Solid Weekend Showings Around Central Ohio

<p class="p1"><span class="s1">Basketball is in full swing around Ohio, nearly a month in already! Things slow down for a couple days around Christmas time, but heat right back up. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">In this one we’re taking a look at some players who stood out this past weekend and made things happen. No certain criteria or anything, just players that left their mark. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Drew Ballinger (2021) | 6-3 WG | Newark </b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">25 points against Zanesville </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Newark has a nice balance scoring attack this season and Drew Ballinger is right there in the mix. In a blowout win over Zanesville that wasn’t the case, he went for a big 25 point game really slashing what he can do and that is fill it up, including from deep. The junior is averaging nearly 15 points a game and brings good size to the guard position. A combo that really works for Newark and will for the next couple years. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>TJ Pugh (2021) | 6-6 WG | Shelby </b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">22 points, 15 rebounds against Galion </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Pugh we said will be the best all-around player in the MOAC this season, and one of the best around his area in general and he has been just that. Averaging nearly 20 points and 8 rebounds a game. One thing we learned from seeing Pugh early in the season is he’s playing so unselfish and gets his teammates involved at a high clip. Always good for a few assists a night and is plenty capable of primary ball handling duties. Big time showing in a win over Galion. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Keaton Turner (2020) | 6-0 PG | Dublin Coffman</b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">21 points against Northland </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Keaton is doing exactly what we thought he would this season and that’s produce at a high clip. Now the man for Coffman, Turner has been very solid so far. A game after scoring 34 points he picked up a nice home win over Columbus Northland, scoring 21 points against the Vikings. The senior can get it done multiple ways and is one of the best scoring lead guards available in the area. Turner has some very solid interest, if I’m those programs I would pull the trigger in offering quickly. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Dylan Thompson (2022) | 6-2 WG | Buckeye Valley </b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">17 points against Bexley </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">With Troy Scowden going down someone has to step up for the Barons and they may have found that in Thompson. Already a solid player, the last couple games Thompson has taken it to another level showing a bigger scoring ability than we’ve seen from him yet, including 24 against Grandview Heights. A true two-way player that is making strides on the offensive side. A cool 17 points in a breeze of a win against Bexley. </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1"><b>Derrick Hardin (2020) | 6-0 G | Worthington Christian </b></span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">20 points against Wellington </span></p> <p class="p1"><span class="s1">Through eight games Hardin is the Warriors leading scorer, not many would have guessed that, but we seen enough in the summer to know he would be capable of this. Having a great senior season thus far and showing why he is a college level player. In a nice 69-60 win over Wellington the 6-foot guard went for 20, which he has virtually averaged this season. No signs of the scoring guard to slow down, as he’s improved every part of his ability to score it. </span></p>