Division II Regional Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The OHSAA final 4 is set and last week was the regional round of the tournament. I attended three games of Division II teams last week, Akron Buchtel Vs Youngstown Chaney, Gilmour Academy Vs Cleveland Glenville and Bishop Ready Vs Fairfield Union. In this article I'll break down the standouts from these three games.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["867954"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"Thurmon has been a killer all season and with the lights shining brightest in the regional semis, Thurmon got the job done to get his team the win. It was impossible to stay in front of Thurmon with the ball in his hands and was getting out in transition to push the pace. One of the top point guards in the senior class, Thurmon was also finding open teammates on dribble drive and kick out looks for open jumpers all game. Buchtel has the talent to win it all in a balanced Division II final four this week.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1163453"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Boyce did a ton of dirty work and put forth a great glue guy performance on Thursday night, doing whatever it took to win. Boyce cut without the basketball and got open looks, crashed the offensive glass and was in the right place at the right time on numerous occasions. I also like Boyce's defensive effort and ability to impact the game without the ball in his hands. This is a prospect who I think could have an easy transition to the college level with his high school role that he plays, however, Boyce does have more college interest for football than basketball.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["1163470"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"In a game where Gilmour trailed for a majority of the contest, Molton came up clutch at the end to lead his team to the regional championship where they would eventually fall to Buchtel. Playing off two feet when attacking the basket, Molton does a good job in the floater and close mid-range area of scoring. A talented playmaker for others, Molton can also use his slashing game to get past an initial defender and zip a pass to an open teammate. Molton's passing fakes also gave the aggressive Glenville zone trouble. The senior duo of Molton and [player_tooltip player_id='1163471' first='Brandon' last='Rose'] won a ton of games for Gilmour and made deep playoff runs, two winners that will have success at the next level.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1845820"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Castro is one of the shiftiest and quickest freshman point guards I've seen this season. While he is very undersized right now, I was impressed with how fearless he was attacking the basket and the passes he made with a live dribble. Castro is very left hand dominant at the rim, so improving his offhand will be an area of focus over the next few years. I also liked how Castro wasn't shy about taking open jumpers, but his outside shot wasn't falling on Thursday night. Glenville has one of the most athletic teams in the state with a lot of football first players, but Castro's point guard skills allowed this team to retuo the regionals for a second straight season.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["1225047"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"Bishop Ready remains unbeaten and despite Fairfield Union giving them all they could handle for a little more than a half, the Silver Knights showed their experience and talent in the final 10 minutes of the game to break away for a regional championship. In the first half it was Russell putting the team on his back with a couple 3-pointers, a few tough finishes at the rim through contact and some big rebounds. Russell is committed to Air Force for baseball, but he's proved this winter that he would be a no doubt full scholarship kid at the Division II level for basketball and will once again be rising in our rankings during our final update after the OHSAA tournament. This Bishop Ready squad is focused and they have one thing on their mind, winning a state title and completing an unbeaten season.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-640f53e394319"} /-->