North College Hill 69 Canton McKinley  67 - Final
At the Schottenstein Center in Columbus

This was a game that matched two of the Top Ten high school teams in the country and it did not disappoint. Fans from all over the state came to Columbus to witness this matchup of defending state champions - North College Hill having beat Ironton in Div 3's championship game last year and Canton McKinley beating Cincinnati St Xavier in Division 1.  

Both teams also remained effectively intact from last years teams, so this was a true matchup of talent, even though a season has gone past. The top four scorers from both teams championship games of last season returned.

First player breakdowns and then game notes.  

Canton McKinley

Raymar Morgan 6-7 SF SR  The Michigan St signee played a great game scoring 24 pts on 10-15 shooting while adding 7 rbs.  Was in foul trouble most of the game. Scored most of his points in the paint and from the FT line where he was 4 of 6. He should be a very solid player in the Big 10.

Marcus Parker 5-8 PG SR  Parker had a less than average game for himself going 1-11 from the field and 0-6 from deep.  He scored only 4 points but did grab six rebs and added five assts and only one turnover.  D3

Todd Brown 6-4 SF SR  Like his teammate Parker, he struggled shooting the rock going only 3-13 from the field on 1 of 6 from the outside. He did hit the boards well with 8 rebs amongst players much taller than him. Has a knack for getting in spots where rebounds will come out. Also added 4 assts and a monster dunk!  All this while being guarded a lot by the very physical OJ Mayo. Wright State has a steal in Brown as we think he has good potential.

Ricky Jackson 6-6 PF SR  Came out and scored nine very quick points even hitting one trey which is not his strength. Also displayed a nice 10 foot jump shot. Scored a total of 20 points on 5 of 9 shooting but went an impressive (and very helpful) 9-12 from the FT line. Originally committed to Liberty but is still open.  MM

Kyrk Freeman 5-10 SG SR  Had the best shooting percentage from the arc on a bad day for both teams, hitting 2-5.  Finished with 3-7 from the field overall, but did not get to the line. Also had one each of rebound, steal and assist.

North College Hill

O.J. Mayo 6-5 PG JR  We have seen Mayo play since the 7th grade which means and, between our PHO scouts, we have seen him play maybe a hundred HS and AAU games. This was not one of his better games. He's usually not only a NBA talent, but what separates him from normal 'great' high school players is his feel for the game and smart play. This game Mayo did look 'human' having seven turnovers and he was 2-10 from outside the arc. It wasn't that he wasn't shooting well, it was more of his shot selection. He even looked bad with a couple air balls. But he did somehow manage to score 25 pts have 7 rebs, 5 assts and two steals. His last assist set up the game winning shot by Ellis. Pretty good game for most players, but remember Mayo is not your normal HS player. Played all 32 mins, as usual.

Bill Walker 6-6 SF JR  At the high school level Walker is just a man among boys. His 26 pts on 11-13 shooting is pretty impressive and it also seemed like when ever NCH needed a hoop, Walker came up with it. He made several huge baskets down the stretch. Played all 32 mins. Had two baseline spin moves that were incredibly fast and away from oncoming defenders for a score or a foul. You can tell it is something he has worked on. He also displayed a mini-crossover and an ability to throw very hard, but accurate outlet passes. As each day goes by, Walker deserves to be mentioned in the same sentence as Mayo more often.

Keenan Ellis 6-10 C JR  This long and very thin kid was 6 of 7 from the field which included the game winning 15 foot J at the buzzer to keep NCH's National Title hopes alive. He also had 10 rbs and 2 blks. But he must get stronger before he'll be a factor at the college level, much less of his likely NBA hopes. He could have had several more rebounds if he had more strength to hold on to the ball and muscle his way inside. Still a high major prospect, but he should lock himself in a weight room with a few dozen double cheeseburgers to fill out and bulk up.

Damon Butler 5-10 PG Soph - Was not a major factor in this game scoring only 2 points although he played the entire game. Stayed out of Bill and OJ’s way.  Butler is gaining unbelievable experience in facing mayo every day in practice and we already are looking forward to his junior and senior seasons.

Other Game Notes:  

• Canton McKinley played with a ‘never say die’ attitude all game and it paid off in forcing Ellis to hit a shot outside his comfort zone to prevent overtime. When McKinley was down 22-11 in the second qtr, they started a 16-2 run that included two treys by Kyrk Freeman, but NCH answered with a 6-0 run to take a 33-27 half time lead. McKinley answered with a 6-0 run of their own to start the third period and tie the game at again at 33. The game was tied eight more times after that to prompt and exciting game for even a novice basketball fan.
• Head coach Jamie Mahaffey was given a technical foul in the 3rd qtr for being out of the coaches box. Admittedly, he was warned previously but we have never seen a head coach forced to remain seated for a game!  We think Mahaffey’s indiscretion more likely was because he was out on the floor and getting into the way of a referee who was trying to get up and down the sideline quickly in this fast paced game. Raymar Morgan hit the two FT’s for the tech that gave yet another tie ball game at 44.
• NCH went on a 10-1 run after Mahaffey’s technical including six points by Walker.
• Play of the game for us was a sequence by Mayo in which he muscle rebounded a missed Walker FT and went up among the taller McKinley players for a layup. It gave NCH a eight point lead with less than five minutes remaining. It was a pure power move by someone who didn’t seem to have much power left.
• A mistake by NCH (we feel) was that McKinley’s Morgan, Parker and Brown had four fouls each for the last 4:23 of the game, but no plays seemed to be called to prompt a fifth to get one of these top McKinley players out of the game. Mayo got his 4th with 2:55 left in the game.
• At halftime, we heard that Mayo was ill with a stomach virus that affected him all day.
• Neither team relied on their bench much - NCH - 0 points.  McKinley - 8 points.
• NCH had four turnovers in the last 3:50 of the game (two by Mayo) and McKinley converted on each possession.
• Neither team shot well from deep totalling six treys combined. Four for McKinley and Mayo hit two. McKinley’s two best shooters, Parker and Brown, combined for 1-12 from deep. McKinley fans will see this as a key factor in the loss and a strong reason to want to face NCH again since they know this is very uncharacteristic!
• Bill Walker had a near perfect first half going 6-6 from the floor and 2-2 from the line for 14 points. He added four rebounds, four assists and a block. However, he had four turnovers.
• McKinley shot 37% from the floor for the game while NCH shot 60%. Both teams had 35 rebounds each, but McKinley had 17 on the offensive side. Team assists were effectively even with NCH getting 16 to McKinleys 15.

Star Watch:
Mayo: FG: 11-24  FT: 1-3,  3FG: 2-10  PTS: 25, Rebs: 7,  Assts: 5,  Stls: 3, Blocks: 0
Walker:  FG: 11-13  FT: 4-6, 3FG: 0-10  PTS: 26, Rebs: 8,  Assts: 8,  Stls: 0,  Blocks: 1
Morgan:  FG: 10-15  FT: 4-6, 3FG: 0-1  PTS: 24, Rebs: 7,  Assts: 0,  Stls: 2,  Blocks: 0
Jackson:  FG: 5-9  FT: 9-12, 3FG: 1-2  PTS: 20, Rebs: 7,  Assts: 2,  Stls: 0,  Blocks: 0