Dayton Dunbar (Dayton, OH)

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

DDN

3/26/06

'Heart and desire'

Dunbar pulls away late to win state D-II championship

By Mark Gokavi
Dayton Daily News

COLUMBUS | The Dunbar Wolverines huddled a couple times Saturday at Ohio State's Schottenstein Center.

The second time, they wore Division II state boys basketball champion T-shirts, gold medals and winning smiles.

The first huddle was when things weren't going quite as well. Senior captain Darran Powell held a meeting at midcourt when the team trailed and was in foul trouble.

"It was mostly defense," Powell said of the 13-4 second-quarter edge that set the tone. "The words we use are heart and desire. It takes heart to be a state champion."

That's what the Wolverines are for the first time since 1987. Dunbar claimed the D-II crown with a 73-46 victory over Wooster Triway in front of 15,674. Triway (26-1) is the state runner-up for a second straight year.

Dunbar proved its mettle on both ends of the court in winning its 21st straight game. Triway got close after three quarters. But the fourth quarter belonged to Dunbar's high-flying, dunk-inducing offense.

The Wolverines (26-2) outscored the Titans 30-11, with offense coming from everywhere. Daequan Cook scored 23 points, Norris Cole had 18, Mark Anderson 14 and Aaron Pogue 10. Powell added nine assists and four points.

After the Wolverines cut down the net and passed around the gold state tournament trophy, Cook said the material things are nice, but . . .
"Winning the state title," Cook said with a rare big smile. "That's the most important thing. Now I have a closed book on my high school basketball career."

Contact Mark Gokavi at 225-6951.

Dunbar defense does it

Wolverines keep Triway in check until offense's 30-11 4th-quarter burst

By Mark Gokavi
Dayton Daily News

COLUMBUS | All season long, Dunbar boys basketball coach Peter Pullen wanted his team to get credit for its defense.

On Saturday at the Schottenstein Center, he got it — along with the Division II state championship trophy. A 73-46 victory over Wooster Triway in front of 15,674 at the Schottenstein Center is Dunbar's second state title.

The Wolverines won the AAA crown in 1987, but that state banner will have a new neighbor. Pullen said the team's vow not to lose after a Myrtle Beach tournament loss in December happened because of more than Xs and Os.

Since then, Dunbar won 21 straight games and pushed back the memory of a loss to Upper Sandusky in last season's state semifinals.

"The camaraderie they have with each other, the bond," Pullen explained.

"And all of them are unselfish. They rag each other, but they're friends."

The Wolverines excelled on both ends of the court.

First on defense, then on offense. After trailing in the first quarter, Dunbar held Triway to four points in the second to grab a 27-20 lead.

"They play outstanding defense," Triway coach Keith Snoddy said. "Their hands are so quick. They created a bunch of turnovers against us."

The Titans hadn't lost all season after finishing as state runner-up last year. On Saturday, Dunbar held Triway to 17-of-55 shooting, 2-of-17 on 3-pointers and forced 18 turnovers. In an 11-minute stretch, the Titans made just two field goals.

Offensively, Dunbar had to adjust to Triway's zone. When the Wolverines did, they got easy buckets inside from Aaron Pogue (10 points, 12 rebounds) and Mark Anderson (14 points). That opened up things for Daequan Cook (23 points, five steals) and Norris Cole (18 points). Point guard Darran Powell had his choice of targets in racking up four points and nine assists.

"That's the one adjustment we made," Pullen said, before mocking his team's perceived defensive deficiencies. "And then protecting the basketball and playing hard defense, which we don't play."

Triway rallied within 43-37 as Jeff McCartney (12 points) and Linc Rottman (11) cashed in some turnovers.

"We're right there at the beginning of the fourth quarter," Snoddy said of his mind-set. "We're OK. We can make this happen. As a coach, you want to put a little pressure on them. If it's a 2-point game or a 1-point game, all of a sudden they're thinking. 'We're not supposed to lose.' We put a little pressure on them, but we never got to that point."

