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Worthington Christian 54, Columbus Academy 48 - Prospect Scouting Report

By Connor Harr, 01/26/19, 12:45AM EST

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Freshman DJ Moore lifts Worthington Christian over Columbus Academy to tighten MSL-Ohio race

WORTHINGTON, Ohio -- On Friday night, the two top teams in the MSL-Ohio conference faced off. Columbus Academy was the leader prior to tonight, but unfortunately lost their top rank suffering a 54-48 to Worthington Christian.

The game clearly started out as a battle of pace. The Warriors wanted to get up-and-down on the offensive end of the floor in an effort to maximize freshman DJ Moore’s dynamic transition handling skill. However, the Vikings had an opposite theory. They wanted to slow down the pace and play a very post centric halfcourt style of play running a majority of their offensive actions to position seniors Dalyn Decree and Chris Boyle in the mid and low post.

The first quarter belonged to the Warriors who appeared to be head and shoulders above Columbus Academy. Moore thrived in transition with a pair of assists early in the quarter. They continued their first quarter success with a hot shooting start, knocking down four shots from the outside. Academy scored with their senior forward duo, but it was inefficient. With so much defensive attention drawn to the post, the Warriors made it clear early on that they would not let Decree or Boyle beat them.

The second quarter was in the Vikings favor. With their two leading scorers being the focal point of the opposing teams defense, they needed a perimeter player to desperately step up. This spark came from junior guard Mitch Priest off the bench, who nearly tripled his season scoring average with 8 points, knocking down a pair of threes and attacking off the dribble for a floater in the lane. The Warrior freshman Moore was subbed out early in the second quarter for about three minutes and the offense struggled to gain any momentum for the rest of the quarter, struggling to find an identity without their young star. The Warriors trailed 26-25 at halftime.

It was a very quiet third quarter as both teams combined for twenty points. The Vikings did shift to a 3-2 zone which they stayed in heading into the fourth quarter leading 37-34. The fourth quarter did not start out well for the Vikings. Moore went on a 6-1 run himself working within the middle of the zone, forcing an earlier timeout by Academy in the quarter.

After trading baskets, Boyle knocked down a three to tie the game at 44 with about 4 minutes left. Then, the Warriors held the ball for an excruciating amount of time, taking over a minute off the clock, but were ahead by the end of it after a shot fell from Moore. As the game went on Worthington Christian remained ahead, but the game was sealed with a Nakimba Mullins three pointer making it a two possession game with only 1:20 left. Columbus Academy could not recapture the lead as the Warriors continued to ice the game with late free throws.

Columbus Academy was led by Dalyn Decree who had 13 points, and the unexpected Mitch Priest tripling his scoring average with 10.  The Vikings will look to bounce back at West Jefferson on Tuesday night.

Worthington Christian was led by freshman DJ Moore who finished the game with 19. They also received 17 combined points from sophomore Tyler Kindberg and junior Nakimba Mullins. The Warriors will try to expand their win streak to five games in Johnstown on Wednesday.


DJ Moore (6’3 G / Worthington Christian / 2022): As a freshman, Moore’s productivity is unlike any player you will find in this area outside of Gahanna’s Sean Jones. At 6-foot-3 Moore has ideal height for a collegiate lead guard to pair with a wildly developed frame at his age. He has an incredibly tight handle, and is able to both change directions and speeds at a high level which allow him to get into the lane whenever he pleases. On top of a fantastic tight space handle, this permits him to change directions even through the tightest of crevices when getting to the rim, which was on display today with a lightning quick double crossover after the free throw line extended area. The freshman also really impressed as a passer, making no-look passes in transition, but flashed the capability of making some advanced ones as well, off the dribble finding his teammates improvising their own off ball movement. A large portion of his game is spent on the ball, but he flashed some off ball prowess as well, doing a splendid job of setting up his defender running off screens which is a very mature trait in a potential prospect.

Off the ball defensively, Moore was hit or miss, but easily impressive for his age. He was a very quick reactor from the weak side of the floor, especially when Columbus Academy would try to post up Dalyn Decree and he would be there for the help in an instant.

Moore has mountains of potential, and is easily the best prospect I have had the opportunity to cover this season, but I would like to see him continue to develop his decision making as a scorer and passer once he gets into the lane. If he can develop a pull up or read the weakside of the floor as a passer when driving, he will not have to settle for so many hard finishes at the rim or be the victim of charge calls. The sky's the limit for this young kid though, and we look forward to covering what should be a phenomenal high school career.

Nakimba Mullins (6’4 WF / Worthington Christian / 2020): Mullins only finished the game with eight points, but still stood out on both ends of the floor tonight. His length was really a challenging for Academy today and the junior held his ground defending in the low post. He also showcased his shooting ability knocking down two threes and one off slight movement. The forward flashed a tremendous pass driving the lane to the weak side wing from the corner resulting in an open three.

I’d like to see Mullins continue to grow as an athlete and become a more consistent perimeter ball handling threat, but he certainly has some potential as a prospect, and should be an interesting option for a JUCO looking for a four that can score both inside and out and defend his own position.

Dorrian Moultrie (6’0 G / Columbus Academy / 2019): The Georgetown wide receiver commit proved that he has talent on the hardwood as well by scoring eight points. At six-foot tall, Moultrie is a blur with the ball in hands, and can change direction off the dribble incredibly quickly too. He knocked down two pull-ups off the dribble where he has tremendous balance and is very comfortable shooting that mid-range shot.

He really stood out defensively though, being tasked with guarding DJ Moore is a hard task for anyone. I thought that Moultrie defended him to the best of his abilities. The senior applies his speed again, but this time laterally to help him contain quick guards off the dribble, along with a speedy initial reaction time and active hands which makes Moultrie such an outstanding point of attack defender. The senior lead guard will have to play a big role on this Columbus Academy team on both sides of the ball if they want to continue to succeed.

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