North College Hill High School (Cincinnati, Ohio)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

Players of Interest:

O.J. Mayo
Bill Walker
Keenan Ellis


usatoday

11/15/05

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6. North College Hill, Cincinnati (27-1)
Returning starters: 4. Why they're good: Super 25 players 6-5 O.J. Mayo (26.7 ppg) and 6-6 F Bill Walker (19.6 ppg) are a standout junior duo. C Keenan Ellis, 6-11, averaged 13.6 points and 7.4 rebounds for the Division III champions, who averaged 94 points. Opens: Dec. 2 vs. Withrow (Cincinnati).



Regional Rankings

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Midwest
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1. Lawrence North, Indianapolis (24-2)
2. North College Hill, Cincinnati (27-1)
3. McKinley, Canton, Ohio (26-1)
4. Vashon, St. Louis (29-1)
5. Glenbrook North, Northbrook, Ill. (32-2)
6. Rufus King, Milwaukee (16-6)
7. Simeon, Chicago (24-5)
8. North Central, Indianapolis (17-9)
9. Santa Fe, Edmond, Okla. (25-4)
10. Solon, Ohio (25-1)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

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12/3/05

NCH trio outmuscles Tigers

The already fearsome trio of O.J. Mayo, Bill Walker and Keenan Ellis, who as sophomores led North College Hill to the Division III Ohio state championship last season, opened their junior seasons Friday with an 89-38 trouncing of Withrow at Fairfield High School.

None of the three are much taller than a year ago at 6-5, 6-6 and 6-11, respectively, how much more height do they need? but their presence on the court seemed to loom even larger, particularly at the defensive end.

"They just outmanned us. Look at their bodies they've been in the weight room, you can tell," said Withrow coach Steve Gentry.

"We've matured a lot, and they're still maturing," said NCH coach Jamie Mahaffey. "They are still 17 and 18-year-old kids. People look at them and don't realize they're kids, not NBA players."

Mayo again led all scorers with 26 points and racked up double-figures in assists as well. Walker had 14 points and Ellis 7 points, but NCH also got a strong contribution out of 6-5 senior forward Andre Evans, who was the second-leading scorer with 17 points.

The game was the season opener for both teams, and the debut of NCH's beefed-up non-conference schedule with big schools.

Withrow is ranked No. 7 in the Enquirer's Division I preseason coaches poll. NCH is No. 1 in the Division II-IV poll, and No. 6 nationally in USA Today's poll.

Withrow fell behind almost immediately and then suffered repeated lapses on the way to a 51-22 halftime deficit.

When NCH was pressuring the ball with its trapping defense, the game resembled a high school version of a PlayStation game. Mayo opened the game with a steal and a dunk, and the Trojans had three more before the end of the first quarter.

"It feels like we're pretty much the same players this year," Mayo said. "But our focus this year is to be a true team. It's not 'O.J. and the Trojans' or 'Bill and the Trojans.' "

Said Mahaffey: "Winning state was kind of a relief for these guys I think it's letting us be more focused as a team. Everyone knows their role, and no one is out there on the margin, doing their own thing."

"They probably have the best two players in the state (in Mayo and Walker)," Gentry said. "But the beat goes on for us. I think I found some players I know I can count on. We're going to have to shorten our bench. This was really a learning experience for us."

Withrow (0-1) - J. Howard 1 5 7, McCullar 1 0 2, Hisle 1 1 3, Frazier 1 0 2, G. Howard 4 2 11, Turney 1 0 2, McBride 0 2 2, Maupin 0 6 6, Bland 1 1 3. Totals: 10 17 38.
North College Hill (1-0) - Evans 7 3 17, Leary 1 0 3, Glover 2 3 8, Walker 5 4 14, Mayo 9 6 26, Ellis 3 1 7, Butler 2 0 5, Davis 4 1 9. Totals: 33 18 89.

Withrow121079-38NCH24272117-89
3-point goals:W G. Howard; NCH Leary, Mayo 2, Butler.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

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12/7/05

NCH 'better than last year'
North College Hill 107, Lockland 65

By Tom Groeschen
Enquirer staff writer

Lockland threw its best punch at national basketball power North College Hill, and the Panthers still lost by 42 points.

The Trojans, with junior guard O.J. Mayo scoring 26 points, overpowered Lockland 107-65 before a sellout crowd of 950 at NCH on Tuesday night.
Lockland actually led 26-18 early in the second period, and the home crowd was getting a tad restless. Several steals and breakaway lay-ins later, NCH was off on a 16-1 run to grab a 34-27 lead.

Game over.

"We came out a little sluggish," Mayo said. "Then we started hitting the boards harder and got out running, like we usually do. We played average, but the important thing is we won."

