5 Key Questions: Oak Hill vs. Massanutten

It's officially that time of year again: The temperature is dropping, the days are getting shorter, the leaves are falling and most importantly, basketball is right around the corner! As I do every year, I made the 7 hour round trip to see one of the premier high school teams in the country Oak Hill take on Massanutten Military Academy's postgrad team in a scrimmage to help benefit research for childhood cancer in Floyd County. As it usually is, this was my first chance to get to see some of the best talent in the state and a very new group of players for both teams. Oak Hill only returns two significant pieces from last year's team, and Massanutten of course didn't return any since they are a post grad team. The game wasn't very close as Oak Hill controlled the game from tip to finish, but it did give me a great opportunity to see some great players, and it left me with more questions than answers, but questions that should be answered throughout the season. Below is a small recap on the scoring and stats from the game, with five questions many of us were asking following the game. 1st half: Oak Hill 51 Massanutten 33 2nd Half: Oak Hill 48 Massanutten 34 Final: Oak Hill 99 Massanutten 77 For OHA (Unofficial): 2020 Cam Thomas 39P, 4S; 2020 Evan Johnson 14P, 4R; 2020 Darrick Jones 13P, 4R; 2020 Darrius Maddox 8P, 3R; 2020 K.K. Robinson 6P, 10A, 7R. For Massanutten: 2021 Markus Ilver 15P, 3R, 3B; 2020 Touba Traore 12P, 11R; 2022 Kyrese Mullen 12P, 7R; 2020 Chad Kratzer 10P, 3A; 2020 Tyson Brown 9P, 9R. Can anyone stop Cam Thomas? We can argue until we're blue in the face about who is the best of this and who is the best of that, but if you're talking about the top scorers in the country you better have Cam Thomas near the very top of that list. Thomas was on fire from the tip as he hit his first three in perfect rhythm, and then he was in attack mode and showed the entire repertoire on the offensive end. He's a true three level scorer with terrific footwork off the bounce that allows him to create space and make shots, he can get to the rim where he's a strong and crafty finisher and once he hits one he's usually good to ring off four or five in a row. We'll have more on Thomas' recruitment coming out later this week, but just know that with this group he's the undeniable go-to guy and will put up huge numbers all year, even with teams game planning to stop him. Why doesn't Evan Johnson have any offers? Johnson doesn't have the same name recognition or national spotlight some of his other teammates have, in fact he's criminally under recruited and told me has no offers and isn't really getting recruited by many schools right now. It's all a situational thing, Johnson joined Oak Hill midway through his sophomore year and played sparingly, last year he split time as a starter and coming off the bench behind Cole Anthony and Cam Thomas and over the summer with Team CP3 he got hurt and his recruitment tapered off because of that. However, every time I see Johnson I can't help but think he's a no brainer division one kid with his mix of athleticism, skill set and ability to play and guard both guard positions. While he plays off the ball for the most part because of his shooting and scoring ability, he showed that he can handle and get in the lane well, getting to the rim and making plays for others as well. He's lightning quick and changes speeds well, he shoots it at a high clip from deep and he's a good on ball defender who gives good effort on both ends of the floor. He has all the makings of being a steal at the next level, a guy who has simply been overlooked because he's always playing with really talented players on his team. Is Markus Ilver set to blow up in the states? While Massanutten lost a good amount of the high level kids they had committed when former coach Chad Myers took the job as the IMG Post Grad Head Coach, one guy that new coach Curtis Peery was very high on is 6'7” Markus Ilver from Estonia. He did not disappoint either, as he showed flashes of being a possible high major kid moving forward with his blend of size, athleticism, IQ and skill set. At 6'7”, Ilver has a great frame with long limbs that should fill out when he's done growing. He has a great shooting stroke as he was 4-for-8 from behind the arc and many of them barely touched the net, and he has good footwork and a quick release that allows him to get the shots up with little to no space. He showed good athleticism with a huge dunk in transition and a few very impressive blocks on the defensive end, and he showed some toughness as well throughout the game when they challenged him. Ilver is far from a finished product, as he needs to continue to get accustomed to the way basketball is played in the US and he needs to improve his ball handling so he can create his own shot in isolation situations. However, all of the tools are there and he should continue to improve as he'll play more than 40 games a year over the next two seasons with Massanutten. Who from Massanutten should coaches be looking at? [caption id="attachment_850784" align="alignnone" width="300"] Tyson Brown 2020[/caption] Along with Ilver, there are a few prospects worth a look on this Massanutten team. Here's a look at some of them. Tyson Brown | 6'9” PF/C: Brown is a late bloomer from the Virginia Beach area who has already pulled in three offers in the preseason with Massanutten. He had flashes where he showed good athleticism and versatility, he competed on both ends and rebounded well in and outside of his area. He's someone that has a lot of potential and a lot of room to grow moving forward. Touba Traore | 6'11” C: A native of Mali, Traore is super intriguing but is also pretty raw still. He was effective in the paint as a guy who finished well above the rim, rebounded well on both ends and was a good rim protector as well. He's oozing with potential and has things you can't teach with his size and length. Chad Kratzer | 6'2” G: The Allentown, PA native didn't have the best showing but he was being guarded by one of the top on ball defenders in the country in KK Robinson. He showed grit and toughness though as he kept coming back time and time again, he made some shots when he was open and seems like a very coachable kid as well. Kyrese Mullen | 6'6” PF (2022): Mullen comes from Norfolk where he'll likely postgrad into the 2022 class. He's shed some weight and looks more mobile, and he showed some improvement on the perimeter as a passer and shooter as well. He's a physical and tough minded guy who produced against much older guys who are very highly recruited as well. What makes this Oak Hill team different? This Oak Hill team doesn't have all the big names and top recruits like it's had in the past, but what it does have is a versatile group of guys who should be able to use that versatility on the defensive end. With wings like 6'8” Jamari Sibley, 6'6” Virginia Tech commit Darius Maddox, 6'5” Towson commit Darrick Jones, 6'7” Jalen Reed and 6'6” Jalen Ricks, they have great length and athleticism for guys who can guard different positions and cause havoc in the passing lanes. From the guard positions, seniors K.K. Robinson and Evan Johnson are very good on ball defenders who get after it, and Thomas has a great knack for jumping the passing lanes. They are void of the big, physical center they've had for years although 6'9” Bradley Ezewiro showed flashes of brilliance in that role, but this should allow them to play a more uptempo and fast paced style that will fit their guard and wings who can flat out fill it up. They can press and run and gun, and in the half court they have two guys in Robinson and Thomas who can create for themselves and for others in isolation situations. So in other words, before you say this team is “down” because they don't have the top guy in the country at multiple positions, know they will be able to compete with anybody as a more unselfish and defensive oriented group than they have been in the past.