The Color of Money

GREEN SHINES BRIGHT, SPEAKS VOLUMES WITH HIS PLAY AS VENTURES DISPATCH NOUVEL TO STAY UNBEATEN

Outside of Troy's nationally-ranked James Young, Madison Heights Bishop Foley's Corey Green might be the best boys hoopster in Oakland County.

Green, a spry, smooth and aggressive 6-foot-4 wing, put on a show on Friday night in leading the host Ventures to a 64-48 win over traditional state power Saginaw Nouvel, displaying his full arsenal of moves by posting a sterling effort of 22 points, 15 rebounds, six steals, five assists and three blocks.

His outing was emphatically punctuated by three highlight reel-worthy slam dunks over helpless Nouvel defenders, the final of which was a thunderous baseline-tomahawk jam in the fourth quarter that put the game to bed.

With the high-quality victory, Bishop Foley improves its record to 2-0 on the season.

Last year as a junior, Green came over to the Ventures program from UofD-Jesuit and once becoming eligible second semester helped spark the team to its first-ever Catholic League championship and its fourth straight district crown.

"Corey is a rare talent," Bishop Foley head coach Marc West said following the win. "He has the skill and the desire to make it big at the next level. The things he can do on the basketball floor aren't abundant in many people his age. He'll continue to do what he does and we'll continue to feed off it."

According to both West and Rochester head coach John Pleasant, Green outplayed Western Michigan-bound Rochester G/F Taylor Perry in a pre-season scrimmage. Because of his limited exposure, Green has yet to land a Division I scholarship.

The Ventures can hurt teams in a variety of other ways in addition to Green's prowess in the open floor. West's three-guard attack featuring junior point guard De Shawn Jackson and senior gunners Mike Oravetz and Max Aleshire is one of the top backcourts in the area and brings constant pressure on both sides of the ball.

Oravetz had 14 points, four assists and a whopping eight steals against Nouvel. Aleshire, who pumped in a career-high 36 points in Bishop Foley's opening night defeat of Warren Michigan Collegiate, put up 10 on Friday.

Leading 33-26 at halftime, Foley pushed its advantage over Nouvel to 51-36 going into the fourth quarter.

Next up for the Ventures is their own Christmas tournament starting up December 28 in a semifinal throwdown with Stoney Creek. Oddly, despite having good squads, Bishop Foley has failed to win its own Holiday invitational the past three years.