The long and short of it

Cavs superior size enough for win over GB

By Andrew Bolton

8 February 2008

greatlakeshoops.com

Flint--There is just no substitute for good size, and I believe Carman-Ainsoworth may have finally figured that out.

Demondre Chapman carried the Cavaliers in the second half, punishing the smaller Bobcats around the hoop throughout the third and fourth quarters to bring C-A back to win over Grand Blanc, 45-40.

The Cavaliers, with the victory, all but locked up the Big Nine conference title.

In the first quarter, offense was the name of the game. Both teams came out hitting shots. Reggie Stallings hit an NBA-range three to put the Cavs up early, but Will Sams for Grand Blanc would answer with his own triple.

Dee Chapman missed a lay-up while being fouled off a sweet pass from Jon Lee.

Chapman’s teammates implored him to dunk the ball, and so the next time down, he did, slamming it hard with two hands off another beautiful pass from Lee. But GB’s Tony Jones would hit a three at the buzzer to give the Bobcats a 19-15 lead after one.

After this exciting first quarter, the defenses on both sides clamped down. The Bobcats led by as much as eight in the period, but turnovers allowed C-A to cut the deficit to two, 26-24, going into halftime. After the break, it was more of the same. Once again, neither team scored more than 10 points in the quarter, but Grand Blanc held on to the lead, 34-33, going into the final period.

The Cavaliers looked poised to break the game open early in the period.

Consecutive baskets by the Cavaliers put them up, but consecutive amazing passes by Will Sams led to easy layups inside, keeping the Bobcats afloat.

It was 41-40 C-A with the ball when the play of the night happened: Dee Chapman, off the inbounds from the sideline, found a wide open Reggie Stallings underneath the basket for a layup to make it 43-40.

No one could make a shot for GB on their next possession, and after Reggie rebounded a miss he was fouled. He sank two free throws to make it 45-40.

The Bobcats had one last shot to try to do something, but Tony Jones missed a three, Adrian Hunter’s putback on the rebound was blocked by Terrance Keaton, and GB was out of time.

Game and Player Notes

–Stat of the Game: Rebounds by half:   First: GB 13   CA 10          Second: GB 8    CA 19

–Kudos to the Cavs! Technically they haven’t won the title yet, but they would have to lose their last game, which I believe is against Flushing, and I don’t see that happening. They learned how to play tonight. Coach Root forced them to pound the rock inside in the second half. He repeatedly took Jon Lee out of the game for dribbling way too much and refusing to pass into the post and had Alan Sharp and Keion Arkwright run the point. When Jon finally got the message, he came back in and made several nice plays down the stretch to help the Cavs secure a victory. I don’t care if Jon is a great player going to a D-1 school. He needs to realize that this team will only go as far as their bigs take them, because the other Class A contenders have guards that are just as good if not better than he is. Maybe being pitted against Adrian Hunter had something to do with his substandard play tonight, as the two have a semi-rivalry going. However, this marks the second time I have made this observation about Jon this season. He’s already committed to a college and will be playing significant minutes next year. This is his last chance to win a championship. What’s more important: individual acclaim or the state title? He’s going to have to decide, because I don’t think he can have both. Not with the way the team is set up.

–Dee Chapman had 15 points, five boards, and three assists to lead the Cavs. He played HUGE in the second half, particularly in the fourth quarter. I’ve often thought that he plays lazy and doesn’t utilize his considerable ability enough. Early on this was the case; he was very passive, and had to be reminded by his teammates that he can dunk easily. Seriously. He’s listed at 6'7" and can jump out of the gym, and he had to be reminded that he can dunk. He had no rebounds in the first half either. Someone had to have lit into him at halftime, because he was a different player afterwards. He scored a plethora of tough buckets in the paint, hit all five of his free throws, and attacked the glass with authority. He also made several nice passes, showing considerable court vision. In short, he showed why he’s so highly sought-after, because when he was locked in, he was unstoppable.

–Reggie Stallings was the other main contributor for the Cavaliers this evening. This was the best game I have seen from Reggie in a while: he recorded a double-double, scoring 11 points and collecting 13 rebounds. He attacked the glass with more authority than I have ever seen from him in the past. Maybe he too has realized that he can do more than float around the perimeter. I have been very critical of Reggie, but he has the all-around game to be an impact D-1 player. I see a little Eric Gordon in him. He’s not the scorer that Gordon is, but he’s on par athletically (believe it or not) and has deep range like Gordon does. It’s on Reggie to become this type of player, though, and I don’t see it happening with so little time left in the season.

–Grand Blanc played really hard and really well, considering the opponent and the circumstances. The young guys that the Bobcats rely on so much had never been in such a big game before, but to their credit they didn’t act like it. Mitch Vallie, Tony Jones, and Will Sams all had great games to complement Adrian Hunter, but none of them were strong enough or big enough to guard Dee inside when it mattered. The Bobcats played man-to-man for much of the game, and it worked for the most part: the Cavs' pick-and-roll, which tears up man-to-man defenses (see: Southwestern), was not very effective for much of the game because of the constant doubling and switching that the Grand Blanc defense did. Credit coach Belcher for an excellent defensive game plan, but down the stretch, when Carman was hammering them inside, they should’ve gone to some sort of zone in my opinion. I know that the players are well-conditioned, but playing man-to-man the entire game is tiring, and they slipped up one too many times at the end of the game because they couldn’t keep up with all the screens, both on the ball and off, that the Cavs ran at them towards the end. Plus, a defensive switch could have caught Carman off-guard and led to turnovers and therefore more opportunities to score in the final minutes.

–Adrian Hunter led GB with 14 points, seven rebounds, and two steals. He will be kicking himself over the two free throws that he missed that would have changed the complexion of the game. Both were on and-one opportunities.

--Tony Jones is rapidly becoming a force to be reckoned with. He scored 13 points and dished out three assists. He is a consistent jumper away from being really special. He is really fast and can really jump, as demonstrated by his putting in a layup over Dee Chapman and nearly blocking one of Dee’s shots later in the game. He’s only a sophomore too, so he has time to develop. Will Sams scored just three points, but he played solid defense on Jon Lee and had several nice passes, finishing with four assists. He can really handle the ball, but he needs to slow down. He plays way too fast, and as a result turns the ball over a lot. Discipline will come with more experience. Mitchell Vallie added six points, four rebounds, two blocks, and two steals. I like Mitch a lot; he spent most of his time guarding Terrance Keaton (no easy task) or Jaylen Larry (also not easy) and acquitted himself well. He’s deceptively athletic with excellent timing and a nose for the ball.

–This was a watershed game for both teams: Carman learned (hopefully) that they have to go inside to win, and GB learned that the first game against CA was no fluke and that they really can play with anyone. It will be interesting to see what these teams will do in the playoffs.