Pogue dominated inside, Cole added points to go with his eight rebounds and five assists. Cook scored. Powell scored. Anderson scored. The subs scored. Or, as Rottman put it, "They just went off," he said. "It was ridiculous."

Ridiculously fun for Dunbar, that is. A 30-11 fourth quarter capped a dream season and gave the Dayton city schools their first title since Colonel White's D-II crown in 1990.

"We had to let them know what time it was," Powell said of Dunbar's big run. "We had to put on a show for the fans. That's what we did. If feels great to go out with a bang."

Contact Mark Gokavi at 225-6951.

COMMENTARY
Tom Archdeacon: Dunbar changed forever

By Tom Archdeacon
Dayton Daily News

COLUMBUS | As he stood on the edge of the court with a just-snipped piece of the championship net in his hand and waves of cheers from the joyous Dunbar fans raining down on him, Mark Anderson started to understand.

"Before the game, Coach O'Neal told us this night could change our lives forever," the 6-foot-8 Dunbar senior said of Wolverines assistant Renaldo O'Neal. "He said if we win, we'll never be the same. We'll always be special."

And as the Dunbar pep band belted out another victory song and those front-row crazies — some wearing huge blue Afros, others with faces painted blue and white — began calling his name, Anderson started to laugh:

"It feels good already."

It should because Dunbar could not have been more special Saturday evening at the Schottenstein Center where it overwhelmed previously-unbeaten Wooster Triway, 73-46, for the Ohio Division II prep basketball title.

The team won the embrace of the crowd for everything from its sportsmanship — there was none of the chippy play that punctuated equally-impressive North College Hill's championship earlier — to its mind-boggling athleticism.

People will remember Daequan Cook's high-flying arsenal of dunks, the man-handling presence of 6-foot-8, 285-pound Aaron Pogue and the way unheralded Norris Cole rose to the moment with 18 points, seven rebounds, five assists and three steals.

And folks will remember a lot more, promised O'Neal, one of the starters on the 1987 Dunbar team, the only other Wolverine squad to win a state crown.

Several players from that team were in the crowd Saturday and O'Neal spoke for all of them:

"They always joke at me, 'Coach, you talk like you won state yesterday.' I told them that's what people give you. They talk about it every day. And it happened 19 years ago. That's how good it feels. People never let you forget ... They all want to share in it."

That's just what will happen today with a 3 p.m. Victory Parade through the city of Dayton. Beginning at the old Dayton Public Schools' building at 348 W. First St., it will go through downtown and then head to Dunbar High School.

"This is a double shot of goodness for Dayton," Mayor Rhine McLin said as she all but stretched out of her shoes while reaching up and giving head coach Pete Pullen a hug near mid-court Saturday. "This is good for Dayton Public Schools and for our city and its young people. It gives our community something to rally around."

No one knows that better than assistant coach Albert Powell, who has mentored several of the Wolverines — including son Darran, a starting guard — since they were in grade school:

"There's not a lot of faith in the public school system, not just in Dayton, but Cincinnati, Cleveland, all the cities. But I think we've shown you can get your education, get qualified for college and still stay right in the city and make it come true.

"Really, this was a celebration for all the Miami Valley today. Trotwood-Madison (who later lost the D-1 title to Canton McKinley, 63-33) was here with us today ... Centerville was up in the stands cheering us. We had Oakwood fans and the Carroll coaches came in and helped us with scouting reports.

"Everybody has a piece of our kids. This will be our players' badge forever."
As he stood there with the championship net and the night in his grasp, Mark Anderson — like his teammates — understood.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

DDN

3/27/06

Wolverines and fans march trail of triumphs

By Tom Beyerlein
Dayton Daily News

DAYTON | The Dunbar High School Wolverines basketball team got a heroes' welcome Sunday, as hundreds of supporters turned out to cheer the Division II state champions.

