skip navigation

Granville 76, Newark Catholic 48 - Prospect Scouting Report

By Connor Harr, 12/21/18, 9:20AM EST

Share

Granville dominated the final three quarters of Thursday's LCL matchup

NEWARK, Ohio -- On Thursday night, Granville continued their four game winning streak and remained undefeated in their second Licking County League matchup against Newark Catholic.

Even though the final score favored the Aces 76-48 after the final buzzer, the Green Wave were only down by six heading into halftime powered by a senior duo of Heath Jefferies and Granger Evans that scored 17 of Catholic’s 31 points in the first half. 

The 3-2 zone that Newark Catholic implemented at the beginning of the third quarter appeared to be the highlight of the game for the first three minutes in the second half. It took Granville awhile to unravel that puzzle on the offensive end, but junior Brody Ley proved to be the added floor spacing that the Aces needed knocking down two three pointers late in the third against the zone. 

Throughout the entire game, Newark Catholic was faced with a major size advantage as sophomore Will Skerbetz and senior Ben Blanchard feasted down low and on the boards for Granville. This and Catholic’s inability to find a secondary scoring option to Jeffries led to their demise. 

Granville faces a tough test on Saturday with an athletic Groveport-Madison team. Newark Catholic will have a week long break until they play undefeated Amanda Clearcreek. 


Will Skerbetz (6’4” F / Granville / 2021): Standing at broad 6-foot-4 with an incredibly strong frame, Skerbetz resembles a middle linebacker on the defensive end. He likes to use that frame to his advantage on the offensive end of the court. The lefty is a below the rim power finisher, welcoming contact with exceptional body control. A majority of Granville’s half court offense was ran through him at the free throw line extended area where the sophomore was tasked with hitting open cutters and teammates working off screens or powering through his matchup on a drive to the hoop. 

While a team leading 17 points is impressive, the Aces forward was much more impressive on the defensive end of the court. He was the only player that could consistently stay with Heath Jeffries on the perimeter. Showing off exceptional lateral quickness and establishing himself as a point of attack defender against Newark Catholic’s leading scorer. Including an on ball charge possession where he beat Jeffries to his spot in only one dribble. Skerbetz is a D1 baseball prospect, but should have a very impressive basketball career during his time at Granville.

Heath Jeffries (6’6” WF / Newark Catholic / 2019): With a team leading 17 points, Jeffries was easily the best player and prospect for the Green Wave. At 6-foot-6 he can stretch the floor, as he knocked down two contested spot up jump shots. He also was made a nice drive in the mid post where his long stride lengths made it easy to get past his defender for a reverse layup. Most of his other points were scored around the rim coming off sets. The senior forward continued his offensive skill display showing off phenomenal handling coordination for his size performing frequent between the legs and crossover dribbles to try and get into the lane. 

While Jeffries was overmatched physically by Granville’s stronger bigs his combination of shooting and handling coordination should hold value as an offensive minded stretch four, especially for an NAIA program. Where he can space the floor for an attacking lead guard and strong finishing big. 

Ben Blanchard (6’4” F / Granville / 2019): The senior played the best game of his young season tonight showing off a little bit of everything. Blanchard is a bruising forward with a budding perimeter game as well. He dominated both the offensive and defensive glass. Along with showing off his functional handle making a quick decision attacking a closeout and finding an open shooter and converting on a coast to coast layup off a defensive rebound. When Skerbetz was not in the game, Blanchard played the exact same role within the Granville offense. He built on a strong passing performance by making a decisive elementary bounce pass into the short corner for an easy layup against the 3-2 zone. Then hitting Brody Ley with a fastball from halfcourt to the opposite corner for an easy transition opportunity. 

Blanchard feasted in an easy matchup for him especially in two big sets with Skerbetz. Newark Catholic had no answer for his all around dominant inside - out game on Thursday night. We hope he can continue to build upon this performance and have a very successful senior season.

Cameron Crouch (6’2’ W / Granville / 2019): The football standout made a strong impression Thursday while only scoring 10 points. The undersized wing plays with an aggressive attacking mindset in the half court and is always looking for an open driving lane. Many of these drives resulted in decisive simple passing reads that created open looks. He also had a beautiful cross court pass into the deep corner for an open three within the zone.

Crouch has an extraordinarily strong motor and was able to use that to his advantage filling proper lanes on the perimeter for easy points in transition. He knocked down one three point shot with an unorthodox release from his chest. A consistent shooting stroke would really take his game to the next level. Crouch’s decision making and decisiveness stood out all game which is something to really look for when projecting a collegiate transition. Another two sport standout for Granville, Couch has multiple football offers on the table for next season, but is electing to play at Olivet Nazarene University. 

Brody Ley (6’3” W / Granville / 2020): The junior is probably Granville’s most appealing long term collegiate basketball prospect, and thankfully does not have any offers to play baseball or football that I know of. Ley’s reputation as one of the best shooters in the area did not disappoint tonight knocking down two out of his three attempts from deep. He also was able to attack a spot up possession off the dribble and finish at the rim which will be a huge development in his game. Ley was active defensively as well, using his long arms to come up with multiple deflections in the passing lanes and communicating nicely to keep his fellow teammates engaged. Along with flashing some solid defensive instincts on a block out of a baseline out of bounds set from Newark Catholic. 

Standing at 6-foot-3 Ley’s knockdown shooting ability and positional size should make him a low D3/NAIA wing prospect. As he continues to develop muscle he may have some hidden explosiveness that could make him a viable threat to attack off the threat of his shot as well. This would also add team defensive value to a team as the wing is a quick reactor off ball, but added speed would make that immediate skill for him in the future. The next step in his offensive game would be improving the fluidity and release time on his off dribble shooting which was his only missed shot in the game. Ley has tremendous potential to develop into a high IQ off ball scoring option in the future and is somebody to keep an eye on. 

Recent News

Subscribe to 270 Hoops Mailing List!

Email Address:
Favorite High School:
First Name:
Last Name:
Subscribe