Chillicothe 62 - Hamilton Township 50

[Bronc21]

this game was over early as jalen ragland outscored HT himself by halftime....not sure, but i think he was 6-6 on 3pointers 1st qtr.......chilli built a 23pt lead and emptied their bench starting the 4th qtr.. ragland finished with his ave. of 30pts....this kid will put up 40 or 50 pts in a game this season if he keeps shooting like that...london finished with 11 pts and tons of blocked shots. chilli was 4-4 from the foul line.....but if this team doesnt improve on their turnovers, someones gonna make them pay...guard play has alot of work needed..... next up ...tues. home vs. marietta

[Hitchbone64]

Solid win for the Cavs at the "HAT" tonight. As Bronc says, Ragland basically outscored HT by himself. He was a one man zone breaker. The only problem was HT never left the Zone. Probably a good thing as the Cavs did get sloppy later in the game. Not to make excuses for the kids, but it was Game 3 and most teams have played 5 or 6 games. We have this stretch each year where we get one game per week. We will be busy in January as I think we have 3 straight Fri/Sat games.

Overall, I thought the team defense was very good. Especially after a sloopy start to the 3rd qtr. #24 for HT was lauching from everywhere but the Cavs did a solid job on him. Also, IMO Issac Beverly and Marcus Dunn played excellent at the 4 spot in terms of rebounds backside defense and effort.

Kids will continue to improve and IMO the guards will get better. The one thing I like is they look for the pass. Just need to know when and how to hit the right ones.

Malik just dominated the glass and was a defensive dynamo with 7 plus block shots to go with his efficient double/double. 11 or 13 pts with 10 plus boards.

Good to see some of the young kids get some PT as well. Basically this game was over after 3 qtrs. Coach K. sprinkled in the young kids throughout the 4th qtr. Also, Mylo looked good for being out for a 2 plus week period. He really is going to help this squad go to another level. At 6'5" and his ability to knock down shots and go to the hole, it will open up even more for Malik down low.

I started off with Jalen Ragland and will finish with this....He has a chance to be a "REAL SPECIAL" player. He works at his craft every day and just keeps getting better. If you haven't seen his game this year, you should come out and watch him and the Cavs. He is averaging 30 per game, but each game has been different. Tonight was a ton of long range bombs sprinkled in with a few nice drives. Last week he took the ball to the basket strong. Against Xenia it was a bit of everything. The kid has missed one free throw all year. I am sure glad to have seen him grow up and be an outstanding young man and an excellent b-ball player.

GO CAVS!!!

[bvmv4life]

Solid win for the Cavs at the "HAT" tonight. As Bronc says, Ragland basically outscored HT by himself. He was a one man zone breaker. The only problem was HT never left the Zone. Probably a good thing as the Cavs did get sloppy later in the game. Not to make excuses for the kids, but it was Game 3 and most teams have played 5 or 6 games. We have this stretch each year where we get one game per week. We will be busy in January as I think we have 3 straight Fri/Sat games.

Overall, I thought the team defense was very good. Especially after a sloopy start to the 3rd qtr. #24 for HT was lauching from everywhere but the Cavs did a solid job on him. Also, IMO Issac Beverly and Marcus Dunn played excellent at the 4 spot in terms of rebounds backside defense and effort.

Kids will continue to improve and IMO the guards will get better. The one thing I like is they look for the pass. Just need to know when and how to hit the right ones.

Malik just dominated the glass and was a defensive dynamo with 7 plus block shots to go with his efficient double/double. 11 or 13 pts with 10 plus boards.

Good to see some of the young kids get some PT as well. Basically this game was over after 3 qtrs. Coach K. sprinkled in the young kids throughout the 4th qtr. Also, Mylo looked good for being out for a 2 plus week period. He really is going to help this squad go to another level. At 6'5" and his ability to knock down shots and go to the hole, it will open up even more for Malik down low.

I started off with Jalen Ragland and will finish with this....He has a chance to be a "REAL SPECIAL" player. He works at his craft every day and just keeps getting better. If you haven't seen his game this year, you should come out and watch him and the Cavs. He is averaging 30 per game, but each game has been different. Tonight was a ton of long range bombs sprinkled in with a few nice drives. Last week he took the ball to the basket strong. Against Xenia it was a bit of everything. The kid has missed one free throw all year. I am sure glad to have seen him grow up and be an outstanding young man and an excellent b-ball player.

GO CAVS!!!

Very well said Hitchbone...Jalen Ragland and Evan Legg has to be the two best players south of Columbus...Jalen can shoot lights OUT! I like the movement this year of Malik he looks like a different player from last year,more aggresive too...great to see Mylo also,as the hand gets stronger so will he....Marietta better be ready. GO CAVS!!!!!

[datchillicav]

The Cavs certainly have the talent to beat anyone on their schedule. For the most part they played a pretty sound game and I know that it's hard to stay focused and execute with precision when you are obviously the superior team, but there were some things that worried me about the game last night.

For one, I didn't feel "IT" from them. They are probably more talented than the team that won the State Title and that says a lot. I would certainly take Jailyn and Malik over Humpty and Ray. They seem to have a decent amount of depth as well. What I'm not sure about is if players 3 through 5 can contribute enough. I believe they have the talent to do so but I haven't seen them do it yet. What made the championship team so special was that while Ray and Hump were doing their thing, other people would step up and make big plays on either end of the court. They just seemed to have that ability. The offense that this team runs reminds me a little bit of the Ohio State-Evan Turner offense where the team just watched Turner(Ragland) make shots and didn't try to create without the ball. It's like when something needs done they just pass to Ragland at the top and spread out to let him work. Jailyn is great at creating his own shot but he doesn't create much for others and this team desperately needs someone who can create.