Horns honking, a motorcade with police escort accompanied the champs in a parade from downtown to Dunbar High, where 600 to 700 people gathered at the gym to pay tribute to the team and its coaches.

"We are just so very proud over what has happened over the last few weeks," said Mayor Rhine McLin, a Dunbar alumna. "It is more than a championship for these young men. It is community pride. It's a way of saying, 'Public education is alive and well.' "

The team won the championship in Columbus Saturday. It was Dunbar's first state title since 1987, and the first basketball title by a Dayton high school since Colonel White's win in 1990.

"They have played with precision and class all year," Superintendent Percy Mack said, saluting the squad's sportsmanship. "We have been told by people all over the state that we have defeated that we are a team of class."

Head coach Peter Pullens also remarked on the players' professionalism and sense of teamwork. He said the journey to the championship has taught them valuable lessons.

"They know it's a work in progress to be successful," Pullens said. "They played well through all kinds of obstacles ... and that's something to be proud of."

Team member Darran Powell, 17, said Sunday's show of support was "awesome — it's a feeling I've never felt before," the senior point guard said. "It felt good to win in Columbus, but it felt even better to bring it on home."

COMMENTARY
Tom Archdeacon: Dunbar basks in victory

By Tom Archdeacon
Dayton Daily News

The woman at the Sunoco station recognized them and started cheering. So did the three old-schoolers at the Tasty Bird and the guy in front of the Subway, who tried to grip a jumbo sandwich and flash an index-finger No. 1 sign.

It was the same when they turned off West Third Street onto Paul Laurence Dunbar, where they were greeted by a couple of partiers in front of the Waldorf Lodge 76, a toothless guy holding milk crates a few doors down and then three young kids in blue Dunbar shirts who rushed the street to see the conquering heroes.

It was when they turned onto Germantown Pike — at the DeSoto Bass housing project — that one Dunbar player cracked: "Everybody's coming out. They see all the police cars and they figure something's going on."
Something was going on, but it wasn't the reason folks in this neighborhood too often see police cars with flashing lights.

The Dunbar High basketball team — which had won the Division II state basketball title Saturday in Columbus — was getting a police-escorted Victory Parade back to the high school Sunday afternoon. The players, cheerleaders and coaches — with head coach Pete Pullen holding the championship trophy and Schottenstein Center net — were crammed into the Wright Flyer trolley, as local politicians, fans and family members all joined the procession.

While it's too bad the celebration wasn't held today — when downtown wouldn't have been a ghost town — there were enough well-wishers, bystanders and street people along the route that the players got the idea.
And assistant coach Albert Powell made sure they did: "Say what you want about your neighborhood, but your people are proud of you."

They were for a lot of reasons, some written right there in bold lettering on the green walls of the KJ Carry Out at Germantown and Dennison: "Don't let drugs take you down ... Follow your dreams. Be all you can be. Stay in school."

This team had done all that and more. And once it got to Columbus, it played in such spectacular fashion and with such class that it won converts, many of whom flocked to the team as it sat in the Schott Saturday night and tried to root Trotwood-Madison to victory in the D-I game.

"It seemed like every other person congratulated us," Dunbar guard Norris Cole II said. "People asked for autographs and everybody told us how they liked our team."

But the real love-fest began when the trolley pulled up to the school and the players saw the hundreds of cheering people waiting for them.

In the gym, the players were given a homespun and heartfelt "welcome home" by their fans. The only player missing was Daequan Cook — already in San Diego for his McDonald's All America appearance — but he spoke to the crowd via cell phone.

The players were told they'd be getting championship rings and special letter jackets and then athletics director Frances Winborn took the microphone. Someone from the crowd reminded her she once was a Wolverines cheerleader.

"Yeah, I was skinnier then," she said quietly. But then, slowly, she began a melodious chant from years ago: "Hey, hey team ... You sure look good to me."

The older people joined in and soon the young people did, too, and suddenly the whole gym was rocking.

