The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Classic is Madison’s final four
Blue Streaks quartet will be teammates one more time April 1 in News-Herald all-star game
Corbin Anthony, Dhel Duncan-Busby, Zach Guyer and Isaiah McClure led Madison to one of the program’s best seasons in 2016-17.
The Blue Streaks tied the school record with 20 victories as Anthony, Duncan-Busby and Guyer each scored nearly 20 points per game.
Madison’s season ended on a bitter note in the Blue Streaks’ sectional final loss to Cleveland Heights on March 4. Before the four seniors break for various spring sports then college this fall, they have one final opportunity to play together on April 1 in the NewsHerald Classic at Lakeland Community College.
“We’ve got to make the best of it,” Duncan-Busby said. “This will be the last game that all four of us are together so we’ve got to try to get that sour taste out of our mouth from Cleveland Heights. That was the last game all four of us played in.”
“You have those leaders coming in from other sports on your team, it makes my job a whole lot easier, that’s for sure.” – Madison coach Pat Moran
Anthony plans to attend John Carroll to play basketball and golf, Guyer is headed to Wittenberg for track and field, where he’ll try to play basketball as well, McClure is looking at John Carroll for football and Duncan-Busby plans to play football at Midwest Prep, located two hours south of Chicago.
For Coach Pat Moran, his seniors’ success and leadership in other athletic pursuits amplifies their achievements for Madison basketball.
“They all had to lead other programs,” Moran said. “Whether it was Corbin with golf, Zach with soccer or Zay and Dhel with football. You have those leaders coming in from other sports on your team, it makes my job a whole lot easier, that’s for sure.”
Anthony and Guyer count each other as teammates since the second grade. McClure joined them in eighth grade, and Duncan-Busby arrived at Madison in their sophomore years. Guyer and Duncan-Busby joined McClure and Anthony in the starting lineup this season and because of their bond, this year will be most memorable for them.
“Nothing’s going to beat this season for us, I don’t think,” Guyer said. “20-4 is pretty sweet. I wish we had that Riverside game back.”
Moran says when a team’s best players are its best leaders, that team is bound for success. Such was the case for the Blue Streaks this year, as the four players led his group in every major statistical category.
While Anthony, Guyer and Duncan-Busby posted the most eye-popping numbers, Moran credited the work of McClure for helping the team coalesce, and win. Madison frequently topped the 70-point threshold. The high scoring averages of Anthony, Duncan-Busby and Guyer underscored the team’s unselfishness — a trait embodied by McClure.
The return of the team’s point guard wasn’t guaranteed after McClure sustained a serious knee injury at the beginning of his senior football campaign. At the time, basketball may have been the furthest thing from McClure’s mind. As a standout running back, McClure’s best shot at a college scholarship was in jeopardy.
Primarily, he played his senior basketball season to reassure college coaches he was healthy once again — especially as McClure’s physicality remained constant, although he turned in his football pads for a basketball jersey. Moran also knew the Blue Streaks needed McClure to key their defense, where Madison needed to force turnovers to create extra possessions to sustain their high-scoring attack.
“He understood he didn’t need to be the leading scorer,” Moran said. “He could knock down some shots for us here and there but he’s kind of, on the defensive side of the ball, the motor that got the car running.”
That designation is one McClure relishes. Although it proved enjoyable to sometimes score at a similar rate to his classmates, as in Madison’s 100-point effort against North, McClure stakes his reputation on his defense.
“I just knew my role,” McClure said. “I played with my brother a few years ago, too and it was just ‘get the ball to Jordan, get the ball to Jordan.’ I like playing defense more than offense anyways, personally, so I pride myself on that side.”
In turn, even when Duncan-Busby was in the midst of a 30-point game or Anthony racked up another double-double, McClure set the example for how the Blue Streaks were expected to play.
“He just works hard,” Duncan-Busby said. “At halftime we would always get that the one guy, or the main guy that’s busting his butt going up and down the court was Isaiah. We needed to play more like Isaiah.”