Three major take aways from Lorain’s win over Clearview
The Lorain Titans are loaded with young talent and will be a tough out when the state tournament starts in late February.
The Titans started fast and then hit a lull before finishing strong in the fourth quarter of a 74-63 win over Clearview on Jan. 20.
Just a few observations from the contest:
Lorain is loaded with talented underclassman
Lorain High has been loaded with college level-talent the past few year and that trend is continuing. The Titans feature a pair of juniors and a sophomore who show the ability to play at the next level.
Taevon Pierre-Louis (2019), a 6-6 wing, appears to have the highest ceiling of the trio. In the win over Clearview, he scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds while dishing out four assists. He took over the game in the fourth quarter when he scored 12 points. He used his height, strength, and quickness to take over the game down the stretch as he scored a variety of inside moves and was able to get to the line.
Devon Grant (2019) is a 6’0” guard who is a jet with the ball. That speed allows him to get ahead of the pack and finish on leak outs, which he did against Clearview. He also displayed a nice jump shot. He started strong scoring 13 points in the first quarter on his way to a 20-point performance. Looks to be strong with rock.
Pierre-Louis appears to be a jack of all trades
Although Pierre-Louis appears to have the body and physical traits to be a strong inside scorer, he’s smooth with the ball on the perimeter. During the end of the win over Clearview with Lorain trying to run some clock in a tight game, the Titans went into a mini stall and it was Pierre-Louis who was handling the ball out top. He eventually broke down the defense and fed off for an assist to end one such stall.
Clearview’s backcourt duo impressive
Clearview’s undersized athletic, gritty but somewhat undersized backcourt duo of Javon Todd (2019) and Josiah Hitchens (2019) never backed down against Lorain.
Hitchens displayed a knack to get to the basket and had one acrobatic reverse layup. He also rebounded the ball well and as his coach, John Szalay noted he’s always in the middle of the action.
Todd finished with 20 points. He showed decent handle and a nice build and could be a Division III prospect at this point. Both players are around 5-10. Hitchens is the longer and thinner of the two, while Todd is of a stockier build.
Todd’s older brother, DeAri, is on a football scholarship at Michigan State. Javon Todd was a standout youth football player and one Lorain County athletic official said he would undoubtedly be a Division I football prospect if he returned to the sport.