On Monday night Oct. 22nd I stopped by Olympus Prep in Williamstown, NJ for a DH scrimmage with Scotland Campus Sports and got to see two entertaining contests and these were some of the better performances in both games.
Game 1 was Olympus Prep Red vs. Scotland Campus Sports HS team and Olympus Red came out on top 77-65. For the Red team 6’2” PG Gerred Wall was an all out baller as he put up 20pts 6reb & 5stls as he was effective on both ends. He has a good frame and used it to create havoc on defense and he had a downhill game that got him to the rack for numerous finishes as the Delaware native looks to jump start his recruitment. 6’7” Trenton resident Nichus Jackson was solid down low but showed his versatility by hitting 2 treys on his way to 22pts and 7reb. He has a lithe frame that allows him to make plays inside but he can also go outside and let his natural athleticism take over. 6’3” Saleem Brown who played at Camden HS last year is a solid defender and a good third scorer who also is a decent passer and rebounder and he contributed 11pts 5reb and 3stls to the cause. 6’3” Bobby Mangum from Winslow Twp HS is another Jersey resident trying to expand his game and recruitment at Olympus and he is a really good rebounder from the guard position and had 11pts 6reb in the win.
For Scotland Campus they had a few intriguing prospects starting with 6’1” Gerald Jarmun who dropped 21pts and hit 4 treys and clearly showed me he’s wired to score. He was a willing defender getting involved and causing turnovers. He got some help from 6’6” Aime Ciza who was still a bit raw but the tools are there and he had 15pts 7reb and was solid inside as a defender with 4blks and half a dozen altered shots. 6’0” Johannes Kirsipay added 11pts with 2 treys but his value was more running the show with a tight handle and great court vision and IQ as he also had 4asts in the loss.
Game 2 featured Olympus’s Grey team vs. Scotland Campus’s ‘B’ team and Grey came out a 79-56 winner. It was a dominating performance from 6’5” Quinton Alston, who was at Kingstree Sr HS in South Carolina last year, that set the tone as he was a beast all over the court in a 25pts 16reb 3stls and 2blks outing. He was tough inside getting to the basket using his sturdy frame to get layups or powerful slams. He controlled the boards and was a force on defense and for good measure he even stepped out and buried a three ball. Assisting in the effort was 6’1” Corey Greer who starred at Camden HS last year and has been playing really good basketball of late as he had 15pts and 3asts and seemed content on this night to watch Alston go on his rampage. A real surprise for me was the play of 6’4” Ramon Rodriguez who canned 4 treys on his way to 14pts with a smooth looking shot with a nice release and good rotation. This young man from Atlantic City was on top of his game and also snared 7reb in the process. The glue on this team though is 6’4” Yazid Powell who lost his senior year at Overbrook HS in Philly when the PIAA ruled him ineligible. He recently decommitted from Rider so this year is paramount to his future recruitment. He did have an off night shooting the ball but he competed hard and made contributions in other areas finishing with 6stls and 4asts to go with his 5pts and 4reb. You might call Zid the engine that makes the team go.
Scotland’s B group competed hard but simply did not have the horses to run with the Grey squad but a few guys caught my eye starting with 6’6” Blake Owens who migrated east from Oklahoma with the hope of ramping up his recruitment. He had 16pts 10reb and he runs the floor well and has range on his jump shot as he knocked down two threes. He was a good positional rebounder despite a lean frame and he engaged on defense despite having trouble slowing down Alston. One thing that was weird was that he made just 4-11 at the line even though his stroke looks very good so maybe you chalk it up as one of those days. 6’1” Ben Curtain was a scrappy kid with a good motor who had 14pts and 3 treys and Tobias Long added 2 treys and 8pts in the losing effort.
It was a productive night for the Olympus program as the coaching staff tries to sort through rotations and roles as they get set to start their respective seasons and for Scotland the HS team looks really good and should do well this year while the ‘B’ team still has work to do. That wraps up our night at Olympus Prep.