SPORTSBEAT by Peter Jakey: State champs dominate, visit RC Tuesday
The Class D state champs were in Posen over the weekend and showed why they are the number two-ranked basketball team in Michigan, and why they should be poised for a third straight trip to the Breslin Center. They have tremendous quickness and use that asset to pile up points with the transition game, but they also have deadly accuracy from three-point land. Junior C.J. Paquin, whose threes were needed in the state title game last March, had the crowd oo-ing and aah-ing every time he shot the ball. He had eight by the fourth, but lost the Midas touch during the final quarter. The Trojans are a very good team with coach Dave Duncan?s twin sons, Jason and Jordan, but they are elevated to a higher level with Paquin on the floor. He?s also a little taller.
?Out of the seven times I?ve faced them as a head coach, that is the first time I can truly say they beat us with the three-point shot,? said Posen coach Steve Hentkowski.
FROM THE opening tip, Cedarville showed how quick they are by taking the ball and scoring in the blink of an eye. If it were a lesser opponent, would they even have needed to dribble the ball on the play? It happened so quick, maybe they didn?t. Plus, there were many times the Trojans ran a fast break clinic, getting the rebound and playing quarterback and firing down the court to an open teammate sprinting toward the basket, who usually scored on an easy lay-up. The gap is still wide between the defending state champs and Posen, and Duncan didn?t even think it was his team?s best defensive effort. When asked if he would grade the performance, Duncan said he would give his squad a ?C? for the defense, and the offense a ?B.? He also thought they were a little too three-point happy.
?We did some things that we need to work on and get better at. I thought Posen?s effort was real good,? said Duncan. I couldn?t agree with him more. Even with their big man sitting on the bench, cleared to play but suspended from the team for violating the school athletic code, the Vikings turned in a spirited effort. They did a good job of breaking the press and handling the ball, but couldn?t stop other areas of Cedarville?s attack.
ANOTHER INTERESTING aspect from the Saturday matinee was the fans. It was a good-sized crowd on the home side, but it seemed to be a little too quiet, almost like they were at home in their living room watching television. The Rogers City fans, which consisted of a group of players from the Huron basketball team, who were scouting the undefeated team from the U.P., made their share of noise but it was done mostly cheering for Cedarville. They were geeked watching Paquin?s shooting display, but it was easy to tell the group wanted Cedarville to put a 100 spot on the home team. Some Posen fans have taken exception and are crying
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I was getting nervous during Monday?s championship game with Ohio State winning 10-0, and started thinking about my next trip to Cedar Point and how I was going to deal with those rabid Buckeye fans. As the game progressed, Les Miles and Louisiana State didn?t let me down and got things going and took an easy win to win the national championship. Some were saying Les out-coached The Sweater Vest.
I?m a Big Ten guy through and through, and root for the Michigan teams when they are not playing each other, but when it comes to the team from down below, there?s only one team I want to win: whoever the Buckeyes are playing.