"Like one of our guys said, 'It feels like we're NBA players,' " Cole said. "All this, just for us."

The guy on the bus was right — something was going on.

 

[DaytonBuck]

Is there any news on how Oden's bro is doing there?

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

DDN

Dunbar facing top teams this weekend


By the Dayton Daily News


Friday, December 08, 2006


Dunbar's boys hoop team faces a major doubleheader this weekend.
The Wolverines (1-0) host Chicago Dunbar today. On Saturday, they'll travel to Butler University's Hinkle Fieldhouse at Indianapolis to play North Central (Ind.) at 9 p.m. That's the finale of a seven-game event labeled the Challenge of Champions Basketball Showcase.
North Central features senior guard Eric Gordon, ranked the nation's No. 2 player behind O.J. Mayo by Rivals.com. Gordon recently committed to Indiana University after initially indicating he was headed to Illinois.

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

DDN

Dunbar beats Chicago Dunbar 67-53


By Marc Pendleton
Staff Writer

Saturday, December 09, 2006

DAYTON ? The real test for Aaron Pogue is this morning's ACT exam. That four-hour grinder should be easy compared to his Friday night gig.
"This is a whole group of new guys," said Pogue, a massive 6-foot-9 center who willed Dunbar over visiting Chicago Dunbar, 67-53, in Friday night's nonleague boys high school basketball game.
"Most of them have never played varsity for real. They're used to (graduated) Daequan (Cook) being here. We're going to miss him and all that. I got a new team. I got to build a better chemistry and stuff like that."
That would be a good start, because there are plenty of holes to plug for the defending Division II state champs. Often going with Pogue, 6-10 Josh Benson and 6-8 Anthony Oden, Dunbar flexed its frontcourt muscle for a 13-0 lead, then ran out of fumbling options.
Pogue was the most consistent of the 2-0 Wolverines. Many of his 19 points came on stickbacks. He also ruled the boards with 18 rebounds and a block. But his free-throw touch was as cold as the evening air: 5-for-17.
Chicago Dunbar (3-4), from the tough Public Schools League, went small to hustle back into contention, drawing within nine halfway through the final quarter. Pogue answered by scoring seven of the Wolverines' final 11 points.
"They're very strong and they got a great tradition going on down here in Dayton," said Chicago coach Culumber Ball.
"We put our pants on just like they put their pants on. We had our fatigues on. They just high-lowed us to death."
Dayton Dunbar guard Norris Cole added 11 points, but just two in the second half. Benson scored 10 points.
Dayton Dunbar coach Pete Pullen has seen better from the Wolverines.
"We just stunk up the place," he said. "It's a learning process for them and the coaching staff."
? The Wolverines (2-0) are at Butler's Hinkle Fieldhouse at Indianapolis with a 9 p.m. date today with North Central, featuring All-American guard Eric Gordon.
? Cook and OSU freshman teammate Greg Oden watched Friday's game. Both are likely to be regulars for Wolverine home games since Oden is the older brother of Anthony Oden.
? Josh Johnson, a 6-6 starting forward, is out indefinitely after suffering a knee injury in practice this week.
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2381 or [email protected].

 

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

DDN

Hoop highlights: Dunbar loses to Indy power


By the Dayton Daily News

Sunday, December 10, 2006


Defending Division II state champion Dunbar lost its showdown with powerful Indianapolis North Central High on Saturday night, 70-65, at Hinkle Fieldhouse in Indy.
In the final game of the Circle City Classic Challenge of Champions, Dunbar never led and trailed by 17 with about five minutes remaining before making a late run.
North Central's Eric Gordon, who has committed to Indiana University, scored 34 points and sank 22 of 25 free throws.
Dunbar forward Aaron Pogue had 19 points and 15 rebounds. Point guard Norris Cole scored 20 points as the Wolverines lost for the first time after opening the season with two wins.
North Central (4-0) is the No. 1 ranked 4A team in Indiana.