NCH (2-0) is rated No. 6 nationally by USA Today and is a unanimous No. 1 in The Enquirer Divisions II-IV area coaches' poll.

Lockland (0-2) is ranked No. 6, and the Panthers clearly are better than their record. Their first loss this year was to Wyoming, which is No. 3 in the Divisions II-IV poll.

"They wanted to play us , and they didn't back down," NCH coach Jamie Mahaffey said.

"It's good we can have a game like this. We have to recognize we've got to bring our championship effort every night."

NCH, the defending Division III state champion, routed perennial Division I power Withrow 89-38 in a season opener Friday. Mayo, the nation's No. 1-rated junior by most scouting services, also scored 26 in that one.

Mayo got help Tuesday from Bill Walker, a 6-foot-6 junior forward who had five dunks among his 21 points. Senior forward Andre Evans had 15 points, 6-11 junior center Keenan Ellis scored 13, and sophomore point guard Damon Butler scored 11 for NCH.

"We know about O.J. and Bill and Keenan, but they seem much deeper this year," Lockland coach Paul Andrews said of NCH. "We wanted to spread the court and make it a two- or three-quarter game, but they were too much.

They look even better than last year."

Mayo had four dunks, as NCH out-dunked Lockland 10-0 overall. Mayo's totals also included five assists and three steals.

For Lockland, junior guard Thomas Smith had 20 points, senior guard Dajuan Harris scored 15, junior forward Antoine Wilhite had 14, and senior forward Sheldon Johnson scored 10.

Lockland (0-2) - Harris 5 4 15; Johnson 4 0 10; Ogletree 3 0 6; Smith 6 5 20; Wilhite 6 2 14. Totals: 24 11 65.
North College Hill (2-0) - Walker 10 1 21; Evans 7 1 15; Ellis 5 3 13; Mayo 11 0 26; Butler 5 0 11; Glover 1 0 3; Horne 0 1 1; Davis 4 0 8; Leary 3 1 9. Totals: 46 7 107.
Lockland22131020-65NCH18262934-107
3-pointers: L 6 (Harris, Johnson 2, Smith 3), NCH 8 (Mayo 4, Butler, Leary 2, Glover).

[WCLfan]

North College Hill beat Wellston tonight by 104 points.

North College Hill 138
Wellston 34

[crazybuckfan40]

Originally Posted by WCLfan

North College Hill beat Wellston tonight by 104 points.

North College Hill 138
Wellston 34

Holy crap. That is a lot of points. Did the other team show up.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

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12/11/05

Trojans trio combines for 73
Mayo hits 33 points, Ellis 22, Walker 18 in dunk fest

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker came back home for the second time in two years and gave the packed Veterans Memorial Field House crowd plenty of dunks and highlights to drop their jaws about in a 104-point victory over Wellston on Saturday.

The top-ranked juniors in the nation and Huntington natives combined for 20 dunks in only three quarters of play in a 138-34 win for North College Hill (3-0). Mayo scored a game-high 33 points, and Walker had 18 while battling leg cramps; neither played the entire fourth quarter.

That didn't stop the two from staying after the game to sign autographs for hundreds of kids, fans and players from one of the three other teams to play in the second annual Border Battle.

"This is something very important to me, to play here and see these guys play," said Juan Carlos Torres, a Sheldon Clark (Ky.) foreign exchange student from Mexico who got his picture with the two players and their autographs after the game.

"It's an important experience in my life," Torres said.

But for the majority of the crowd, the doubleheader was a chance to see the former middle school phenoms they used to watch in the Huntington YMCA leagues or at Rose Hill Christian Academy before they transferred to the Cincinnati high school.

"It's unbelievable. I've never seen anything like this," said Brandon Hicks of nearby Coal Grove, Ohio. "I saw them when they were in eighth grade at Rose Hill, but it was nothing like this. This is amazing. Back then they were still good, better than any high school player I've seen, but this is amazing.

"It's great that they come here and play, because I'd hate to have to drive to Cincinnati to see them. I have no idea who they could find to play with these guys. No one around here would even come close."

In the waning minutes, the only suspense was whether the Trojans would hold onto a 100-point lead with Mayo and Walker sitting.

"Look at this," Hicks said with two minutes left in the fourth quarter. "A 100-point lead. That's the only reason we stuck around after Bill and O.J. quit playing, was to see if they'd win by 100."

The Trojans got 22 points from center Keenan Ellis. They finished with 29 total dunks.

North College Hill plays The Patterson School (N.C.) at 2 p.m. today in the final game of the Border Battle. Both Walker and Mayo expect a much tougher game. The Patterson School has a national reputation and a 10-0 record against top-flight competition.

