for Frederick.  Andre is very good around the basket finishing with either hand, and uses his big body to carve out space down low.  Andre has a couple MAC offers as of now.

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Detroit PSL Semi-Finals Recap

13 Feb

Cass Tech 61 vs. Southeastern 60: There was no better ending to a basketball game than what happened at Cass Tech on Tuesday the 12th of February.  Trailing by double digits with a little over six minutes left in the game, most in the arena were ready to head to the parking lot.  But not SE.  Javon Haines single-handedly brought the Jungaleers back into the game, hitting a huge three at the mid-way point to cut the score to only 57-54.  Now here is how the ending went.  Cass Tech made a huge turnover with 26 seconds left in the game to give Southeastern the ball back.  SE missed the first shot on their possession, but junior Darryl Bigham was their for the put back with under 11 seconds to play.  With no timeouts remaining, Cass senior point guard D’Andre Johnson drove into the paint but was no good.  A following put back attempt by fellow senior Kyle Steward was good however, giving CT the win and sending them to Calihan Hall on Friday night.

Pershing 50 vs. Douglass 40: Similar to the earlier SE Cass game, a team attempted to make a comeback but was not to be.  Both teams struggled throughout the entire game to get into any offensive rhythm.  However, in the fourth is where things changed.  The score was 34-24 Pershing after three, but Douglass was able to make it 42-37 with 1:30 left in the contest.  But Douglass turned the ball over too much in that time span giving Pershing the hard-fought victory.

Notes

Game 1: Javon Haines might not be the tallest player on the court, but plays with huge amounts of passion.  The senior guard contributed 24 of his teams 60 points.  That is over a 1/3 of their total points!  He has the skills individually to create offense for himself at any time.  An absolute monster on the floor.  I have seen SE play many times this year, and sometimes he is the only one scoring.  I would say that he is a nice D2 prospect.  Daryl Bigham of the Jugaleers I could tell has made great strides throughout the entire season.  Against Cass he proved that he is a reliable forward who a team can dump the ball to in order to get points.  For Cass, D’Andre Johnson started of slow, but in the end finished with 19 hard earned points.

Game 2: The lone bright spot in this game for Fred D was the defensive performance was of junior Andre Frederick.  At times it looked like Pershing star junior Justin Tillman wanted no part of Andre.  Frederick has quick feet that makes him even a threat on the perimeter to block shots.  Has an improving offensive game, but defense wins championships.

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2012 MHSAA Playoff Teams from the PSL

23 Oct

Congratulations to all of the 2012 MHSAA State Playoff participants from the PSL.  A good majority of the teams selected from the DPS could very well end up playing at Ford Field for the State Championships.  Here are the six teams that qualified, their first round opponents and the start time for each game.

Cass Tech @ Grosse Pointe South (Friday 7:00 p.m.)

Cody @ Oak Park (Friday 6:00 p.m.)

King @ Southfield (Friday 4:30  p.m.)

Marysville @ East English Village (Friday 7:00 p.m.)

Central @ St. Clair (Saturday 7:00 p.m.)

Douglass @ Grosse Pointe University Ligget (Saturday 3:00 p.m.)

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Playoff Time in the City of Detroit

17 Oct

The Final weekend of high school football season in the state of Michigan is upon us.  Another great DPS Season will conclude with some teams wishing to have a couple of games back, while other will look to make deep state playoff runs.  The list below will tell what teams have qualified for the playoffs and what teams still need a win this weekend to qualify.

Central- At 5-3, the Trailblazers have certainly had a remarkable season.  They look to qualify for the playoffs on Thursday with a win over the visiting Trojans of Henry Ford.

Douglass- The Canes’ were expected to compete this season for the PSL East Division Championship.  But in the two games they needed to win, King and East English, Douglass did not even record a point.  The Hurricanes will not have a game this week and will finish with a 5-3 record.  Enough to make it into the playoffs.

King- King is in an interesting situation right now.  They play for the city championship this Friday, but with a record of 5-3.  King right now should be 6-2, but forfeited a game due to an ineligible player.  With a win King is in, but a loss still might get them in.  King has had to play a tough schedule, including Southfield and Cass Tech.  But no doubt, the Crusaders do not want to watch the MHSAA Selection Show this Sunday with anxiety about the remainder of their season.

East English- The Bulldogs have the best record out of any DPS Team.  If the bulldogs win this week, they will have  gone 8-1 on the season.  If that turns out to be true, the Bulldogs will have a great opportunity of obtaining home-field advantage in the playoffs, but for sure the district tournament.

Cass Tech- Cass Tech currently sits at 6-2 on the season.  The Technicians conclude regular season play against a very sub-par University of Detroit Jesuit.  Cass will most likely win and maybe even have a running clock in this game, which will give them a 7-2 record on the season.  Although this record seems good, it might not be good for home-field.  If Cass were to end up in the same district as Macomb Dakota, Dearborn Fordson or Warren Mott, they might only receive one home game.  That might not be a problem for the defending State Champions, remember last year, they got into the playoffs at 6-3 and only played one home game.

For all in all, it has been a truly great DPS Season.  Although their might not have been as many State Playoffs teams as their were last year, this season has been one of the most competitive in the years I’ve followed the PSL.

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Game of the Week 10/5/12

4 Oct

The game of the week this week has real playoff implications on the City Playoffs. The last ticket will be punched as Denby Tech hosts the Crusaders of Martin Luther King in a week seven showdown. The winner of the game will receive the second seed in the PSL East Division for the playoffs that begin next week. With that being said, I except both teams to come fighting for the final playoff spot. Both squads are coming off of wins in week 6 with King knocking off Douglass 47-0 while the Tars’ bettered Pershing 26-12. King might have the advantage skill wise in the game, but don’t underestimate Denby’s defense, they have only given up 12 points the last two weeks. In the end, I like King in this game. They have more depth, speed, athleticism compared to the Tars. Look for King Quarterback DaVaun Williams to have a big passing day, which will be much needed if the Crusaders look to make any noise in the PSL City Playoffs.

Final Prediction: Denby 7 King: 35

Enjoy the football weekend everybody and don’t forget to check-in next tuesday for my PSL Football Playoff Preview.

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Game of the Week September 7

6 Sep

Douglass @ East English 7:00 PM

As already mentioned in previous posts, most of the players on East English are from the former Crockett. So this game will feature last years Division 1 and Division 2 city champions. Both teams have high-powered offenses who can put up the points. Each team has a game changer at the running back position. East English running back Desmond King recorded 225 rushing yards on 28 carries last week in a 34-26 win at King. Desmond will also have a chance to make history on the defensive side of the ball as well. If he records 2 more interceptions he will tie the state record for most interceptions in a career. An east side battle is coming up this week with city playoff implications on the line. This one will ought to be a classic.

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