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Linden-McKinley 69, Centennial 39 - Prospect Scouting Report

By Jake Spegal, 01/25/21, 10:30PM EST

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Defending City North champs Linden-McKinley roll in their season opener

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It's time to defend the north.

After working all summer and waiting a month longer than most teams in the state to open their season up, the defending City League North champions Linden-McKinley looked ready to go on Monday night, rolling over Centennial 69-39 to move to 1-0.

After Centennial captured a 6-0 lead early on following a pair of three's from Marlin Byron and Donte Woods, Linden-McKinley put together an 18-0 run to close the first quarter that helped them take a 23-8 lead into the second.

While Centennial went on a brief 5-0 run to trim the deficit to 27-17 with 3:43 left in the first half, that's as close as they got for the rest of the night as the Panthers took a 32-20 lead into the locker room at the break and built on it in each of the final two quarters to cruise to an easy win.

Leading Linden-McKinley with 16 points and 16 rebounds on Monday, senior Shemarion Rogers put together an impressive showing for the Panthers as his motor had him all over the place grabbing rebounds, forcing turnovers and finishing second chance opportunities.

The Panthers also received a 14 point showing from junior La'Son Walker, while Chance Groce put together an impressive showing with 12 points and a handful of impressive dimes.

Junior guard LB Towns did what he does best on Monday as well, frustrating opposing ball handlers, getting others involved and also finishing with 10 of his own points.

Following the win, Linden-McKinley moves to 1-0 and shifts their focus to a road matchup with International on Wednesday.

For Centennial, Jaylon Jackson led the way with 13 while Woods scored 11. 

They'll be back in action on Wednesday when they host Mifflin.

Shemarion Rogers (6'4 WF / Linden-McKinley / 2021): Rogers simply has a motor that never stops running. Finishing with an impressive stat line of 16 points and 16 rebounds on Monday, the senior outworked everybody on the Centennial roster from the opening tip. He cleaned up the glass on both ends of the floor, forced a couple of turnovers and blocked a shot defensively and finished off a handful of second chance opportunities inside as well. The most impressive thing we saw from Rogers on Monday night was the way he showed off several layers of his game offensively, nailing a three, a mid-range jumper and finishing off a soft touch floater. On a Linden-McKinley team looking to repeat as City North champions this season, Rogers leads by example and is a workhorse night in and night out.

Chance Groce (6'6 WG / Linden-McKinley / 2021): Despite coming off the bench on Monday for Linden-McKinley due to just coming out of quarantine, Groce put together a really impressive showing on the offensive end of the floor. The senior wing is a gifted scorer in transition with his length and athleticism and can score from all three levels in the half court, both things he put on display on Monday. The thing that impressed us most about the game of Groce, however, was his unselfishness and passing as he showed off a really high IQ in making a few precise dimes leading to easy scores for teammates. After returning to Linden-McKinley after a brief stint at Cincinnati prep school Dohn Prep, Groce feels he has a statement to make this season and got it off on a good note on Monday.

Jaylon Jackson (6'0 PG / Centennial / 2021): The lone bright spot for Centennial in a tough loss on Monday, Jackson led the Stars with 13 points. A student of the game with an extremely high IQ, Jackson finds ways to score despite not being the quickest guard as was the case against Linden-McKinley. The senior used his body to move around guards for a couple tough finishes inside, one of which was an and-one, and also showed off an efficient mid-range game by knocking down two shots from in between. Jackson also showed off his passing ability by throwing a few nice passes despite his teammates not converting on the good looks he opened for them. As always, the senior also competed his tail off on the defensive perimeter and took a charge on that end. Committed to Denison, Jackson is an excellent student, athlete and overall person and we hope to see him continue to excel moving forward.

LB Towns Jr. (5'8 PG / 2022 / Linden-McKinley): Simply put, there's no way you can't love the way Towns plays the game. After working his tail off all summer, the junior guard put his refined game on display on Monday by scoring 10 points, dishing out a couple of assists and putting together an excellent defensive showing. With quick feet and great hands, the junior excels on the defensive perimeter where he can really frustrate ball handlers. While he is somewhat undersized, that does not affect LB one bit as he is one of the best pound for pound guards in the entire City League.

La'Son Walker (6'4 WG / Linden-McKinley / 2022): Scoring 14 points on Monday night, Walker showed off a few layers to his offensive game. Using his tight handle and good size to create looks off the bounce, he got to the rim for a couple of tough finishes and also had a couple of assists for Linden-McKinley. We were also impressed with defensive effort of Walker as he gave the Centennial guards problems at times on the perimeter with his size and quickness. While he is a gifted scorer, we would also like to see Walker seek to get his teammates involved at an even higher rate as Linden-McKinley is at their best when he does so.

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