"It's just about like this everywhere," said Walker, who broke one of the rims at last year's Border Battle, of the frenzied atmosphere and autograph seekers. "These are people that live in the same place I live and I'd do anything for them. I was ready to come home last year and ready to come home this year, too."

Walker and Mayo said they make an extra effort to put on a special performance at home. But there are always surprises.

"You never see that, only when you come home," Walker said after being handed a youth football team picture of him, Mayo and their childhood teammates to sign. "Stuff like that makes it worthwhile. There's no telling how old we are in that picture."

Both players said they hope to come back to Huntington again for a third consecutive season next year. Mayo said he would like to play at Marshall University's Cam Henderson Center next season if possible.

Mayo said a potential meeting with West Virginia's Class AAA state champion, Huntington High, for whom many of their old friends and teammates play, would be great.

"It's a lot different coming back home and getting to play in front of my mom, my little brother and my sister," Mayo said. "Everybody wants to see that game, and if it happens, it happens. But if it don't, it don't. I wish them the best of luck."

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

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12/12/05

Mayo, Walker dazzle Huntington homefolks
By David Walsh

Huntington Herald-Dispatch

HUNTINGTON, W. Va. - With 5:42 remaining in the fourth quarter, North College Hill's lead over Patterson School had been trimmed to five points at 53-48.

At that moment, O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker, both Huntington natives and standouts for the unbeaten Trojans, stepped up the intensity.

Mayo, a 6-5 junior guard who is regarded as one of the top college prospects in the country and NBA lottery pick when that day comes, hit a 3-point shot to extend the lead to 56-48.

He contributed another basket, three dunks and four free throws down the stretch to lead North College Hill (4-0) to a 75-56 victory over the Bulldogs in the second day of Border Battle II at Veterans Memorial Field House.

"We had to maximize our possessions," the 6-6 Walker said. "We got what we wanted. This was a good test. We need these kind of games."

On Saturday night, North College Hill, the defending Ohio Division III state champion and ranked No. 6 in the Preseason USA Today Top 25, coasted to a 138-34 victory over Wellston. The Trojans shot 72.6 percent from the floor in that one. They didn't fare as well Sunday (25-for-56 for 44.6 percent), but they did convert 21 of 22 free throws to six of 16 for Patterson, which is located in Lenoir, N.C.

Mayo finished with a game-high 41 points and tied Walker for team rebound honors with eight. Mayo connected on all 14 free throws.

"It's fun to come home," Mayo said. "It was more competitive today. We left with a victory."

Trojans coach Jamie Mahaffey said his team made the plays when needed in the final period.

"They're a tough team," he said of the Bulldogs (10-1). "They're well coached. We executed well at the end. We tried to force the issue in the beginning. At the end, we got the ball where we wanted."

Patterson coach Tim Thomas admitted NCH's twin towers made the difference.

"They're great players," he said. "They play hard and play against big-time competition. Every time we'd cut the lead to five, O.J. or Billy would make a play. That's the kind of athletes they are."

Walker and 6-11 Keenan Ellis backed Mayo with 11 points each. A year ago, Walker broke a rim on a fourth-quarter dunk to stop the game against Lexington Bryan Station.

For North College Hill, the schedule is demanding. The Trojans have a Dec. 20 date against St. Xavier. They head to California for two on Dec. 22-23. Once back, they've got dates against La Salle, Canton McKinley, Taft, South Laurel (Ky.) and Oak Hill Academy. North College Hill returns to West Virginia on Jan. 28 to take on Beckley at the Charleston Civic Center Coliseum.

"We prepare for every situation," Mahaffey said. "We know we¹re going to see championship efforts. This is something we wanted and something we must prove we can do."

North College Hill 75, The Patterson School 56

NORTH COLLEGE HILL (4-0) - Walker 4-9 2-2 11, Butler 3-6 1-1 7, Mayo 12-28 14-14 41, Evans 2-3 1-2 5, Ellis 4-8 3-3 11, Glover 0-1 0-0 0, Parks 0-0 0-0 0, Davis 0-0 0-0 0, Leary 0-1 0-0 0. Totals: 25-56 21-22 75.
THE PATTERSON SCHOOL (10-1) - Soda 1-4 0-0 2, Poelnitz 0-5 0-0 0, Sutton 9-12 0-5 18, Harman 4-13 3-6 13, Hill 7-10 3-4 17, Caudell 3-7 0-1 6, Leemon 0-0 0-0 0, Creda 0-0 0-0 0, Gabriel 0-0 0-0 0, Jackson 0-0 0-0 0. Totals: 24-51 6-16 56.