Bishop Ready 48 @ Columbus DeSales 46 Recap

<p>Bishop Ready went on the road and took down Columbus St Francis DeSales 48-46 in a very competitive season opener for each team. Both teams are expected to finish near the top of a competitive Central Catholic league. DeSales was missing Obed Achirem and this lost really hurt the Stallions as they didn’t get consistent guard play outside of Austin Mann. Thanks to hot outside shooting from [player_tooltip player_id="918974" first="Darius" last="Parham"] and gritty defense and rebounding, Bishop Ready was able to remain close the entire way before making a late push for the win. [player_tooltip player_id="714554" first="PJ" last="Daniels"] had some timely layups and various Silver Knights got on the board after knocking down 3-point buckets and open layups. Here were the top performers from the game.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="918974" first="Darius" last="Parham"], 6’3 SG Bishop Ready 2021: Parham looked every bit the part of a scholarship level prospect on Friday evening. The senior wing guard was knocking down shots from everywhere on the perimeter as he stroke was looking silky smooth from long distance. Parham does an excellent job of making himself ready to shoot off the catch by setting his feet towards the rim. Parham got it done on both ends, with around four blocks in this contest. As a two sport stud, Parham uses his natural athleticism to fly in for these sort of blocks on defense. If Parham can continue this sort of play, division II and NAIA coaches should be calling as Parham currently only holds one offer from Wilberforce.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="593932" first="Desmond" last="Watson"], 6’5 SF Columbus DeSales 2021: I’d say a subpar game for Watson’s lofty standards in the season opener. Biggest problem for Watson was that he couldn’t knock down shots from the outside consistently. Watson shot it much better in the summer when I saw him play compared to tonight, where he not only struggled from 3-point range but also at the charity stripe. Despite this, Watson was dominating physically, as the 6’5 wing is one of the most gifted athletes in the state. Watson’s second jump is lighting fast, as he’s able to get back up at the rim while most defenders are just returning to the ground. 22 points with a handful of steals, a couple dunks and a few assists isn’t a bad game by any means, but Watson will have nights much more dominating than tonight.</p> <p>Austin Mann, 5’7 PG Columbus DeSales 2021: Mann was a bright spot for the Stallions in a losing effort. Mann can really shoot the basketball and despite standing at 5’7 (that might be a little generous too) he gets after it defensively. One of the few confident ball-handlers that DeSales threw on the court, his varsity experience was evident when watching the game. If DeSales is going to bounce back and compete for a conference title, Mann will need to continue to be a leader and take charge of the offense when things are breaking down like they were at times tonight.</p>