Friday, October 28, 2016
Battlers Put Offer to Cincinnati-area Guard Lonnie Grayson
Battler Beat learned Thursday night that the Alderson Broaddus men's basketball team has put out an offer to Wyoming HS guard Lonnie Grayson. The combo guard was awarded several high honors for his play as a junior and sophomore in high school. The current senior averaged 19 points per game and 3.2 steals per game as a junior. He has led the Cincinnati Hills League in scoring the past two seasons. He was named to the Honorable Mention Division II Ohio All-State team as a sophomore and junior. Grayson helped lead Wyoming to a 21-3 record as a sophomore and a 18-5 record during his junior campaign.
The website OHhoops.com rated Grayson as the #10-rated shooting guard in the entire state of Ohio
for the class of 2017. Top Billing Sports rated Lonnie as one of their top 15 players to watch in the AAU circuit for the entire state of Ohio. His videos that we have linked below show a guard who has a quick release from beyond the arc. He has excellent court vision in the half-court set and is able to hit the open teammate with great court vision. His videos also show an uncanny ability to step in the passing lane to get a steal or deflection when playing on the defensive end. Grayson has also been offered by Ashland University in Ohio. Battler fans can keep up-to-date with information on Lonnie and other recruiting prospects here at Battler Beat.
Lonnie Grayson Sophomore Season Highlights
Lonnie Grayson's Junior Season Highlights
Alderson Broaddus Men's Basketball Embraces Rebuilding for 2016-17 Season
A new era is beginning for the Alderson Broaddus men's basketball team. At the conclusion of the 2015-16 season, the Battlers graduated five seniors that were a part of two G-MAC regular season titles, two G-MAC tournament titles, and one runner-up G-MAC regular season finish. ABU lost three 1000-point career scorers in Malcolm Tatum, Richard Lemon and Thylas Perkins. The team lost 85% of their scoring, the top 4 rebounders and the top 3 assist leaders on the team. Lemon was so versatile that he led the G-MAC in assists while playing a power forward position. For the past three seasons, the group of seniors finished with a combined record of 64-22 for a 74% winning percentage.
To say that the ABU men's basketball is rebuilding could be considered an understatement. This year's team has no returning player that has played an average of more than 20 minutes of playing time in a game. It must be noted that some of that time occurred last year when injuries and defections took its toll on the team. The program now embarks on a new journey as the players can no longer turn to Tatum, Lemon and Perkins to 'get it done'. This team has to find playmakers, scorers, rebounders, lock-down defenders, chemistry and team play. This is not always easy with a ton of inexperience on the roster. Players have to embrace new roles and elevate their game to a new level on all fronts.
Jordan Haywood |
The last fourth-year senior is 6'8" center Manny Artinano. The energetic and aggressive big man from Sopelana, Spain brings much needed size to this year's squad. Manny averaged 3.9 points per game last year. His most notable performances came on the road against Washington Adventist where he had 14 points and 8 rebounds. He also contributed a double-double against Salem International where he scored 11 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. He has added much needed weight and strength during his time at ABU. He has extremely quick feet for a player his size. He also makes good reads on screens in the Battler motion offense. He is highly energetic but also prone to foul trouble. His aggressiveness around the basket leads to many key defensive and offensive rebounds.
The only other player returning to the Alderson Broaddus roster with any playing experience is 6'5" forward Chavez Harper. The versatile junior from Cleveland, OH can play both the small and power forwards. He has shown ability to knock down the three-pointer, hit the mid-range jumper but also has the strength to power the basketball up around the basket. He is also a quality passer from the forward position. His game has a lot of the same attributes that Richard Lemon had. Harper averaged 4.4 points per game and 4.8 rebounds per game last season. His best performances came when he scored 13 points in a conference game against Davis & Elkins. Harper is a phenom in summer league games in the Cleveland area. Much like Foster, he has the ability to break out this season and become a consistent performer for the Battlers. Many look at Chavez as a player who worries too much about making mistakes on the floor and just needs to play every possession with confidence. Harper could help this team immensely with improved play this season. He could be a huge contributor as either a starter or key reserve.
Chavez Harper |
One of those players is redshirt sophomore Exzavier Coooper who transferred to ABU from Harford Community College. The 6'5" forward from Rocky Mount, NC brings a versatile game that also includes an incredible 42-inch vertical jump. As a freshman at Harford CC, he averaged 14.3 ppg and 8 rpg. But his numbers were incredible during the second half of that season where he was able to score 20 points or more in eight games and in six of those games was able to grab over 10 rebounds.
