Local shooters dialed in from deep

The long-range bombers were lighting up scoreboards like they were pinball machines last week on the local boys basketball court.

Orchard Lake St. Mary’s senior Will Smythe and Birmingham Detroit Country Day senior A.J. Aburashed both torched nets from deep in droves during big wins for their respective squads.

Smythe, a 6-3 transfer from Warren De La Salle, sank seven triples for 23 points in his debut for St. Mary’s in the No. 1 Eaglets 78-63 takedown of visiting Flint Beecher at Dombrowski Fieldhouse.

Aburashed racked up eight 3-pointers in 10 attempts en route to a game-high 26 points in the Yellowjackets 68-48 trouncing of Berkley.

Farmington junior guard Tyrone Vauss nailed a 3-pointer at the horn to send the Falcons to a thrilling 56-55 win over Bloomfield Hills in an OAA battle. Vauss’s 3-point shooting is needed this winter for Terrance Porter’s club with the absence of the team’s starting backcourt from last season, Michigan State-signee Jaden Akins (Sunrise Christian) and

feared sniper Tariq Humes (Elevation Prep), off to prep school.

North Farmington’s 6-9 senior forward and Ball State-signee Basheer Jihad was draining 3s from NBA distance in his 37-point, 17-rebound effort last week in the Raiders 57-46 victory over West Bloomfield. His feathery touch on the perimeter and ability to rimrun in the post makes Jihad maybe the best value grab on the college-recruiting market in the state’s Class of 2021.

“Basheer doesn’t hesitate to shoot it when he feels he’s in a rhythm and he knows we have faith

in him to hit those kind of shots,” North Farmington head coach Todd Negoshian said. “The kind of range he displays for the size he is at, with that long wing span and a soft touch, is why scouts are so high on him upside wise. He’s very fluid shooting the ball.”

Stoney Creek’s star senior floor general Trevor Smith has added a more consistent 3-point shot with further range to his well-refined repertoire this season and has upped his points per game average by almost 10. Smith is pouring in 26 points per game in the Cougars 2-1 start, firmly establishing himself one of the most dangerous playmakers in the entire OAA.

“The work ethic factor with Trevor is through the

roof, he’s always working on his game,” said Stoney Creek head coach Steve Norgove of Smith’s increasingly deadly outside marksmanship. “Trevor has that big shot mentality. He has a lot of confidence shooting the ball with the game on the line. That gives me confidence as his coach. The kid delivers. He just seems to always come up big when you need him the most.”

Offering a ride

These are football standouts received recent Division I college scholarship offers:

West Bloomfield freshmen Kari Jackson (linebacker) and Brandon Davis-Swain (defensive end) each got an offer from Michigan State. Jackson

got a Michigan offer as well. Davis-Swain earned a Michigan offer back in the fall.

Oak Park’s secondary got a handful of offers last week when junior safety Glennie Cross got bids from Buffalo and Eastern Michigan from the MAC and Dartmouth out of the Ivy League and senior cornerback Ky’Shaun Jackson was offered by Eastern Michigan and Central Michigan.

Tweets of the Week

“Bet on yourself,” Ferndale junior basketball star Jason “Deuce” Drake

“Feels great to be back hooping,” — Birmingham Brother Rice sophomore 4-star recruit Curtis Williams on the 2021 season finally being green-lit.