We are almost a month into the college basketball season, and we have a lot of athletes from Columbus producing at the next level. Let’s check in and see how they did this week.

 

-Nick Muszynski (St. Charles/Belmont)- Muszynski got back to his old ways after a rough game to start the week. He had 6 points and 5 rebounds in a win over Samford, but he found his footing against Green Bay and finished with 19 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists. Through the first 7 games, he’s averaging 15.1 PPG and 6.6 RPG.

 

-Houston Smith (Africentric/Bethune-Cookman)- Smith had a quiet week as well. He scored 5 points in 31 minutes against Stetson and followed that up with 3 points against FAU. The Wildcats will need Smith to contribute more if they want to compete in the MEAC.

 

-Dibaji Walker (Independence/Cleveland State)- After not seeing the court in Wednesday’s game against DePaul, Walker came out and knocked down two 3s against Toledo. The freshman has seen his minutes increase though as the year has progressed.

 

-Seth Fuller (Dublin Coffman/Elon)- Fuller had his best game of the year against Central Penn. He knocked down three 3s and scored 11 points. In Elon’s second game of the week, he had 3 points and 2 assists in a tough loss to Boston.

 

-Caden Sanchez (DeSales/High Point)- It was a quiet week for Sanchez, but he did have a basket in both games this week. He also pulled down 5 rebounds in his 15 minutes of action against Eastern Kentucky, a 70-69 loss.

 

-Antoine Smith (Westerville South/Incarnate Word)- Smith returned to fashion in Incarnate Word’s second game this week. After only scoring 2 points against Northern Colorado, he had 11 points and 3 rebounds against SIUE. On the year, Smith is averaging 8.6 PPG and 4.4 RPG.

 

-Kent State Golden Flashes- Kent State remained one of the hottest teams in the MAC this year with two more wins, and both Columbus-based athletes contributed. BJ Duling had 4 points and 4 rebounds against Detroit while Akiean Frederick had 6 points and 7 rebounds in 20 minutes. Both saw action in their win over Norfolk State.

 

-Taevion Kinsey (Eastmoor/Marshall)- Through 7 games, it is clear that Taevion Kinsey will play an important for Marshall this year. After not scoring in their first game this week, he bounced back with 8 points and 4 rebounds against Ohio. Expect Kinsey to see anywhere from 15-20 minutes per game the whole season.

 

-Elijah McNamara (Miami/Pickerington North)- McNamara saw a lot action in both games this week for the RedHawks. He scored 5 points against Xavier and then had 3 points against Wilberforce. The 6’9” freshman should see a decent amount of minutes all year.

 

-Nick Ward (Gahanna/Michigan State)- While Michigan State didn’t get the win they wanted over Louisville, they did get solid contributions for Ward in both games. He had 14 points and 3 rebounds in their loss and 20 points and 5 rebounds in their win at Rutgers.  Ward then had 26 points and 9 rebounds in a win against Iowa on Monday to start off B1G play at 2-0.

 

-Sterling Manley (Pickerington Central/North Carolina)- Manley had another rough game this week against Michigan. He only played 4 minutes and didn’t record a single stat besides fouls. Manley has to play better for the Tar Heels, especially with ACC play approaching.

 

-Northern Kentucky Norse- Jalen Tate returned to action this week after missing the Norse’s last two games. He scored 10 points in 16 minutes in their win over UMBC. Adrian Nelson also saw time in both games and had a basket in each. NKU has a big game this week at Cincinnati.

 

-Dane Goodwin (Upper Arlington/Notre Dame)- We said Goodwin would play a big role this year for Notre Dame, and he delivered as promised against Illinois. He only scored 5 points against the Illini, but he didn’t turn the ball over once in 21 minutes against an Illinois that thrives off turnovers. This was a big game for him.

 

-Braden Norris (Hilliard Bradley/Oakland)- If you thought Norris was done shooting, you thought wrong. In Oakland’s only game this week against Xavier, Norris went 4-6 from 3 and finished with 14 points and 8 assists. He’s currently shooting 79 percent from 3. 79 PERCENT! That’s ridiculous.

 

-Ohio Bobcats- It was another solid week for both Doug Taylor and Jason Carter. Taylor had 12 points and 11 rebounds against Iona and followed it up with 9 points and 7 rebounds against Marshall, both wins. He’s currently averaging 8.4 PPG and 8.3 RPG. Carter was a monster, scoring 20 points and bringing in 6 rebounds and then scoring 25 points in their second game. He’s averaging 19.6 PPG and 8 RPG through 7 games for the 5-2 Bobcats.

 

-Ohio State Buckeyes- The Buckeyes suffered their first loss of the year against Syracuse but rebounded quickly and beat Minnesota last night. Kaleb Wesson had 13 points (1-8) and 8 rebounds in their loss, but he improved on that rough shooting performance and 5-10 from the field for 15 points. He’s shooting around 7 free throws per game, an impressive number. Andre scored 16 points against Minnesota and continued to be their glue guy this year. Danny Hummer also recorded his first basket of the season.

 

-Javon Bess (Gahanna/Saint Louis)- Saint Louis got the big win they needed this week over Butler, and Javon Bess was a major reason why. He scored 18 points and had 7 rebounds while holding Butler All-American Kamar Baldwin to 6 points on 3-17 shooting. Bess looks like a top-10 defender in the country.

 

-Connor Kern (Pickerington Central/The Citadel)- Kern continues to deliver for The Citadel, who improved to 6-2 with two more wins this week. He scored 17 points against High Point and then had 13 points against Mercer. He increased his scoring average to 10.3 PPG.

 

-Josh Gantz (Bishop Ready/UMass-Lowell)- Gantz was rock-solid again for the River Hawks. He scored 12 points in both games this week, bringing his season average to 13 PPG while also averaging 4.8 RPG.

 

-Ross Ryan (Pickerington North/USC-Upstate)- Ryan found the scoring column again this week against Western Michigan. He had 4 points and 3 rebounds.

 

-Matt Moyer (Gahanna/Vanderbilt)- With no Darius Garland, Moyer did see his playing time increase. He scored 10 points and had 6 rebounds and 5 assists against Savannah State. He didn’t score in their loss against NC State. The Commodores will need Moyer to score more with Garland being out for the year.

 

 

-Khalil Iverson (Delaware Hayes/Wisconsin)- Iverson did his job once again in both of the Badgers’ wins this week. He didn’t score against NC State but did have 7 points in a big win at Iowa. Wisconsin looks like they have a team that could make a deep run in the tournament.

 

-Jelani Simmons (Beechcroft/Youngstown State)- We mentioned that Simmons should see his playing time increase a few weeks ago, and since it has Simmons has been solid. He had 9 points in both games against Robert Morris and West Virginia this week. He’s now averaging 6.9 PPG.