State Championship Sunday, Mike’s X-Factors

<p>State Championship Sunday at UD Arena is a fitting end to a long high school season that saw me watch 123 games involving 130 different high schools from Ohio. This article will break down the X-Factors that helped their teams during the biggest games of the season.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1181712" first="Kevin" last="Hamilton"], 5’9 PG STVM 2023: Hamilton often gets forgot about when discussing STVM, but the undersized PG played his style of game to perfection on Sunday. Hamilton was 3/3 from the floor, didn’t turn the ball over and was a +27 in 29 minutes of action. Hamilton gets more chances to score on his grassroots team during the summer but on STVM he has a role more similar to what small colleges could expect him to play as an underclassman.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="921768" first="London" last="Maiden"], 6’8 C Richmond Heights 2022: Maiden and the Spartans got their first state championship in a dominant effort. Maiden was a force in the paint, grabbing four offensive rebounds and drawing four fouls down low. Maiden also threw down two dunks that changed momentum of the game each time. Maiden led his team with a +24 in just over 30 minutes of action. Maiden should draw a lot of interest from JUCO and post grad programs looking to add a big who takes up a lot of space in the paint and has improved his conditioning as well.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1082238" first="Josh" last="Harlan"], 5’10 PG Pickerington Central 2022: Harlan made big time plays late in the game that eventually helped Pickerington Central pull off the upset of the weekend to lift the Division I state title trophy. Harlan had a huge 3-pointer from the top of the key and iced the game from the free-throw line as well. Harlan played 29 minutes and didn’t turn the ball over and played tough defense as well.</p> <p>Rasheem Biles, 6’2 SG Pickerington Central 2023: Biles is a Division I football prospect, but his return to the court might’ve been the difference in giving Pickerington Central the jolt it needed to win the state title. Biles is an exceptional athlete and provides toughness and strength that not many players in the state can match. While his future is on the gridiron, I love watching Biles compete on the hardwood and would love to see him on the court again in 2023.</p> <p>Kyle Kenney, 6’1 SG Centerville 2023: Kenney was a player I didn’t know anything about until the Elks district title win over Lakota West. Kenney played tough defense and made open shots that fell to him and again on the big stage played that role well. Kenney was 3/5 from the floor and grabbed three offensive rebounds. On the defensive end Kenney did struggle to stay in front of more athletic Pickerington Central wings and fouled out late in the game.</p>