Another explosive player that sat out last season is 6'4" swingman Malik Bocook. The native of
Malik Bocook |
Ja'Darien Wade |
Reggie Robinson |
A.J. Robinson |
Mike Mitchell |
One of the most intriguing prospects on the roster is 6'5" freshman Jonah Cosby from Charleston,
WV. Cosby was considered to be an athletic late bloomer in high school. He played his first three years of high school basketball at South Charleston HS where he played with D-I prospects Brandon Knapper and Kentre Grier. Knapper would eventually sign with WVU to play basketball after a one-year stint at military prep school. However, Cosby would transfer his senior season to nearby George Washington HS where he excelled for the Patriots all season. He closed out his high school year with some terrific performances against two of the better AAA programs in the state of West Virginia. In the sectional championship against the #1-rated AAA South Charleston squad, Cosby pumped in 23 points and grabbed 14 rebounds in leading GW to an upset victory. He would follow that up in the regional championship with a 25 point/6 rebound performance against WV power Beckley Woodrow Wilson HS. Cosby finished his senior season averaging 14 ppg and 8 rpg. For his efforts, Jonah was named to the prestigious WV North-South All-Star basketball game. Cosby showed off his talents in that game by pumping in 32 points for the South squad and was named by the sports writers as the game's most valuable player.
The Battlers did pull up P.J. Grant from the junior varsity basketball team midway through last basketball season. Grant led the junior varsity team in multiple statistical categories last year. He is a 6'2" guard from Kent, OH who currently has a 3.8 GPA. ABU also signed 6'7"/215 pound Simun Kovac from Scotland Performance Institute which is located in Scotland, PA. While little is known about Kovac, SPI is an academy known for grooming D-I basketball players. His experience playing with this type of athlete should help Simun transfer to the D-II game and bring depth to a much needed position. Kovac did score 14 points and grab 5 rebounds in the 2016 Mason-Dixon Elite All-Star game. He shot 5 of 7 from the floor and 4 of 5 from the charity stripe in that game.
Other players that Battler fans could see on the floor this season are: Monte Simpkins, a 6'4" forward from Upper Marlboro, MD; Seth Evans, a 6'4" forward from Tucker County, WV; Ben Henderson, a 6'1" guard from Gastonia, NC, David Turner Jr, a 6'0" guard from Upper Marlboro, MD; Cody Abney, a 6'2" guard from Bowling Green, KY; Manel Adan, a 6'11" post player from Spain. Many of these players could be a part of the Alderson Broaddus junior varsity squad for the upcoming season.
Keys to a Successful 2016-17 Season
With this young of a squad, Battler Beat detects several key factors for determining the success rate of this year's ABU team. We list those keys in no particular order:
1) Returning players must produce on a nightly basis. Many of the five players that return from last year's team had their moments in one game or another. But a transformation to a level of consistency that occurs each game must take place. Players can contribute in multiple ways for the team. It is not always related to how many points they score. Going hard after rebounds on every possession is an effort and attitude more than it is a talent. Consistent help defense and proper positioning on the floor on defensive possessions is always a successful factor for Alderson Broaddus teams. Making the player you are defending work on every possession is always a key to wins. Providing leadership to the entire team both in practices and games elevates the entire team as the season progresses.
2) How this team handles adversity will go a long way in determining the success the squad has in February and March! Every team in the country experiences adversity during the course of any season. It is not the adversity that is a problem. It is how a young team handles the adversity that can either be a strength or a weakness. How will this team responds to any loss? How players handle sitting on the bench? How players adapt to new roles as a player and doing what is best for the team rather than the individual?Being patient and waiting for the right opportunity and being ready when called upon rather than sulking and developing bad attitudes. These are all factors that any team deals with but especially one as young and talented as this Battler squad. Many of the teams that ABU plays, both conference and non-conference, have far more game experience than AB will have. Every criteria to having a successful team is key this season to overcome that lack of game experience.
3) Having a great defensive effort every night is key to this team. There will be nights where the offense is not always there. ABU men's basketball has always prided itself on great man-to-man defensive teams during Greg Zimmerman's tenure. There have been multiple seasons where the Battlers have been first or second in a conference in opponent's scoring average. This upcoming season is another case where this needs to occur. With the depth that AB has this season, players should remain fresh and have a high-energy level for every game throughout the entire season. Each player when called upon should be able to bring a high-level of energy and intensity to the defensive end of the floor.
4) Players have to develop the proper spacing, make the right reads and have crisp passing in the five-man motion offense. The quicker the players pick this up, then the more success the team and individual will have. Players that do not pick this up will find themselves buried on the bench. Players that can do this will play the most minutes and be in the game at crunch time. ABU will also have to create baskets by attacking the offensive glass. In other words, make every defensive player you go against work incredibly hard to stop the entire possession.
The Battlers have a great home schedule this upcoming season. ABU will play 13 games at Rex Pyles Arena. They will host key non-conference contests against: (a) Concord, the reigning MEC tournament champion, (b) Wheeling Jesuit, last season's Atlantic Region host school who finished the season ranked top 5 in the country and (c) local rivals Glenville State and Salem International. The conference home schedule brings 6 home games against each of the conference opposition. ABU will open the season on November 11 and 12 when the Battlers take part in the G-MAC / GLVC Crossover Tournament that will take place in Owensboro, Kentucky.
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