Punch-Drunk Power

COUNTRY DAY PACKS QUITE A PUNCH WHILE CONTAINING JONES, ARTHUR HILL ON THE ROAD

BY SCOTT M. BURNSTEIN

SAGINAW

There aren't many "one-two punches" across the nation's prep hoops landscape as good as Birmingham Detroit Country Day's Ray McCallum and Amir Williams. Yeah, that's how incredibly dominant this pair is. We're not talking about the Metro Detroit area, we're not talking about the state of Michigan, and we're not even talking about the entire Midwest. We're talking about the elite of the elite throughout the whole freaking United States of America.

This Yellowjackets' gruesome twosome once again showed just how dangerous they can be on the court on Saturday night when Country Day traveled to Saginaw Arthur Hill and behind the outstanding play of McCallum and Williams, trounced the Lumberjacks 81-64. And it wasn't that close. Country Day (ranked number one in the state in Class B) held a 72-42 lead in the second half prior to head coach Kurt Keener calling off the proverbial dogs.

McCallum, the 'Jackets All-American point guard, registered a triple-double of 15 points, 10 assists, and 10 rebounds. Williams, the state's top post prospect in the Class of 2011, recorded a double-double of 17 points and 10 rebounds as well as adding six blocks. Having played all but two games of arguably the most treacherous high school basketball schedule in this region of the country, the Yellowjackets seem to be peaking at exactly the right time. Adding another high-profile victory to its already chalk-full resume, Country Day runs its overall record to a machine-like 17-1 on the season.

Arthur Hill, the state's 4^th ranked team in Class A, had trouble finding any sort of rhythm on offense the entire game against a frenetic and abrasively-tight defense and drops its record to 14-4 overall. The 'Jackets stifling defensive outing was keyed by a lockdown effort by junior Lee Bailey on Arthur Hill's star point guard, Maurice "Pookie" Jones. Bailey held the 5-10 Jones, on his way to USC next season on a hoops scholarship, to a paltry 13 points, a good dozen off his average. Holding his own on the offensive end of the floor too, Bailey put up 14 points, as one of five Country Day players to reach double-figures.

Leaping in front 40-27 at halftime, the Yellowjackets opened the third quarter on a 14-4 run and were in cruise control from there on out. Juniors Kenny Knight and Mahesh Umasenkar also came to play for Keener's Country Day cagers and exhibited "lights out" performances. Knights, an athletic wing, scored 17 points and snared seven rebounds and Umansenkar, an expert 3-point marksman, finished with 11 points, while burying 3-of-5 attempts from long distance.

Sophomore center Jordan Hare was the lone bright spot for the Lumberjacks, scoring 15 points and collecting eight rebounds.

Entering the final week of the regular season, the Yellowjackets remain on the road for their remaining two contests. On Tuesday, they will go to Flint to face-off with Flint Northern and then Friday, they will participate in a major league tune-up for their impending state tourney run, when they match-up with Romulus, currently the number one ranked team in Class A and state semi-finalists the past two years.

Side Bar:

The 6-11 Williams is a must-have recruit for both Michigan and MSU. Either John Belien or Tom Izzo need to land this kid and make sure he doesn't leave the state. He is a special talent with an astronomical "ceiling/upside" and could very well wind up dominating the paint in the Big Ten if that's the conference he decides he wants to play in. Every game the 'Jackets "Big Dandy" is realizing more and more how overwhelmingly good he can be when achieving total focus on the floor. It will be scary to see this kid next year when he has to take on more of the team's scoring load.