Pickerington North 43, Upper Arlington 27 - Prospect Scouting Report
Arness Lawson was an absolute superstar in an impressive win for Pickerington North on Friday
We don’t often give high school players the high-major endorsement. It’s even less often when we directly contact the head coach at Ohio State about a local player. We did and are doing both things after tonight as Arness Lawson carried Pickerington North to a really impressive win at Upper Arlington, 43-27.
The 6-foot-3 junior guard was in attack mode from the opening tip, dominating both ends of the floor to power the Panthers. Pickerington North opened the game on an 8-0 run and led 18-8 after a quarter of play. Upper Arlington did their best to close the gap, going into halftime trailing 25-14.
It looked as if the game might become competitive after a three from Alex Smith cut the lead to 25-19 with 5:49 to go in the third quarter. Unfortunately for Upper Arlington, they would not score again until the same time remained in the fourth, as Pickerington North put together a back-breaking 10-0 run to get the lead back to double digits.
The Panthers were in cruise control in the fourth quarter, as a strong baseline drive and slam from Lawson capped off another quality road win for Pickerington North.
Despite falling to Westerville Central on the road last Friday, Pickerington North has greatly responded with two impressive wins at Toledo Scott and Upper Arlington since last Saturday. In those games, Pickerington North has only surrendered 56 points, showcasing the dominant team defense that has them sitting at 3-1.
For Upper Arlington, the Golden Bears fall to 1-2 and will look to get back in the win column when they take on Worthington Christian at Capital on Monday.
Here are a breakdown of some top prospects from Friday’s game.
Arness Lawson (6’3 PG / Pickerington North / 2025): Lawson is a high major guard prospect that should be on the radar of the Power 5 programs in Ohio like Ohio State, Xavier, Cincinnati and Dayton. The 6-foot-3 junior had as impressive a performance from the point guard position that we’ve seen all season long. It wasn’t his three thundering dunks. It wasn’t the multiple jumpers he hit off the bounce against tough defense. It wasn’t his multiple off ball and on ball steals that got the transition game going. It was his defensive masterpiece he put together against Upper Arlington 6-foot-8 sophomore Alex Smith. Despite giving up five inches to Smith, Lawson was too much of a physical force for the young forward, forcing him into a handful of missed shots, while making things miserable for most of the game. Lawson is as physical an athlete as you’ll find at the point guard spot, which is why we recommend him for high major programs. He has the size. He has the athleticism. He has the strength. He has the smarts. He DEFINITELY has the competitiveness. He has the defense. He has the shot now. His shooting was the part of his game that some questioned, but he has clearly put time into improving that area, as he has shot the ball at a high level in every showing we’ve had of him since the preseason. He makes shots off the bounce, his mid-range pull up jumper is consistent and he is now a reliable three-point shooter. You can’t speed him up, nor can you slow him down. Lawson has the rare mix of elite speed and elite pace, as he is really difficult to stay in front of and contain. His best basketball is still ahead of him, as he reminds us of current Illinois guard Sencire Harris, who starred at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary. Lawson is a flat out dawg that is not scared of any big moment, as he shows up no matter the competition. There’s not a better all around athlete at the point guard spot in Ohio. His offensive game is very smooth and diverse, however, it’s his defense that will be his calling card at the college level. This dude is a flat out gamer that any coach worth his salt would want on his team.