Recap of Scrimmage at CD East

This past weekend there was a Tri Team Scrimmage held at CD East which featured Susquehanna and York to go along with CD East....  It was a nice size crowd for this scrimmage as the anticipation for the new basketball season was underway....   Here's what I saw at the scrimmage for the day....







Sekou Johnson and Quenton Smith

Joe Marshall and Buddy Whitlock

The first game was CD East vs York....  York has to have the most explosive backcourt in Central PA with Tavon Parker and Derek Wilson.....  These two guys move 100 mph and have incredible motors....   If it wasn't Parker pulling up for deep threes, then it was Wilson slashing to the basket finishing with incredible athleticism....   They jumped out on East 11 - 1 in the first 3 minutes of the game....  That's when East subbed in 6'5 do it all Forward Anthony "AWright" Wright....   Not sure why he didn't start in that scrimmage but he is clearly the most explosive offensive threat CD East has....   He would come in to score 7 points in a row to make the game a little more respectable....   York was able to press up on CD East but Eddie "Always Steady" Cowan had no problem getting past the York defenders...   The problem that CD East had was they had no clue what to do with the ball once Cowan broke the pressure....  The players looked really confused on the court as they tried to get into an offensive set....   York went on to beat East with no problem....





Gabe Mack rises above the defense on his jumper

Bud Mack defends Eddie Cowan

The next game was much more competitive as Susquehanna and York seemed to be a better matchup....  Hanna had the size, speed and strength to compete with York...  Although Hanna couldn't defend Yorks backcourt, they did have Nehemiah "Bud" Mack who as a FRESHMAN was able to go right back at York....   Bud Mack is a 6'1  190lbs PG who is as strong as an Ox and has speed for days....   He's tough to defend in the open court because he changes directions a la Chris Paul.....  If it wasn't Mack driving to the lane, it was Johnas Paige hitting shots from all over....   Paige is a deadly shooter but is still coming off of a wrist injury.....  Gabe Mack did well getting the team into their offensive sets but needed to be much more aggressive offensively....  He played way too relaxed for a kid as talented as he is....  Derek Wilson from York showed an incredible vertical leap on a drive through the lane on a one hand dunk....  That kid has to have at least a 41 inch vertical leap....    Both teams ended the game in a 17 - 17 tie.....

Joe Lemelle takes it strong to the basket

Next game was CD East vs Susquehanna and this game seemed to be a little lop sided as Hanna had no problem with CD East.....   Bud Mack was too strong, Paige was on fire and Big guy Savalas Pope had some nice finishes in the paint....   CD East did make a good run when they inserted sophomore guards Sekou Johnson and Frank "Face" Wilson to play with Cowan, AWright and Ethan Cooper....  Wilson played under control and made nice passes and Johnson defended well....   CD East has a good group of sophomores in Joe Lemelle, Wilson, Johnson, Dwight "Buddy" Whitlock and Quintin Smith but they aren't playing anywhere near their abilities....  They all look very hesitant and afraid to make plays....  It will be tough fore East to win many games without having a solid supporting cast for AWright and Cowan.....  Hanna looked very good for the day but I would have liked to see Sophomore Joe Marshall do more on the court...   Standing at 6'4 he's long and very athletic, he just has to learn to put the ball on the floor better as well as develop his outside shot....   If he could improve on those areas, he could be a very nice college prospect.....  


Tahki Turner, Matt Dawson, Savalas Pope and Austin Paige focused

All of the teams played more games but the stories will still be the same...  York ended up beating everyone when they played their main players, Susquehanna was always right there with them and East need a lot of work at this point....   It would have been nice to see Coach Marty be a little more involved in teaching this young team.....   but that's a major problem in this area as a whole....   Kids who were "STARS" in Middle School are now not developing into the players everyone thought they would be....  

Top players for the day were....

Tavon Parker 6'3 pg Senior (York)
Derek Wilson  6'2 wing guard Senior(York)
Nehemiah Mack  6'1 pg Freshman (Susquehanna)
Anthony Wright 6'5 Small Forward Junior (CD East)
Johnas Paige 6'5 Small Forward Senior (Susquehanna)
Eddie Cowan 5'9 pg Senior (CD East)
Savalas Pope 6'6 PF Senior (Susquehanna)
Gabe Mack 5'9 combo guard Junior (Susquehanna)