UDM’s Ray McCallum and Carlos Briggs made their way to Central High School on Tuesday night to take in Detroit Southeastern against the host Trailblazers.
With only a trio of notable seniors prospects in this game (Central’s DeAngelo Hailey, a 6′2 shooting guard, Southeastern’s Kimani Boynton, a 6-foot combo guard, and Kyle Bryant, a 6′7 post player who might have football in his future), the Titan brain trust was presumably taking a good look at the future – most notably, the Jungaleer sophomore duo of Percy Gibson and Brandan Kearney, who are already creating quite a buzz in recruiting circles around the region.
Gibson, 6-foot-7, was nothing short of a monster against an undersized Central team, grabbing 15 boards and blocking four shots. He scored six, and while some hyped big men are flagged more on potential, Gibson will have no trouble producing this year for his team.
Kearney got to the basket on a nice dribble-drive for the first points of the night, then got his own shot a few times and missed, and was relatively quiet shooting the ball the rest of the night. That’s not to say he wasn’t active. Kearney was everywhere on both ends, feeding teammates (five assists), grabbing boards (six), blocking shots (three) and scooping up loose balls. On a night where his shot wasn’t dropping early, Kearney helped his team extend its margin by setting up his talented teammates.
Coach White has the 6-5 sophomore play everywhere, defend the wing and the block, initiate the offense with the ball, play off the ball and slash … Kearney is as versatile as they come. He has the ball skills of a point guard, and the slashing and defensive ability of a wing. He can get his own shot at will, and it’s no wonder high-major coaches around the country have made it a point to watch this emerging PSL star early on in his career.
Boynton (24 points) has a scorer’s mentality and the purest shot on the team. If you didn’t know the 6-foot guard from his days at University Prep, you will now. He heads a great high school backcourt with Anthony Fields and Carlos Carter. All three can run the show and break pressure with poise and control.
When Gibson needed a break, White turned to Bryant and Will Gholston down low. Depth is not a problem with this team: see our preview for all the talented underclassmen at White’s disposal. What a luxury.
Central’s Hailey was off and on, trying to force his offense at times as the only bona-fide scorer on his team. His shot came to life with a pair of back-to-back triples in the fourth quarter, and with his size and athleticism, one would figure there is some level of college basketball in Hailey’s future. He finished with 13 points and seven rebounds.
(photos by Steve Knoche – top: Brandan Kearney, middle: Percy Gibson, bottom: DeAngelo Hailey and Kimani Boynton)
Filed under: preps | Tagged: Central, Kimani Boynton, Southeastern
