Bulldogs extinguish Dragons in 74-39 flame out
By Keno Sultan
Stark County Prep Press
www.starkcountypreppress.blogspot.com
CANTON--Sean Weatherspoon had to be feeling 17 all over again in the second quarter.
With six dunks, three of them in a 90-second span, it conjured up memories of the 2005 and 2006 Division I back-to-back title winning Canton McKinley teams and their ferocious assaults on various rims.
Ok, Weatherspoon had graduated before the second title winning team but fans of McKinley are just as adeptly knowledgeable as Albert Einstein was to know what the second quarter against Akron East depicted.
The Bulldogs had everything go their way from the opening tip and their home opener went to perfect script as the hosts zoomed out to a 19-point first quarter advantage and actuated the state mandated running clock on their way to a 74-39 flame out of the Dragons as they ascended to 2-0 on a season that is in it's infancy.
Sunday afternoon, McKinley was able to post a two-point road victory over Cleveland Heights in the form of a 60-58 decision. Tuesday night, McKinley didn't need any dramatics as every player contributed to the winning cause and that pleased Weatherspoon, in his third year atop his alma mater's post.
"It was just us playing hard man and playing active. This year, we're not super tall but we are long and lanky. We got a lot of athletes who can get up and down and on the defensive end cause pressure on the ball and get into the passing lanes and that led to the offensive stuff," he said.
McKinley junior forward Anthony Chavers and senior center Reed Sims Jr. had dunks off successful lobs and Jaylen Jeter added another as the Bulldogs outscored the Dragons 23-7 as a healthy crowd at the Memorial Field House roared with vehement approval.
McKinley may not be 11 or 12 deep as the Dave Hoover coached squads that pulverized the Division I basketball universe but with a roster that goes eight deep, it will definitely pay dividends as the season progresses enough to the point where McKinley may reach that double-digit number in terms of depth, something that will be vital when the tournament arrives in the next two months.
"Guys are just ready. We prepare these guys back in the summer with a high level of competition and a combination of different lineups to prepare for those moments and it showed," Weatherspoon said.
McKinley had three starters in double figures with Sims leading the charge with 18, Chavers totaling 13 and Jayveion Carter adding 10. East was led by Antoine James's 14 points.
The Bulldogs will head to Mahoning County for a matchup against a strong Warren Harding team, who is expected to be a contender for a Division II district championship. At press time, the Raiders downed Youngstown East 78-38 tonight at home.
Keelyn Franklin is in his sixth season at his alma mater and was a guard on the 2005 Raiders team that finished #2 in the final Division I AP poll that fell in the Canton district final to the starry-laden McKinley squad 84-41 at a standing-room only crowd in the Canton Civic Center. Two years later, the Raiders pushed eventual state semifinalist GlenOak to the limit before falling in the final seconds.
Weatherspoon is well aware of what Franklin's Raiders will bring in terms of a challenge and he looks to put the East game to rest and move on to Saturday's affair against the black and gold.
"They (Warren Harding) are a very good team, very athletic and it starts with the big guy, Chaz Coleman. He is a D-I athlete going to Penn State and they have some other guys who came in and they are a well coached team," he said.
Sean Weatherspoon may not be 17 years of age but on a night where six McKinley dunks in the second quarter lit up the night like Broadway, his legion of Bulldogs had him feeling young again.
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