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Olentangy Orange 62, New Albany 38 - Prospect Scouting Report

By Chintoo Deora, 01/26/22, 11:30AM EST

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Olentangy Orange shoots the lights out to beat New Albany

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Olentangy Orange (10-5) made 10 triples in their 62-38 win over New Albany (10-5). The Pioneers did what they do best, make threes and play hard defense. They shot a remarkable 10/15 (67%) from three which accounted for nearly half their points. Orange started the game by making three straight triples to build a 9-3 lead early. This was partly due to the Eagles’ 2-3 zone that didn’t stay up on shooters. New Albany responded by adjusting their zone and six points of their own to tie the game at nine. Both teams traded a few baskets and the first quarter ended with the Eagles leading 14-13. The Eagles started to get the ball inside which helped their offense a bit. Orange worked hard on the offensive glass to find their points and ended the half with a 26-21 lead due to Mike McCollum’s 17 first half points. He had four made threes in the first half of play. 

Olentangy started the second half on a 5-0 run and didn’t look back from there. They outscored the Eagles 36-17 in the second half which powered them to victory. New Albany tried to switch to man which didn’t work either. Orange did an outstanding job of driving and kicking out to shooters for open threes. They did a great job beating New Albany’s ¾ court press by passing. The ball movement for Orange was really good all night. Another big reason for New Albany’s struggles was their bench production. Orange held a 12-2 advantage in bench points which took the pressure off their starters. Elias Lewis had 11 points and Jack Taylor had 9 points to help Orange. Justin Perry was the Eagles’ leading scorer with 12 points. 

Both teams now have records of 10-5 as Orange will travel to Dublin Coffman and New Albany will travel to Gahanna this Friday. 

Mike McCollum/SG/2023/Olentangy Orange

McCollum has an absolute clip and has the green light to shoot from anywhere. The 6 foot 3 junior had a game high 20 points with 5 made threes. He started the game with back to back makes from downtown which forced the oppostiton to step up on him. He then missed his next two shots from three. But as the best shooters do, he regained his confidence by seeing the ball go throught the net with layups and foul shots. He used a pump fake to score a layup and got to the free throw line where he made all his foul shots. As expected, McCollum buried his next three triples to close out the night 5/9 (55%) from beyond the arc. He does an excellent job preparing for a shot by bending his legs and having his hands ready for a shot. This is one reason for his quick release and high shooting percentage for threes. He is the sharpshooter that every teams desires and must continue to hit threes moving forward. 

 

Eddie Brown/SF/2022/Olentangy Orange

The first thing that stands out about the 6 foot 5 senior wing is his quick first step and excellent passing. He gets going downhill to the basketball really fast and blows by defenders with ease. Brown had nine points on the night along with some excellent defense. His outstanding driving ability allows him to get easy layups and help move the defense. Once he drives, the defense is forced to collapse to him and Brown can show off his great decision making to find open teammates. He also has a high motor that extends to the defensive end. He even knocked down a three and is the do it all wing for Orange. 


Braylen Nash/SG/2024/New Albany

Nash had to work really hard for his shots all game. He dropped in 10 points with all of his buckets coming inside the three point arc. The opponent took away his perimeter shots by closing out hard and staying up on him. This forced Nash to work inside which he did effectively. He is really good around the rim and can make shots from bigger defenders. Nash has given his team consistent production all year and will have to do a lot with two tough games for the Eagles coming up. 

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