Columbus City League Championship

WHAT A GAME! 16-2 Beechcroft faced off against 16-5 Africentric in the Columbus City League Championship game at 2 o’clock today and it lived up to the hype. Great atmosphere and both teams played their hearts out. Made this one an instant classic. Africentric would have a big-time comeback in the second half and end up winning this game 65-58. 

Dailyn Swain Dailyn Swain 6'7" | SF Africentric | 2023 State #81 Nation OH (2023). W 6’8. Columbus Africentric

Swain showed why he is the king of the city league today. He was very quiet in the first half but was unbelievable in the second half. Played huge for the Nubians. Playing big and grabbing in a lot of boards with his great length and athleticism. Showed great toughness fighting against Beechcroft’s Amani Lyles Amani Lyles 6'7" | C Beechcroft | 2022 State OH down low for boards in the second half. He was aggressive and got to the rim at a high rate. Went coast to coast a lot because no one could stop him from doing it. Scoring a lot of buckets and drawing many fouls. He showed off his vision with some great passes. Swain is a high-level playmaker and showed today he can do it all and is willing to do whatever it takes to win. 

Amani Lyles Amani Lyles 6'7" | C Beechcroft | 2022 State OH (2022). F 6’8. Beechcroft 

Amani Lyles Amani Lyles 6'7" | C Beechcroft | 2022 State OH is a freak athlete. 6’8 with incredible bounce and moves very well. He had a mean poster and two high off-the-backboard pin blocks in the second quarter for Beechcroft. He has some very nice vision as well - found the open man and/or cutter when was doubled. He is someone that college coaches will love. He has great touch around the rim and finishes through contact at a very effective rate. He is a great rim protector because nothing is out of his reach with his athleticism and length. He is a great modern-day forward. 

Dan Wagner Dan Wagner 6'0" | CG Columbus Africentric Early College | 2022 State OH (2022). G 6’1. Africentric

The Toledo football commit played huge today for Africentric. Came out very aggressive and was a problem for Beechcroft. He is a great athlete and shows it off with his ability to finish over bigger players by simply jumping higher than them. He had multiple tough finishes and even hit some threes today. He had high energy all game and played his tail off on defense. He was not letting any of the opponents’ guards feel comfortable with the ball. He was a big reason and help for Africentric to win the City League today. 

JJ Simmons JJ Simmons 5'10" | PG Beechcroft | 2022 State OH (2022). G 5’11. Beechcroft

Simmons had a very nice game today for Beechcroft. He hit very big and timely jumpers. Simmons has a very nice shoot and showed it off today. He hit big threes to stretch their lead or to stop Africentric’s momentum. He played with high energy and tons of effort today. I loved how, even though he was feeling it from deep, he never forced anything. He showed great maturity and patience. 

Preston Steele Preston Steele 6'5" | PF Africentric | 2023 State OH (2023). W 6’6. Columbus Africentric

I am a big fan of Steele. He played tough today in the post grabbing in rebounds and having some highlight-level blocks. Steele is very strong and athletic. He is not scared of anyone and is willing to test his athleticism against anyone. He has some great bounce. He has some great touch as well. He helped out a lot today in the big-time comeback. 

Antwoin Reed Antwoin Reed 6'4" | C Beechcroft | 2022 State OH (2022). F 6’5. Beechcroft

I really liked what I saw today from Reed. He is listed at 6’5 but plays as if he is 6’9. He is a big and strong kid. He bullies people in the paint. He grabbed a lot of boards and had multiple finishes through contact. I loved Reed’s energy level and effort the entire game. He is a very tough player and I think would be a nice pick-up for a college. 

Jamari Strickland (2022). G 6’1. Beechcroft

Strickland, unfortunately, fouled out of today’s game but I really liked him. He is a very long and athletic guard with some great touch in the lane. He is a slasher first but finished some tough floaters in the lane today. He finished through some tough contact as well. He is very raw but his athleticism and length is note-worthy, with some great touch to compliment that as well.