CIF Round 4 (Final Four): OV vs. Palm Springs

There are so many question marks in and around this game that it is hard to list them all on a page. To start things off, here are the “important” questions:

• Will Billy Keller return to the court?
• Are there going to be major concerns about Ocean View’s depth going forward?
• If Ocean View has a down night offensively, can the defense pick up the slack?

There are about 1,000 more concerns, but one thing is certain: Ocean View is in the Final Four- They are one of the best basketball teams in Southern California, and there isn’t any speculation behind that any more. Tomorrow, Ocean View will look to press on to the finals for the second consecutive year, but the Palm Springs Indians (21-6) stand in the middle of the Championship Road.

Here’s the rundown:

OV (26-3) vs. Palm Springs (21-6)

Scoring:

OV: 75.7 PPG, Palm Springs 65.3 PPG

Rebounding:

OV: 36.3 RPG, Palm Springs 35.4

Assists

OV: 19.0 APG, Palm Springs 16.3 APG

Steals

OV: 11.2 SPG, Palm Springs 11.7 SPG

Blocks

OV: 3.1, Palm Springs 5.5

Analysis:

Is everyone strapped in? This is going to be one heck of a matchup; Palm Springs was picked to be the spoiler team in the bracket and I can see why:  They are an incredibly physical team with some hard nosed defense. Don’t believe me? They haven’t lost since January (14 games)!

Guards:

OV looks to suit up their original starting lineup with Billy expected to play on Friday, and with Steven Yoon in the wings, OV looks to be pretty much set here. The only question mark is their offensive production, in other words, can the guards pitch in to the Johnson and Brown show? If not, can they tie down their man on defense? If the answers are no and no, OV will be in a load of trouble early. I’m not worried about Avery or Anthony, they should be all set for the game and Avery’s remarkable performance in Tuesday’s game tells me that everything is just about set.

On the other side, Palm Springs wields guards #15 Marcus Hall, #0 Thaddeus Gray, and #3 Quinten Taylor (Listed in order of importance). Marcus Hall is averaging 14.4 PPG, and is big enough to get a physical presence in the post. He also averages 3.9 steals per game, higher than any Ocean View player. Hall is a superb shooter, both from inside and outside, and is really just a great weapon on defense. Thaddeus Gray is the next guy down, he averages 9.6 PPG and is their “gunner”, if you want to call him that. He is shooting 28% from 3 Point range, and has taken more 3 point shots than 2 point shots. He reminds me of Nikola Dragovic, he can be deadly some nights (20 points vs. Coachella Valley) and pathetic on others (1 Point against Palm Desert), with bigger guards, he really isn’t important in my opinion, but then again, I could see him going off if our starters cramp up. Quinten Taylor is the next player down in the back court: Quinten averages 7.3 PPG and is one of those more physical guards. He is dead on inside of the three point line, making him tough to play against because he shoots 46% from inside and 33% from the outside. He also averages 1.5 SPG and 5 RPG.

Forwards:

This is where I am concerned, Ocean View will face 6’5”, 190 Elijah Betts in the paint tomorrow night. Betts averages just under a double-double at 12.8 PPG and 8.7 RPG, and is a dynamic shot blocker. Ever the casual shooter, Betts averages 60%, and has yet to attempt a 3 pointer. Seems to me like this guy has some sort of an arsenal in the post, which concerns me deeply. On the other hand, the last player to have stats like this in the paint played for LaVerne. Remember Jarrett? He was just shut down by our defense, so I’m not sure what to expect. Ryan will have his hands full, but Anthony, Avery, or Chris Martinez should get their fair share of time on him.

Predictions

Now it’s time for me to get level headed and stop predicted blowouts because this team is capable of actually beating Ocean View (Oh my, is that really possible). There are three things that Ocean View will have to do to prevent the upset:

1. Find open shots without being over-aggressive
2. Own the boards, which will be a huge task to perform
3. Contain Betts, then Hall, then Taylor, then Gray, in that order.

Not to hard, but I am really, really nervous about our chances about advancing past this tough opponent. Expect a physical game. OV will have to really dig deep to get past the Indians without a scratch, but are still the better team and I will stand buy it as OV will ice a close game in the final minutes

OV 76

Palm Springs 69

CIF Round 3 (Elite 8): OV vs. La Habra

After last week’s road trip, OV is carrying plenty of momentum into this elite 8 matchup, it will be tough to knock them off this week. However, La Habra is a worthy (finally) opponent of Ocean View. The Highlanders are 17-12, and the Seahawks are an outstanding 25-3.

Surprising for an Elite 8 team, La Habra averages 56.5 PPG, while Ocean View has the upper hand easily with 76 PPG. On the boards, Ocean View also has the advantage with 36.3 RPG to La Habra’s 28.7 RPG. As for spreading the ball around, Ocean View averages 19.3 assists per game, while La Habra has 13.7 per game. The closest categories are on defense; Ocean View averages 11.4 steals and 3.3 blocks per game, while La Habra is in a close trail with 10.6 steals per game, and 3.0 blocks per game.

Just taking a look at the stat rundown, Ocean View has every advantage possible, but La Habra is above the national average  in every category as well. All that means is that we are finally into the “tough teams,” in other words, the competition will be through 4 quarters from here on out.

Let’s break it down position by position:

Guards:

Ocean View is lead by superstars Anthony Brown and Avery Johnson, Brown leading the team with 17.2 PPG, and Johnson is leading the team with 4.9 APG, and 2.5 SPG. Billy Keller is still an integral part of the starting unit; if he isn’t 100 percent, it will be hard for Ocean View to separate from the Highlanders early in the game. Aaron Delgado is one of the most underrated parts of the offense, especially because of his team-mates, something tells me he’ll have a good game and that will be an important part of Ocean View’s offensive, and defensive arsenal. First off the bench is Steven Yoon, a huge part of the depth for Ocean View, and I have a felling that he’ll have a good game as well.

La Habra has a trio of important guards on their team: #3 Trent McShane, #23 Burresch Joshua, and #25 Ben Hall. The most important is Burresch Joshua- he averages 13.2 PPG and 2.2 Steals per game. He’s 6’0″, and is the most dynamic scorer for La Habra. Next is Ben Hall, Hall averages 8.4 PPG, but has practically no range for a guard, but being 6’0″ gives him a small excuse. Trent McShane averages 6.4 PPG, and is a pretty good rebounder with good size at 6’2″.

Forwards:

Ocean View has quite a few different combinations at forwards- the starters have the most traditional lineup though. Anthony Brown might be 6’5″, but he is really a guard. The only true post player is Ryan Okwudibonye, who has really impressed me in the past two rounds. Expect a good competition in the paint between Ryan and La Habra’s big man.

La Habra’s big man Marcus Wimberly is listed as a forward, but is extremely physical at 6’6″. He averages 5.4 RPG, but is a legitimate post threat on defense only, with a relatively small low post offensive arsenal. Much like Keauyon Fields from Apple Valley, the athletic type player should be a real challenge for Ocean View.

Predictions

Quite honestly, if Ocean View isn’t in the game mentally, they can easily fall to the Highlanders, but if they buckle down and separate early, they should be able to outrun the Highlanders in the fourth quarter. Notice how I didn’t say the second half, but the fourth quarter- this will be a competitive game, but Ocean View is just the better team.

Ocean View 71

La Habra 54

The game is at 7:00 pm, and don’t forget to wear white! We are going for a packed house!