Tony Stockman (Medina HS) Named
Ohio's Mr. Basketball
Maverick Carter (St. Vincent-St. Mary) Named Div. III Player of the Year

    Karla Stockman is to be commended with the job that she has done with her children.  The oldest three, have obtained scholarships to college.  Her oldest daughter is a junior at Mount Union College in Ohio.  Her youngest is well on her way to a standout athletic career at Medina H.S.  Combine that with Tony and Adrian's efforts toward college and you now know about one of the legendary sports families in Medina's history.

Chad is one of the top sophomore guards in the state, a two year starter and an absolutely phenomenal shooter.  

Akron Buchtel

Here's a list of who we like and think you ought to take a look at.  

Richard Brown - a 6'3" senior forward.  Forget size, this was the dominant player on the floor at the city championship. MVP of the game!!!  He out-rebounded and out-scored the 6'7" Daggett of Central.   He stuck every open, important jumper, took it to the hole, played extremely strong (despite his frame), and put down an electrifying dunk on a breakaway.  We didn't know he could jump like that!!!   Nothing like a two handed monster slam, bringing the ball from the back of his NECK, to put an exclamation point on the victory.  Though only a junior college prospect due to grades, we believe Richard should be moved to small forward in college, keep that afro (to look bigger), and go on to prolific play at the college level.  We also like this kid's heart and ability to communicate with adults.

Ryan Martin  -  This kid already has a college body. At 6'2" and 202 lbs., he has been a three year starter in football and basketball, AND IS THE CURRENT Akron City Series Player of the Year.  He also had a big game against Central in the championship.  He can handle the ball, defend, run, jump, rebound and of course shoot the three from anywhere!!!    His composite ACT score is a 73, and his grades are adequate.  We also like his work ethic and attitude.  He can play for TEAM JAM anytime.  And if he can play for us, he can play for you!   Currently being recruited by only a few mid major Division I colleges, we are going to be burning up the phone lines on behalf of this young man.  Remember, he is the third straight player of the year in the City from Buchtel.  The previous two were Doylan Robinson (now at Ohio State), and Andre Sims (now at Akron U.).  Enough said right there.   If he plays for us in the Cage Classic April 7th-14th in Solon, . . . the word will be out.

Kenny Smith - a senior, 6' guard who is quick, creates, plays great "d", can hit an open shot, showed great leadership and poise, and is good in the classroom (2.7)

Devin Greene -  Never heard of this legitimately 6'5" jr. guard, but we have now!
Boy does he look huge out at guard at the top of a zone defense.  A wingspan like an aircraft carrier, a deadly three, guts to shoot it at clutch moments and above average ball handling.  It's scary to think about how good he will be next year.  How many times can a person turn to the guy next to him at a game and say, "Who IS this guy?"    A little more strength and experience and the sky is the limit.  

David Junius - 6'5" Junior power forward David Junius (also a fine student, he's impressive to meet).   Do you get the picture about how many guns Buchtel has and how hard it is for just one player to stand out?  This is another fine prospect for next year.  The only question will be if he is a big enough power forward for the Division I college ranks.   

Charlton Keith - This 6'5" junior is a strong rebounder, has good hands, has a very nice looking "3" and can jump out of the gym.  We like him a lot.  He and Devin and David are a great trio of kids with limitless potential.

Buchtel was state ranked team (7th in Division I).  They lost to Central-Hower  in the District Championship game(Copley).

Akron Garfield

Watch 6'7" junior center Charlie McKee and 6'5" junior forward Sidney Richards, phenomenal two sport start Lawrence Cherry (also a junior) and 6'0"
junior transfer guard Corey Jacobs (from Akron East). 

On Friday, February 11th, Charlie led his team with 24 points in a huge win over tough Akron Firestone to clinch the fourth spot in the City Series playoffs (beginning Tuesday, February 15th).  Down the stretch, with Garfield clinging to a two point lead, Firestone repeatedly fouled Charlie to force a miss and get the ball back.  Charlie responded by hitting eight straight free throws in four "one and one" situations.  After the game Charlie mentioned that "he likes the ball in pressure situations".   He obviously proved that he does. 

Also playing well was another TEAM JAM participant, junior guard Corey Jacobs.  Corey transfered over from Akron East at semester break and contributed in a huge way with 23 points.  This may have been his "coming out party" since he is already listed as a player to watch across the state. 
against defending city champ Akron Buchtel.  Buchtel is once again ranked
in the top ten in the state.

Sidney Richards has been ruled ineligible for the remainder of the season because of receiving a failing grade in one of his courses.  

Though only 5'9" Lawrence Cherry  is a catalyst and impact player on the football field and a human highlight film on the basketball court.  He's a little inconsistent on the basketball court yet, having had a miserable game against Firestone (2 points) after a huge game against Central-Hower on February 4th (15 points, 5 assists, 5 rebounds).  But he is too talented to give up on.  The inconsistency might simply lie in his off the court disciplines.

Another one to watch is 6'5" jumping jack, Andre Vaughn.  Andre has produced in every game this year and is only a junior.   He seems extremely hungry to play his heart out and continue to develop.

