WMA Game of the Week: Wayland at Ottawa Hills

Each week, West Michigan Allstar takes our blogging circus over hill and dale to a high school gymnasium around West Michigan.  It’s traditionally one of the biggest games in the area, with the top players and teams duking it out against one another (we like to watch that stuff, too), and this week is no exception.  Of course, we do this to save the liberated fans of the world the trouble of deciding which game to go to that week.

We also live tweet updates from the game (which you can get sent to your phone), to make sure that the hardcore fans can keep up with the latest action and analysis, even if they can’t make it to the game.

Today is a special Tuesday edition of the Game of the Week, in which we will see two of the top teams in the area battle for the O-K Gold.

WAYLAND WILDCATS (9-0) at OTTAWA HILLS BENGALS (6-2)

In the preseason, you could have asked most anyone on the high school basketball scene about the chances of either Wayland or Ottawa Hills and you would have most likely left unimpressed.  Now over a month into the season, you’re looking at the two top teams in the O-K Gold conference, not to mention the entirety of West Michigan.  Wayland is currently undefeated at 9-0, 5-0 in the O-K Gold, while Ottawa Hills sits at 6-2, 5-1 in the O-K Gold.  What originally looked like a run-of-the-mill conference matchup has now become a battle between overachievers for conference supremacy.

Tonight’s game, and indeed both of these teams taken separately, is an examination of the massive extent to which a standout point guard can influence the play of an entire team.  More so than any other position, the point guard has the potential to impact a game because he is predominantly in control of the ball.  More than that, in cases like Wayland’s Wes Hudson (recently committed to Cornerstone) and Ottawa Hills’ Devon Ivy, the point guard has the potential to lift his entire team up to a level of play that, without their influence, would be otherwise unattainable.

The gist on Wayland

It’s not like the Wildcats were supposed to be bad this year, because people in the know knew about Hudson.  But particularly after losing 20-point scorer Alex Lyle from last year, they weren’t supposed to be this good.  Credit the power of synergy (buzzword this year when it comes to Wayland).  From their starting five down through their entire rotation, the Wildcats have developed a chemistry that has lead to a unified whole measurably greater than the sum of their parts.

Offensively, Wayland gets production from a number of areas on a consistent basis.  Chase Burgess, Zak Kasper and Ben Lenard are all regulars on the top of the box-score.  But where the Wildcats really excel is on the defensive end of the ball.  Like the Pistons of old, Wayland has shown repeatedly that, on a long enough timeline, outstanding team defense wins over outstanding offense.

The gist on Ottawa Hills

Since Ivy started his ascension into the ranks of West Michigan’s elite guards (at, oh, about this time last year), Ottawa Hills has had the capability of beating any opponent.  Their manic run-and-gun style leads to extra possessions for both teams, of which their athleticism and pressure defense has allowed them to take advantage.  They are somewhat weak in outside shooting, but incredibly strong in athleticism and hustle which often makes up for any deficiency in accuracy.  The Bengals are fast, strong, agile and bouncy, which makes for exciting, and successful, basketball.

After busting out of the gate to a 6-0 record, Ottawa Hills has dropped their last two contests (against Caledonia and Muskegon).  Along with Ivy, they are going to rely heavily on Antoine Wilson and Thomas Sloan on the offensive end, and C.J. Bowen will be a key factor defensively and on the glass.

Overall prognosis

Call it a clash between top teams in the G-Rap area. Call it a battle for the O-K Gold. Call it a matchup between stellar point guards.  Call it any one of those things and you’d be right.  But if there’s one thing it should be called, it’s: “exciting.”

Prediction: It’s a game of runs, and Ottawa Hills has the last run and wins a close one at home, 58-51.

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