Greenies like their chances vs. Oak Hill
Duke and North Carolina basketball fans clamored for a glimpse into their future when guards Tywon Lawson and Nolan Smith first ran out two years ago in Arden. Michael Beasley, who now averages 24.8 points and 13.1 rebounds per game as a freshman at Kansas State, did as he pleased on the low blocks.
Christ School lost by 68 points the last time it shared a court with Oak Hill Academy (Va.) and its annual multitude of major Division I college talent.
The Greenies will be wholly disheartened if the result isn’t as different as that game’s intimate setting when they face one of the nation’s preeminent boys basketball teams Monday in the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholastic Classic.
Tipoff is set for 4:30 p.m. at Greensboro Coliseum, which can accommodate more than 23,000 spectators. Mebane Fieldhouse, the scene of the 2006 Christ School-Oak Hill game, is one of Western North Carolina’s smallest venues with a seating capacity of 900.
“We’ve played (Oak Hill) six times in the past, and obviously, we haven’t been successful,” Greenies coach David Gaines said.
“But we were pretty excited when we found out we’d been paired with them in this event. It will be such an awesome treat to play in the coliseum, and I think my players believe this is truly a year where this is a winnable basketball game.
“It sure would be a big feather in our cap to beat a great program like Oak Hill.”
While the perpetually loaded Warrriors (18-3) are never truly down — the defending USA TODAY champions currently sit at No. 22 in the newspaper’s national poll — they have lost their most games since the 2002-03 season.
Arizona recruit and senior point guard Brandon Jennings averages 36.5 points, which would be a school record provided he can keep it up.
“They’re a very talented team with a lot of great players,” said Christ School senior forward Miles Plumlee, who has committed to Stanford.
“They have a lot of great players on their team, but I think we have just as much talent. When we play our game, we can do well against just about anybody.”
In addition to Plumlee (16.3 ppg.), all four of the Greenies’ leading scorers — Lakeem Jackson (16.5 ppg.), Mason Plumlee (13.7 ppg.) and Dee Giger (8.8 ppg.) — have at least one Division I scholarship offer.
Christ School, winner of two of the last three NCISAA 3-A tournaments, entered Saturday’s home game with Roberson sporting a 19-1 record — its only loss came Jan. 8 to Winston-Salem’s Calvary Baptist, 70-68.
“(Oak Hill) is going to be a fun and competitive game,” Miles Plumlee said. “I think it’s going to bring out the best in us.”
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