Rochester Holiday Classic Thoughts.

Written Tuesday December 27th at 12:00 AM


Here are my takes from the Rochester Holiday Tournament that occurred this past Friday at Rochester High School.

1.  Rochester Boys Are Very Good.

The Falcons Boys Basketball team is not bad as they took on a game Pontiac Notre Dame Prep team without two starters in Ivan Barazza-Duran and Chris Crawford. Rochester though did lose 58-56 but did get a combine 38 points from the Gullridge brothers (Larmarko 27, Corey 11) and 11 from Ben Compton. The Falcons are a deep team (ten deep) that will shoot and get dribble drive penetration to the basket. I like Ahmed Anthony, he is a very good point guard and knows how to run that team along with Drew Loftus when he is in the game. Anthony has a strong basketball IQ and reminds me a ton of a young Dave Holston from his days at Avondale. I’m not sold on Hunter Schlatter as I do have some concerns. Schlatter does show some flaws in his game and hasn't been consistent. He has had good games and is a three year starter but he is not very athletic. It showed against the Irish especially late in that game when he was blocked a couple of times going to the basket by the big's of Pontiac Notre Dame Prep. Schlatter missed a dribble drive layup with less than ten seconds left in the game. Now I know coach John Pleasant is high on Schlatter. If I had to do Rochester's starting lineup right now it would be Compton, Anthony, Barazza, Corey, and Lamarko Gillridge. Not being mean to Schlatter but he has to be consistent and probably a move to the bench might help him. The Falcons have a ton of weapons and they will be needed if they want to go anywhere this season.

2. Rochester Girls are in Deep Trouble.

The Falcons Girls are in deep trouble especially in the Blue after seeing their performance against Stoney Creek despite not having three starters play in that game. Tori Hawkins is out with an ankle injury and they had two others on vacation but they were on the court for five of those losses. In their six losses, they were blown out in five of them, including against Stoney Creek with their closest game being against Yale where they lost by four 52-48. I didn’t think the Cougars showed anything besides their famous North Farmington press and trap defense made by famous by legendary coach Tom Negoshian in that game. I thought Rochester would be better than people think with Hawkins having another year to prove herself and Paola Barazza-Duran along with Jenna Norgrove coming back from ACL surgeries but this team has not met the expectations to take the next step and it has shown in their six losses. Coach Adam Sheldon’s team has to play so much better if they want to compete in the Blue and get some wins. I can’t trust this team going forward especially in league play with Troy, Troy Athens, Avondale, and perhaps Seaholm being the wildcard. This Falcons team looks to be a fifth place team in this division.

3. Adams is Better than People think.

The Highlanders defensibly showed why they are going to be a tough out this season especially with Maggie Rogers, Makayla Smith, Hannah Simard, and Ryian Owusu. Adams did lose a tough one to Macomb Dakota 32-28 sending their record to 2-2 on the season. The other loss was to a very veteran laden Bloomfield Hills team 61-46. I like where coach Jackie Steinacker’s team is going especially with Red play looming but they are still a work in progress.

4. West Bloomfield is Good.

The Lakers are better than I thought, losing a tough one to a good Pontiac Notre Dame Prep team 41-35. West Bloomfield is very athletic, quick, and has some solid size. The Lakers has some solid players in Jordyn Elam, Kori Maxie, Destinee Cannon, Danica Murray, Jamila Elam, and Destiny Monroe. Ja. Elam is a solid player and likes to rebound in the interior. Murray, Jo. Elam, and Cannon are dribble drivers, Monroe is a combo player (can shoot and penetrate), while Maxie is a combo player along with being a solid three point shooter and good floor general. All of them are scoring threats. West Bloomfield has a tough game coming up with River Rouge before going into White play with a tough one with Royal Oak. West Bloomfield though is not deep but coach Zach Hilbers has this team going along.

5. Stoney Creek Will Go as Solek and Elkhout carries them.

The Cougars have a ton of talent on this year’s team but when you look at Stoney Creek more in depth it is clear that there are two that are more than capable of taking over a game by themselves in Emily Solek and Emily Elkhout. Elkhout and Solek are big and lengthy players along with great basketball IQ’s, they know how to play the game, they rebound, defend, and fit perfectly into coach Kellen James Tom Negoshian's pressure trap defense. Now the third one is Ally Voss, that I didn't mention here. Voss is a three-point shooter but in the past, has become more of a third option to Solek and Elkhout and that’s not a bad thing. Stoney Creek will be as good as Elkhout and Solek will carry them.

Stay tuned to OAA Now and the Blog for my thoughts on the Motor City Roundball Classic and the Bloomfield Hills Showcase.