All Ohio High School Showcase thoughts

We reflect on a busy day of basketball at Reynoldsburg Summit

High school basketball felt back in a major way last night at Reynoldsburg. Between the packed gymnasium and the number of cameras on each baseline, big time basketball in Columbus was back on Saturday. Here are a couple thoughts from the action that we witnessed.

Pickerington Central is not rebuilding, but once again reloading. The Tigers dominated their preview game last week against Detroit Cass Tech and appeared to be a team that showed early signs of cohesion and togetherness. An opening season game against the winningest program in Ohio basketball history, Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary, would be a totally different battle and would test the Tigers in a big way.

Pickerington Central passed that test. The Tigers led from start to finish and prevented the Irish from every really having any type of control in the game. Senior big man Braylin Wells has continued his high level of play, starting the game with an opening possession alley oop, a play Central has been accustomed to running for Devin Royal the last couple years. Wells was the go-to guy all night long, providing big bucket after big bucket, but more importantly, physical low post play that has given Central a massive advantage in the front court.

Juwan Turner is a pro’s pro at managing a basketball team, as he preferred points from his teammates over points for himself, leading the game in assists and helping the Tigers remain in an offensive rhythm all game long. It’s been fun to watch Turner take this team over as his own after waiting in the wings the last couple years. There aren’t many high school players who play with Turner’s pace and command, as he does not get sped up and plays with multiple speeds.

And lastly, freshman Landon Evans is going to be a star. He stepped up in a huge way in the third quarter, hitting two threes and pulling down a tough offensive rebound for a put back. Most high school freshmen are still adjusting to the pace of play and would not be capable of contributing in a game like yesterday’s. But Evans is not your normal high school freshman. He is a ball player that made an impact in every area of the game yesterday. Special stuff for the youngin’.