Falling short last season helps Beechcroft reach its goals

A talented juniorladen Beechcroft boys basketball team spoke boldly before the 2016-17 season about supplanting perennial City League juggernaut Northland and making a deep run in the Division II tournament.

Despite a respectable season in which the Cougars finished 14-8 overall and 10-4 in the City League North, they felt like they had underachieved.

“We got beat pretty good in our first tournament game (74-55 to Heath), and I think it woke the guys up,” Beechcroft coach Humphrey Simmons said. “They got the message that you can have all the talent in the world, but if you don’t work hard and don’t play together, that talent doesn’t mean anything.”

In offseason scrimmages, Simmons noticed a more driven, cohesive team.

“I thought going into the season, ‘This team is going to be special,’ but I didn’t say anything to the guys,” he said. “Just once, we talked about trying to win the City — one of our main goals — and let it go. It’s been a one-game-at-a-time approach since day 1.”

Beechcroft has proved to be special, earning its first trip to the City championship game since 1994. The Cougars (19-1, 14-0) will face South Division champion Eastmoor Academy (17-4, 13-1) at noon Saturday at Africentric in a rematch of that ’94 game.

“When you consider the history of the City title game, it’s a dream come true for us to finally get back there after years and years of dominance by Brookhaven and Northland,” Simmons said.

A throwback to some of the run-and-gun City teams of the past, Beechcroft averages 83.3 points per game and allows 57.3.

“Our offense is very fast, and a lot of the time we’re not even running plays, just playing basketball,” Simmons said. “The one thing we do especially well is crash the offensive glass. We preach that every game, and it’s become our trademark.”

Simmons’ son, Jelani, a 6-foot-5 senior guard who has signed with Youngstown State, averages 20 points and 4.7 assists per game. Datrey Long, a 6-4 senior, chips in 16.2 points per game, and four other players score in double figures.

“Among our six seniors, two groups of them have played middle school together, so they’ve had a real connection on and off the floor,” Humphrey Simmons said.

Marksman

Of all the area statistics posted each week, perhaps the most eye-catching is the freethrow accuracy of Sean Marks. The 5-10 Olentangy junior is 134 of 143 (93.7 percent) at the line.

“Sean missed two the other night (going 15 for 17) against Orange and I asked him if he was OK,” Braves coach John Feasel said. Marks scored 40 points in the game.

“When he misses, I do a double-take. Even though we shoot 77 percent as a team, I’ve never had anybody shoot 94 percent, especially with such a high volume of shots.”

Although his forte is getting to the basket and drawing fouls, Marks also has hit an area-best 57 three-pointers at a 44.8 percent clip.

“It’s all about the work he puts in,” Feasel said. “If any kid in central Ohio is in the gym more than Sean, I’d like to meet him. I don’t know how many times he’s asked me to open the gym Saturday morning at 8 after we’ve played the night before.”