Garfield lost a close game to Akron Central-Hower in the City Series Semi-Finals.  However, they are strong enough to make a run similar to last year's in the Sectional-Districts at Copley.  Last year's run landed them in the Regionals!!!

Hudson HS  

          6'10" Ohio State signee Matt Marinchick.   Matt closed out his career with a District
          semi-final loss against powerful Akron Buchtel, with 19 points.  He also finished the 
          season with a 19.7 point per game average, as well as 7.5 rebounds and 5.5 blocked
          shots per game as of February 18th.  While all defenses focus on stopping him, he
          remained consistent and his team had a strong season.
         
         On Sunday, January 30th, the night of the Super Bowl,  Matt spoke to almost
          200 young people in Medina about what God has meant to him in his life.  Quite a
          challenging task for a high school student to take on.  Matt has surpassed our 
          expectations of him as an athlete and a young man.
  
          Also . . . we liked Sophomore Adam Dare's performance (6'3") in their District Semi-
          Final loss.  A lot of agility, heart and scoring potential.   Left handed senior, Evan
          Wake also finished his career with a great performance (15 points). 
 
         

Western Reserve HS (Hudson, Ohio)

6'7"  Steve Sorrenson -  continues to be their leading scorer and always finds a way to help the team win.   He's had a high game of 29 points and recently hit 12 of 14 from the field in a recent win, on his way to 25 points. Steve is a junior in his school's college prep program.

On February 11th, Steve had a big game in a huge home win over Detroit Country Day.  Steve had 20 points, including a dunk, and 12 rebounds.

Though we have not had the privilege of coaching them yet, there are a number of big, coordinated post players on this squad . . . including 6'8" junior Brian Cecil.  We believe he is big enough, athletic enough and aggressive enought to make a nice power forward in college.  He also seems to have the hunger and drive to improve.  

There is also a 6'10" sophomore, Brian Miller,  that will be a fine player by his senior season if he continues to work hard.  We hope to include some of these athletes on our Spring Cage Classic squad.  

Akron- Central-Hower

6'5" senior forward Lamont Jones continues to lead his team in City Series play in spite of upheaval within the team.  Lamont was named to the City Series All-City team.     6'0" senior guard Brandon Greene recently returned from a couple week hiatus at a prep school in New York (Redemption). He probably would have been named All-City if it wasn't for this interruption.

Brandon will be an excellent junior college prospect.  Lamont is listed as 6'5" but is more like 6'3".  We think junior college would help him make the transition from a high school power forward to a wing.  His athleticism would make this idea work.

6'7"  Thaddeus Daggett has also returned from Redemption Christian Academy in New York to finish out his senior season at Central.  Both Daggett and Greene were instrumental in their upset win over Buchtel  on February 11th to earn first place in the City.  However, in the city series championship, Buchtel
overwhelmed them with several great hustling plays in a three minutes span of
the third quarter that basically put the game out of reach and broke Central's back.

James Bethune, a strong off-guard, was Central's representative on the City Series' All-City First Team.  He was his team's leading scorer in the City Series
Championship game. Recently he was also named All-District.

Akron Firestone

Jerome Moss was an all-city quarterback who can choose which sport he will play in college.  It remains to be seen which way he should go. However, he recently was also named First Team All-City basketball.

Jerome had 21 points on 5 three pointers in a recent win over Central-Hower.   Five of his last six games have seen him go over 20 points.  On Friday night, February 11th, in their critical matchup against Garfield, Jerome had 24 points, including 6 three pointers.  Down the stretch, it became a showdown between Jerome and Garfield's Charlie McKee.  Garfield only won because Firestone missed their basket on the one possession that Moss didn't shoot down the stretch.  

This pure shooter has been forced into playing the point against the aggressive defenses of the City Series.  Though Jerome is not a true point guard, he has dramatically improved his court awareness and physical strength to become more involved after he passes the ball.  This adjustment has resulted in his dramatic scoring bursts and team winning streak down the stretch.  He is finally realizing that his size from playing football makes him superior to most guards who defend him.

Ronnie Smith and Quinton Owens are 6'5" athletic forwards that would be excellent junior college prospects.   Quinton actually took a very challenging course load (college prep) and would have done well in the classroom if he merely turned his work in on time.  He would excell in the college environment and is a very athletic, hard working forward.

Seth Robbins (6'3") is a phenomenal leaping small forward.  A state champion class long jumper, he is also an all-city quality basketball player and tailback in football.   He is also a junior college prospect that would electrify your team but require extra tutoring for the classroom.  

Coach Culp has involved just about all of his varsity athletes in our programs and our AAU teams. Last time this happened, they went to the Regional Finals.  Could it happen again?  They have a lot of talent, but are still learning about the game of life and basketball itself. 

Canton South

How does Coach Henry Cobb do it?  He graduated a ton of talent and already he has trained and developed a highly competitive team of skilled athletes.  This is home of one of the area's top sophomore guards, Jerry Pfeister, who recently drew attention with a 29 point game as well as TEAM JAM favorite, senior point guard Tony Malini (also a top football player for South).