Also, I know this has been said but can we please get Mailk the ball. He quite literally cannot be stopped near the basket. If we simply throw the ball up, let him jump over everyone and catch it, then lay it in, it is a basket every time almost. I know that this hasn't escaped the eye of the coaches so it makes me think that there is just no one confident enough in their abilities to pass him the ball in traffic. The offense needs more movement and to get him the ball more often. I just don't know if they have the playmaker to facilitate shots for London and Ragland when they face a great defensive team.

Defensively, this team should be lights out. Their length and athleticism could make them hold teams in the 40 a lot but they aren't there yet. Their press was very effective against Hamilton and had they run it most of the game I think they could have named the score. I understand why Kellough didn't press more though because this team need a lot of work on their half court defense. They have all the peices though to become great at this.

I mentioned the "IT" factor earlier and this has to do with that. If you want to be great, you have to play great all the time. Both the 06-07 team and the 07-08 team which were both great came out and dominated with intensity on both ends of the court no matter who the opponent. Whether it was a happless Athens or Jackson team or a good Dunbar or L.E. team, they came out and played like it was a regional final almost every time. If you win by 80 or 10 it doesn't matter but you have to be intense all the time because you cant just flip that swith in February.

I was very pleased at several things I saw yesterday and concerned about some of the things I just said. For the short period he was on the court, and just getting out of a cast, Milo looked pretty comfortable. Didn't get to see his shot but he looked good defensively, rebounding, and going to the basket. He should help tremendously going forward. Especially once he gets his feel for the ball back. One thing I would like to see on Tuesday is whether a lineup featuring Malik at Center, Milo at the 4 and Ragland at Point for an extended period of time would work. Make Ragland pretty much Even Turner where he brings the ball up the court(he can also break the press very well because of his height and driblling) and then facilitates the offense as a combo guard. I would like to see how that works and how a lineup with Malik, Milo and Ragland off the ball would work.

I hope that this team keeps working hard and listening to their coaches because they have the potential to be great, They are far from whey need to be right now and they may not get there but if they keep working hard enough they can make a run to Columbus. They just have to ratchet up the intensity every minute of every game and fine tune some things. Kellough will get the lineup and minutes squared away and he will definately show them HOW to do it. They just have to go out and do it.

Go Cavs!

[osubuckeyes2013]

No disrespect to Jalen and Malik but Ray and Humpty are on another level so comparing this team to that team talent wise is not even a comparison that team was sound on every part of the game

[bvmv4life]

No disrespect to Jalen and Malik but Ray and Humpty are on another level so comparing this team to that team talent wise is not even a comparison that team was sound on every part of the game

no disrespect to any of them 4 players but right now Jalen Ragland is top 5 Ohio easily....i might be wrong but the kid is averaging 28 pts a game,that has to say alot of his skill set! But this is why we post though because of opinion.....

[Bronc21]

No disrespect to Jalen and Malik but Ray and Humpty are on another level so comparing this team to that team talent wise is not even a comparison that team was sound on every part of the game

no disrespect to any of them 4 players but right now Jalen Ragland is top 5 Ohio easily....i might be wrong but the kid is averaging 28 pts a game,that has to say alot of his skill set! But this is why we post though because of opinion.....

actually jalen is average is 30ppg...........34-26-30

[datchillicav]

Don't get me wrong, I love Hump and Ray's games in high school. They were both excellent players. Hump IMO may have had the best career in the history of CHS basketball (Bayless and Veris and some others may be in the conversation as well) . This year however (through 3 games) I think Jaylin is better because of the things he can do. Hump was a better athlete obviously, but Ragland's height is such an asset. If Hump were 6'6'' I think he would probably be in the NBA soon and he would obviously be better than Ragland but he is not so that is my opinion. Ray's production beats Malik's so far but just plain skill set wise I still take Malik. Malik doesn't have the facilitators to create opportunities for him that Ray did. If Malik were in the situation Ray was in I feel he would produce similarly offensively and he is much better defensively. So based upon pure individual talent, I would take Ragland and London over Hitchens and Chambers any day. The thing that set Hitchens and Chambers apart, and the reason that I would take those two if I were trying to win a championship is their chemistry. They were a perfect compliment to each other and fueled each other's greatness. Raglan and London have not learned to play together like that yet. If they do they will be scary.

[southernohio13]

datchili, i know exactly what you're saying about those 4 ( humpty, ray, malik and Jalen ) . Jalen and Malik have more talent than those two but humpty and Ray had heart and desire. Hump and Ray flat out would not let your team lose.

Did anyone notice that Malik London had a triple double saturday night. I counted and the young man had over 10 blocked shots, 11 points and 14 rebounds. Triple double with block shots, seriously?? YES! He was all over the place.

Back to the user that said Jalen and Legg are the two best in southeast... I watched Piketon and Chillicothe this year in some of the games they've played. Byyyyyy far there is a difference between those two. Jalen is clearly the best player in southeast ohio and maybe top 5 in the state. Legg is a great point guard but i see a big difference between the division 1 college player and the naia college player. Different level but both are good ball players.

After watching a couple games this Chillicothe team could be VERY dangerous come tournament time.

[datchillicav]

Well put. I agree with the Legg comparison as well. He is a heck of a player but he is playing at a smaller school against mainly inferior competition. I know they do have a very strong schedule non conference but that is only a few games that they play good schools. In no way am I knocking Legg because he is a great HS basketball player. He is, IMO, not on Ragland's level though.

[bookem13]

In the tourney game last year vs. Waverly, the thing that impressed me about Ragland was his ability to elevate on the J. I can only imagine after a year's worth of work how impressive this young man is this year. I look forward to watching him and the Cavs play.