February 19, 2010
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.
Tonight is for the O-K Red Championship.
GRAND HAVEN BUCS (14-2, 10-1) AT ROCKFORD RAMS (11-5, 9-2)
There is no overstating the importance of this game for both teams — this is for the O-K Red Championship. Considering the level of contest that took place the last time these teams met during the relative beginning of the season, with this much riding on the line it is safe to say that fans won’t be disappointed.
Grand Haven in a nutshell
They say that defense wins championships, and all signs point to that axiom holding true for the Buccaneers, who bar none have the best overall defense in West Michigan. To illustrate, in 11 of their 16-total contests the Buccaneers’ opponent was held to less than 50-points (in six of those 11, their opponent was held to under 40-points). Grand Haven is on the crest of a nine-game winning streak, after they took the then-untouchable Muskegon Heights to the limit but came up short. The Bucs look as good as ever right now.
Grand Haven is anchored by senior CMU-commit Nate VanArendonk, who is the sun around which the rest of the Buccaneers orbit. Among the larger of those satellites are bruising forward Noah Veach and long-range gunslinger Isiah Law, who are both capable of changing the course of a game in their own right.
Grand Haven’s weakness is in their backcourt, although that has gotten stronger in recent weeks. Rockford will throw a ton of pressure on the Buccaneer guards and hope they cough up the ball. Grand Haven’s success depends on that not happening.
Rockford in a nutshell
After struggling through a bit of an identity crisis early in the season Rockford is now riding a four-game winning streak, hot off a come-from-behind victory over an extremely talented and well-balanced Hudsonville team at Hudsonville. They’ve got their feet firmly under them now, and have the talent and gameplan needed to challenge the Bucs.
The Rams are lead by junior do-it-all wingman Ryan Majerle, who is one of the most versatile (and deadly from behind the arc) players in West Michigan. Matt Karamol roams the inside for Rockford, and is an automatic mismatch for opposing centers on the offensive end because of his quickness and agility down low. He is the perfect center for a Rockford gameplan designed to run, run, run.
Against a Grand Haven team that plays with a tempo polar-opposite to the Rams, and who is known for their oppressive defense, Rockford’s ability to turn the game into a track meet may well be the key to their success.
Matchup to watch
Grand Haven’s Noah Veach versus Rockford’s Ryan Majerle. Majerle is the leader of the Rams on both offense and defense, and can get hot in a hurry if he hits a couple shots early. This then typically translates throughout the entire team, and the Rams become that much harder to contain. It’s up to Veach to stop Majerle from having that success. Lucky for the Buccaneers, there are few more equipped than the burly Veach to handle the task.
Overall prognosis
Grand Haven holds off a charging Rockford team late to seal the O-K Red Championship, 57-54.
Keep up with the latest action and analysis by becoming a WMA fan on Facebook, or join the conversation and receive live in-game updates by following WMA on Twitter. Heck, even start your own topic over at Allstars Among Us.
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