Central Ohio Week 5 Top Performers

Holiday season is still in full swing which means there were not many games this week, but the ones we did have were full of action and stellar performances. The week started with a thriller of a shootout between two senior guards that did everything they could to not their team lose and ended on Christmas Eve with a different senior guard delivering the gift of a blowout victory. Plenty of teams got big wins that put them on the path to district championships and established dominance in their respective conferences. Here’s to hoping everyone had a good Christmas and got everything they asked Santa for, these are the standout performers from the week of December 21 through December 26. [player_tooltip player_id="918986" first="Henry" last="Hinkle"]- Senior; Olentangy Liberty: The excellent senior started the week hot on December 22nd and paced his team to a big 67-61 win over the tough Thomas Worthington. Hinkle put up 21 points including a number of big time free-throws because he was in attack more against more athletic guards. This unsigned guard (something that makes no sense) also got a few steals on the defensive end, showing his toughness. Hinkle is a winner in every sense of the word, and a young man that can lead any program, the school that gets him will get themselves a kid that they can trust on and off the court. [player_tooltip player_id="918967" first="Tasos" last="Cook"]- Senior; Westerville Central: With the easy play of the week, one that left newly re-acquired Quincy Cook looking as if he forgot to unthaw the chicken and his just pulled up, Cook scored 27 points in the Warhawks 75-49 blowout over Olentangy. Cook not only showed his athleticism, he flaunted every aspect of his game, he shot the ball well from all over the court and played really good defense. Cook was in go-mode from the opening tip and was aggressive in attacking the rim early then hit some mid-range shots just for good measure. Once he felt good enough he nailed some three’s just to go into Christmas feeling good, Cook was amazing on December 23rd. [player_tooltip player_id="921759" first="Javan" last="Simmons"]- Junior; Gahanna: He was the best player on the court in the Lions 65-51 victory over Pickering Central on December 23rd, the Tigers did not have an answer for the forward. Simmons scored 19 points and continued to show that his work in the paint is unmatched. Javan plays with his back to the basket and has a number of moves with a pillow soft touch on his shot. Simmons absorbs contact and plays through it as if defenders were cotton balls being thrown at him. After receiving an official scholarship offer from the University of Toledo (which as a Bowling Green guy, doesn’t make this writer too happy), Simmons showed he is just beginning to ascend with his game. [player_tooltip player_id="918985" first="Jarius" last="Jones"]- Senior; Gahanna: A team leader that is the glue guy for the Lions, Jones poured in 15 important points and grabbed nine huge rebounds in Gahanna’s win over Pickerington Central. He moves amazingly without the ball, understanding how to get open on the offensive side of the court. Jones has great hands in the paint and a soft touch around the rim along with the ability to finish with both hands. When he plays well, Gahanna is unstoppable on offense and their defense is tremendous with the capability to clean up the glass just as well as any swing guard/ forward in the area. [player_tooltip player_id="616810" first="Sean" last="Jones"]- Junior; Gahanna: Scoring some of the toughest 15 points he will ever score, Jones still ran the Lion offense like the basketball maestro he is. Jones, who stands 5-foot-11, was guarded by the 6-foot-5 [player_tooltip player_id="918960" first="Garner" last="Wallace"] who made it difficult for him to get going. The best guard in Ohio hit some three-point jump shots over length and was able to help his team in their win. As Jones’ ankle gets better he will have better performances, but if these are his above-average games then just imagine what will happen when he gets 100% and this team hits its stride. [player_tooltip player_id="805137" first="Jalen" last="Sullinger"]- Senior; Thomas Worthington: Sullinger started off slow and scoreless early but got some different ingredients and began cooking, finishing the game with 24 points. The future Kent State point guard got in his bag and got to the rim at will and used his handle to leave defenders in the dust. Sullinger also nailed a couple three’s but he stayed in the paint, getting off some nice floaters in the lane and getting to the free throw line. Going up against a solid team defense in the loss to Olentangy Liberty, it was tough to start but once he got going he was impossible to start. [player_tooltip player_id="921747" first="Brandon" last="McLaughlin"]- Junior; Heath: This 6-foot-8 junior got his ball on, putting up 18 points and 10 rebounds in Heath’s 46-41 win over Granville. McLaughlin is super athletic and can finish around the rim with a soft touch in the half court and can snatch down a rebound and lead the fast break himself. Defensively, McLaughlin can man the paint and make offensive players rethink what they were going to do. The junior isn’t even close to where his ceiling will be, with his skill set he is more than a walking double-double. Reece Huber- Junior; Heath: An athletic guard that can do a little bit of everything on both ends of the court. Huber can get to the basket off the bounce with an elite first step and that ability to finish at the rim with either hand, he can also break down a defender to shoot over top of them at a high rate. The combination of him and [player_tooltip player_id="921747" first="Brandon" last="McLaughlin"] will be tough to stop in the Lciking County League. Huber can also slow down opposing guards with his ability to stay in front of ball handlers and create havoc because of his quick hands and feet. Huber will be interesting to keep watching as this season goes on. Dylan West- Junior; Lancaster: The small guard, again readers know I love small guards, put up a team-high 17 points in his team’s 67-42 win over New Albany. The Gales improved to 5-0 in the process of doing so, showing they will be a team that will have something to say in the district before it’s over. West showed the confidence a player of his talent should have, taking shots from places other players would get benched for and making them. West had hands in his face all night, but it did not bother him because he hit shots from wherever he wanted. He showed off his quick handle as he got into the lane as well, West was impressive all night long and he showed height does not matter to him. [player_tooltip player_id="918960" first="Garner" last="Wallace"]- Senior; Pickerington Central: His primary goal was to slow down the best point guard in the state [player_tooltip player_id="616810" first="Sean" last="Jones"], and he not only accomplished that but he also pitched 13 points to go along with four rebounds. Wallace used his 6-foot-5 length to bother Jones on the defensive side, taking away passing lanes and getting his hands up on jump shots. On offense, Wallace was able to find a way to hit shots around the rim over the length of the Lions inside the paint. Wallace was crafty with the ball in his hands, showing some athleticism and playing hard all night.