Dave's Prep Report

A Few Notes from Around Western Baltimore County

Owings Mills boys look to rebound from first two losses of the season, Catonsville girls no longer control their own destiny and factors behind Franklin boys resurgence.

Anybody else sick and tired of snow yet? I know I am. I’ve already started looking at homes in Arizona—not really, I care about Patch sports far too much to even consider leaving Baltimore County! (Although I am going on a cruise toward the end of February.) Travel plans aside, the mid-week onslaught of snowfall has allotted me the free time to take a look back at the past couple of weeks of basketball action and highlight a few newsworthy happenings from around Western Baltimore County.   15th Annual Basketball Academy Unkind to Owings Mills Prior to last weekend, the Eagles were unbeaten at 13-0 and had gained some well deserved respect in the metro area by climbing into the Baltimore Sun poll at No. 15. After leaving Coppin State (the …

• Photos (3)

Dave's Prep Report

Patch Sports' Up and Comers

A few of the area's top rising stars who deserve some special praise.

In my final “installment” of local basketball players who deserve a few paragraphs of recognition in this space, I’m going to focus on some of the budding stars on teams I cover for Patch. Players that have yet to reach their full potential, but have certainly shown some glimpses as to what they’re capable of on the court.  In addition to this column, I encourage you to look back at past entries featuring my top performers and dirty work players—let me know what you think. Here are a few of the athletes you can expect to hear from as playoff time approaches and in the seasons to follow: Kyle Thomas, forward, Owings Mills When writing these columns, I like to confer with coaches to see who they think fits the billings of the type of player …

• Photos (6)

Dave's Prep Report

My Dirty Half-Dozen

Highlighting six players that have contributed to their teams by taking care of the "dirty work" that goes unaccounted for in the stat sheet.

Last week I introduced you to some of the premier players I’ve had the opportunity to cover in my first few months at Patch. And, while those athletes are certainly at the top of their class in Baltimore County, a lot of them wouldn’t be able to do what they do without the foundation set by the players I’m prepared to tell you about now. Regardless of how many stars a team may have, no squad is complete without a player that assumes the responsibility of handling the “dirty work” on the court—the tasks that may not get your last name into the box score for points, but are absolutely essential for a team to win. These players are arguably as important as the top performers I mentioned in last week’s entry. So, without further ado, my Dirty …

• Photos (4)

Jackson's 31 Power Western Tech Past Lansdowne

Wolverines forward Andre Jackson clicked on all cylinders Friday night versus the visiting Vikings. However, a shaky effort at the foul line from Western Tech kept the Vikes in it until the very end.

For Western Tech junior Andre Jackson, Friday night was virtually a game of ‘H-O-R-S-E’. Three pointers, turnaround jumpers, tip ins and even a put back dunk—the 6’4 forward did it all en route to 31 points and a 60-56 victory over neighboring Lansdowne. “He was the difference out there for them,” Vikings coach Greg Karpers said. “When they needed a bucket they found him and he usually responded. He’s only a junior so he’s only going to get better.” The Vikings (4-6), however, went out fighting. Down 54-43 with a little over a minute to play, Lansdowne—fueled by leading scorer Nick LaGuerre (13 points)—cut the deficit to as little as a single point with some clutch outside shooting in addition to a poor fourth quarter performance from …

• Photos (8)

Dave's Prep Report

Area Players Worth the Price of Admission

Highlighting some of the top performers I've covered for Patch and how valuable they are to their respective teams.

So far in my column I’ve touched on the topics of hard-working referees and awe-inspiring coaches, but now I’d like to turn to your attention from those appetizers toward the main course of what I want to do as a columnist, the prime rib or Chilean sea bass (if you’re avoiding red meat as a New Year’s resolution) if you will—the players.   I’m going to fill you in on a few of the standout hoopsters that I’ve covered over the past month or so that are, for lack of a better term, worth the price of admission. So instead of wasting $10 at the bowling alley or seeing Little Fockers on a Friday night, I encourage you to come check out these players. Tyson Smith, guard, Owings Mills Watching the junior guard play in a few games this year, I find…

•  2 Comments
• Photos (5)