GoCats105
3/13/2013 11:11 PM
Well it was a rough night for DJ. He scored four of the first six points for Walnut Hills, but he was plagued with foul trouble the entire night and didn't score any more because he couldn't get into a rhythm. It stinks not to see the good DJ play, but it's not a bad thing to see it either.
First about the game:
Walnut Hills beat Springboro 52-46 in a game that looked like an upset waiting to happen, but Springboro just couldn't hit shots when it needed to. If you know anything about either team, they both like to feed it to their big men early and often. Walnut Hills was quicker, but Springboro was probably more fundamentally sound.
The problem with that is, once Springboro's big man Maverick Morgan go doubled or tripled, the other offensive players weren't aggressive enough and didn't shoot a lot of wide open jumpers. It's part of the reason that they struggled in the first half and trailed most of the game. They also tried to go straight up man with the more athletic and quick WH, and Isaiah Johnson dominated the paint. Once they switched to a zone, they slowly pulled back into it.
Walnut Hills is a good team, but they are very beatable if Wingfield/Johnson aren't playing well or in foul trouble and Johnson has a counterpart who can take him shot for shot or better, which Morgan did all night long. The WH guards were just better than Springboro's tonight and made more open looks to crack the zone.
Player reactions:
Isaiah Johnson - I can see why people rave about him. He's as big as a house and can rarely be stopped unless someone as big as him is playing straight up against him. He doesn't move away from the blocks very much, and why would you? He plays in Cincinnati, where it doesn't seem like there is a wealth of big men to go around, so he can dominate night in and night out. (He had 16 points and 13 rebounds tonight)
His movement without the ball is where he gets his easy looks. I was surprised how many open passes he got because he had great position in the post or made the right cut while his guard was driving. Other than that, he just posts up and waits for something to happen around him.
I don't think he's very quick though, which kind of puzzles me as to why people think he's so good. I will admit, I see the potential, but he's definitely not someone like a Leon Williams or Brandon Hunter or even a Demetrius Treadwell. He's a BIG dude, and that's about it. They'll need to work on his quickness up in Akron around the rim, because he'll get contained by bigger competition. Right now he can get away with it because everyone is so much smaller than him. It's not like the MAC is flooded with big men, but there's enough 6'6" guys with long arms to cause him fits once he puts it on the deck.
He's a good free throw shooter, so he's got touch, but he doesn't shoot much outside of 10 feet. Defensively, he just clogs the lane and doesn't really look to block shots unless it's a small guard penetrating.
Maverick Morgan - This guy is all John Groce. He's a big man who can shoot 15 footers and passes well. And I was surprised with his strength inside against the bigger Johnson (finished with 19 points, 12 rebounds and 6 blocks). His face up turn around jumper is his strength. But the weird part is, when he gets it on the right side, either high or low, he spins inward on his right pivot foot. He exposes himself and goes straight up and down, whereas most players would spin the other way and fade. He buried probably three or four of those right in Johnson's face. Unlike Johnson, he looked to block shots, and even got a couple on Johnson. He outplayed him in my eyes, which I'm sure is one of the first times Johnson could say that about any of his opponents.
DJ Wingfield - Like I mentioned earlier he was in foul trouble all night long, so I didn't really get a great look at him. But even with the limited action, you could tell even on a couple of plays that he was the best player on the floor., including Johnson and Morgan. If I had to classify him with a comparison, I would say he's a cross between Whitney Davis, Ricardo Johnson and TJ Hall. He's got the quickness on the bounce of Davis, a smooth up and down jumper like Ricardo and maybe a little bit raw like Hall was coming out of high school. He'll be a great replacement for those two when they leave, and also a sub next year when they need a few minutes' breather.
The thing that kind of hinders him is the system he plays in. Walnut Hills runs a 3-1-1 offense, if there ever was such a thing. They have three guards who whip the ball around the perimeter and cut back and forth on the baselines. With Johnson occupying the blocks, DJ kind of gets lost in the shuffle. So in essence, he's sort of in the mold of a point forward, but he doesn't handle the ball as much. I would imagine he gets a lot of put backs on the misses of the guards shooting and Johnson in the blocks. I also think with him being lost in the shuffle, defenses kind of forget about him too.
Defensively, I liked what I saw and he hustled after loose balls when he could. The four fouls weren't necessarily bad fouls or bad calls, he just got caught in the wrong place at the wrong time.
He'll take some time develop against better competition, but overall I like him. He's gonna be a perfect compliment for Christian's system once all the bigs are in place.
Was impressed by the guardsWH had: Ricardo Hill, Khari Burton and Sterling Gilmore. I wouldn't be surprised if one or two got some late looks from smaller DI schools. Also, they have another big man by the name of Jordan Tyson who is listed at 6'10" and he's very long and more athletic than Johnson. He's a project, but I can't find anything on him. Mike Dyer says he's getting interest from Morehead State and Jacksonville State.