Columbus DI District Finals: Top Performers

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The Columbus Division I district finals gave fans the opportunity to see four games at one location on the best day of the high school basketball calendar, district championship Saturday. In this article we'll break down five top performers.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["1222352"],"_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":"The top performer of the day, Norris simply refused to lose on Saturday. I usually hate using a cliche like that when describing a players performance, but Norris willed his team to victory. Not only did he get wherever he wanted on the court and drive with patience, play off two feet and be ridiculously efficient scoring 36 points, but Norris also grabbed some huge rebounds with taller opponents surrounding him. A player you can't speed up when the ball is in his hands, Norris would dribble down to the paint and jump stop before getting the defender in the air or simply going through the body of a shot contest. Nothing flashy about his game and I'm not sure he made a shot outside of 12 feet all game. He was simply unstoppable on the block and on drives. When Westerville Central started double-teaming Norris, he routinely made the right pass and helped the ball get to the right spot. Down 13 points with five minutes to go? Norris never blinked and led his team to an improbable comeback in one of the best games I've seen all season.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1965562"],"_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":"The beauty of the state tournament is that the stakes are so high, it's win or go home. I feel horrible for the Westerville Central group that battled for 32 minutes, hit shots and competed on both ends, but somebody had to lose. I was impressed with Harper's confidence shooting the ball from the outside on Saturday morning. I've seen him hit shots before from the perimeter but never in the quick succession that he did against Bradley, he was shooting it with confidence off the catch all day. A good athlete, Harper will be recruited for both his football and basketball talents. His strength and quick first step allows him to get downhill even as a left-hand dominant attacker. With Westerville Central graduating a lot of seniors, it'll be on their 2025 core that includes Harper to keep them competitive in the OCC.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["2373419"],"_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":"The most anticipated game of the day turned into blowout city when Olentangy Orange straight up ran Reynoldsburg out the gym in the first half. With a handful of players where basketball is their second sport, Olentangy Orange plays a beautiful brand of basketball and Knupp (an Eastern Michigan baseball commit) is a key part of that. A tremendous motor on both ends of the court, Knupp grabbed some offensive rebounds he had no business coming down with. Playing with patience after catching the ball, Knupp got the Reynoldsburg block happy defense in the air a couple times to open up easy looks off the glass. An impressive athlete, a Knupp dunk in the second half was the icing on the cake for a true team effort that sees Olentangy Orange win a second consecutive district title with a mostly new look team. The bad news for the rest of Columbus? The Pioneers only start one senior and could be even better next season, a scary thought.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["1222373"],"_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":"The top seeds turned district final Saturday into blowout city with Delaware Hayes jumping all over Walnut Ridge and cruising to a double-digit win after leading by around 20 points most of the second half. It was the Ohio Bobcat commit Burris who helped them gain that lead with a huge first half. Burris had a couple dunks in the first quarter including a dump off and a leak-out. One thing Delaware Hayes does as good as anybody in the state is throw the ball ahead after rebounds and steals, they got at least 10-12 points off impressive lead passes to guards streaking down the court. Burris also hit a circus shot at the first quarter buzzer, giving the Pacers a boost of momentum that they ran with. Delaware Hayes is peaking at the right time and have the talent to make it out of this loaded region.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["1874226"],"_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":"Death. Taxes. Newark Basketball showing up in March. 3 certainties in life. The senior duo of Stare and [player_tooltip player_id='1225070' first='Steele' last='Meister'] were huge as Newark wins another district title under one of the best coaches in the state in Jeff Quackenbush. Stare, who came off the bench as he's only recently came back from an injury, was huge on both ends of the court. A strongly built kid, Stare played with good balance and off two feet. Tough to push off his spots when he's attacking the basket, Stare found success getting into the lane and went to the free throw line off these drives a few times as well. Newark basketball preaches toughness and effort, Stare checked those boxes with a few hustle plays that gave his team extra possessions. When you have a culture as strong as Newark's they are always going to be in the mix for district titles.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-65edcb6590c60"} /-->