High times two: Saginaw leaves no doubt in 'A' title game

Green, Green and company dismantle Pershing

By Andrew Bolton

15 March 2008

greatlakeshoop.com

East Lansing--Back-to-back!

The Saginaw High fans took up that chant in the waning seconds of the fourth period, knowing that there was no way Detroit Pershing would be able to come back. It was a fitting ending to another incredible run to the title for the Trojans, and as the clock ticked down, the crowd got louder and louder in appreciation for their Trojans.

Pershing found themselves down six points immediately after the game started and they never recovered. The High wins this one going away by a final score of 90-71.

It was evident right away that the Doughboys were in over their heads. Daniel West hit a three; Keith Appling turned it over; Mike Green hit a three, and the rout was on. Saginaw went up by as much as 23 points in the second quarter, and Pershing never got any closer than 12 points the rest of the way.

Game and Player Notes

–Stat of the Game: First Half Threes: High–9            Pershing–2

–That was the easiest recap I have ever had to write. There was nothing that stood out in this game for Pershing of note. The Saginaw press tore up the Doughboys all game long, but that was a given going in. The one interesting thing I noticed was that Pershing tried to set up a press of their own to try to force Saginaw to turn it over so the Doughboys might get some easy baskets and get back into the game. It was a nice idea, and against almost any other team it would have been effective,  but it didn’t come close to working against the Trojans. Saginaw practices against a better press than any team in the state could produce, so they weren’t fazed in the least. The Trojans put on a passing clinic all game long, both on offense and in the press-break situations, and there was absolutely nothing that Pershing could do to counter. They simply did not have a skilled enough backcourt to compete.

–Something that gets lost when talking about the High is how well they execute in the halfcourt. Everyone talks about their defense, and rightly so, but this team is unstoppable on offense. They swing the ball around with a crispness that high school defenses can’t keep up with, and they have the perfect system to maximize the talents of their players. The extra pass is an expectation in this offense, and this is something of a rarity in the high school basketball world. Simply put, the High is the best and most complete team in the state, and it’s not close.

–The Trojans were led by the big three, though of course everyone that plays is a solid contributor. Mike Green had a game-high 29 points and was generally unstoppable on offense. He also added four rebounds and four steals. Daniel West had 21 points and six assists, while Draymond Green had 21 points and 19 rebounds. He completely owned Derrick Nix, who has two inches and at least 20 pounds on Draymond. I will say, however, that Draymond has a lot of work to do before he is ready to contribute to an elite Big Ten team. He is out of shape and he looks worse handling the ball than he did last year. He also must work on his jumpshot unceasingly over the summer. He is good, but to be MSU good he must work a lot this summer. I suspect he will redshirt a year.

–Pershing was led by Demetrius Ward, who had 23 points and six rebounds. Keith Appling had 17 points and five boards, but also seven turnovers. That was not unexpected as he is just a sophomore. I fully expect him to be in the running for Mr. Basketball by the time he is a senior because he is that good. Derrick Nix added 12 points and 10 boards, but he looked really bad. He got pinned by the rim on an open dunk and missed lots of layups in close. He looks more out of shape than Draymond does, and he doesn’t play nearly as hard. When you’re that big, you should be dominating all comers.

–It all comes down to mindset: Saginaw showed no hesitation towards diving on the floor or out of bounds after any loose ball. They flew across even just potential passing lanes, and there was never a moment when they weren’t moving. Pershing, on the other hand, had to call timeout on an inbound pass because all the players just stood there and made no attempt to get open. This point was touched on by the Pershing coach in his postgame remarks as he said that Saginaw, having been here before, knew what it took to win and that the Doughboys didn’t. He was right.

–Stomp your feet for the High!