Monday, December 21st, 2009 at 4:17 pm  |  2 responses

Tweet

Northland Snaps Findlay’s Win Streak

Jared Sullinger & Co. say ‘Peace’ to Findlay’s 45-game win streak.

by Rodger Bohn

Otterbein College played host to the first high school game of the season broadcasted nationally on ESPN (Perry Jones and his Duncanville unit played on ESPNU), No. 1 ranked Findlay Prep from Sin City against Northland out of Columbus, OH.

Findlay Prep came into the game with a 44 game winning streak, but got back on the plane with their first “L” since the ‘07-08 season. Northland came out with a 53-52 victory, despite the fact that they were missing Ohio State recruit JD Weatherspoon (who may be the sickest dunker in the class of 2010).

Here’s a look at some of the top PUNKS the game had to offer:

Jared Sullinger | 6-8 | PF/C | Columbus Northland | 2010
Sullinger came into the game looking much more svelte than he was when we caught him on the AAU circuit in July, and his new and improved body certainly helped his game. He had no problem chopping people up on the perimeter, even though he weighs 250 pounds. Obviously Ohio State’s prized recruit for 2010 did the bulk of his damage in the three second area, en route to 32 points and 17 rebounds. He was often able to jump twice before other players were able to jump once, enabling him to get tons of offensive rebounds off of his own misses. The package of inside/out skills that he offers definitely remind us of Kevin Love, especially with the effortless outlet pass that Sullinger throws. This combo of size and skills is why Buckeye fans are pretty optimistic about their chances to take the Big Ten in 2010.

Tristan Thompson | 6-9 | PF | Findlay Prep | 2010
One of the nation’s more heralded seniors, Thompson dropped 18 and 12 before fouling out against Northland. The Toronto native also looked to be in much than when we caught him in the summer, and it showed with his quickness when attacking the rim off of the dribble. The Texas commit is still going to have to sure up his jumper if he hopes to fully fulfill the role of “combo forward “ that he was branded with at such a young age, but he definitely appears to be taking the right steps in that direction.

Cory Joseph | 6-2 | PG | Findlay Prep | 2010
The baby bro of Minnesota 2-guard Devoe Joseph is one of the top 3 or 4 guards that the class of 2010 has to offer. He was the best player at this summer’s Adidas Nations experience in Dallas, where he showed off his stuff in front of a number of NBA personnel. A dynamic scorer, the Canadian import could get any look he wanted against Northland, but couldn’t get anything to drop. Joseph has narrowed his list to the following five schools, all of which have offered a scholly for next season: Texas, UNLV, Villanova, UCONN, and Minnesota.

Nick Johnson | 6-3 | PG/SG | Findlay Prep | 2011
One of the more highly sought after juniors on the left coast, Johnson packed up his bags from his home in Arizona and bounced to Findlay Prep to tackle better competition. Armed with a textbook J, nice slashing ability, and some really nice bounce, he can be a nightmare to guard at times defensively. The combo guard finished with 14 points on the day, through an array of strong takes to the rim and pretty jumpers.

Jabari Brown | 6-4 | SG | Findlay Prep | 2011
Brown did a great job of putting the clamps on people on D, while also helping out on the offensive end with his ability to slash to the rim. His J wasn’t falling as frequently as it usually does, but you could see the gorgeous form that he offered when lofting them up in the air. The Cali native finished with 10 points and 3 assists on the evening, and is already being recruited by virtually the entire PAC-10, even though he’s only a junior.

Trey Burke | 6-0 | PG | Columbus Northland | 2011
Burke got buckets on whoever Findlay Prep placed on him, basically via his nasty ability to create his own shot on anyone one on one. The diminutive guard showed off a nasty floater in the paint, to go along with a nice J both from mid-range and from beyond the arc. Burke is certainly going to have to get stronger in order to finish at the rim in the Big Ten, but it looks like Penn State got themselves a good one for 2011.

Jalen Robinson | 6-8 | PF | Columbus Northland | 2012
The next big star in line for Northland, Jalen is just a role player at the moment, but will be the one to try to fill the shoes of Sullinger and Weatherspoon once they bounce to O-State. The sophomore is already committed to West Virginia, has crazy length, and shows a bit of potential on the offensive end. Robinson is definitely a dude to keep an eye on for the rest of his time at the prep level.

Godwin Okonji | 6-9 | C | Findlay Prep | 2010
Okonji has the body of an NBA lottery pick, but doesn’t quite have the game to back it up yet. The product of Nigeria played the best D of anyone against Sullinger, blocking a couple of his shots and showing killer quickness laterally. He’s still unsigned at the moment though, has offers on the table from multiple schools out west.

Devon Scott | 6-8 | PF | Columbus Northland | 2012
Scott is the second young big man the Columbus squad has to offer. He’s not quite as skilled at the moment, but also has crazy long arms and nice hops. Far from a finished product at the moment, Devon already has a handful of DI offers and will only be getting better down the line.

Rodger Bohn was the former Director of Prep Scouting at DraftExpress.