Rice’s Jermaine Sanders will be a key to Sunday’s final. (Denis Gostev)
CHSAA boys basketball beat writer Dylan Butler breaks down the Rice Raiders in advance of Sunday’s Class AA boys basketball intersectional championship game at Fordham University’s Rose Hill Gym.
Rice
Nickname: Raiders
Head coach: Dwayne Mitchell (1 year)
Record: 19-9
Starting five: G Devaughn Reid, G Melvin Johnson, G Tyler Wilson, F Jermaine Sanders and F Joshua Gomez
Key reserves: F Emmanuel Andujar, F Richard Council, G Dayshon Smith and G Jahmeek Jones
Team notes: What was supposed to be a transition year resulted in the Raiders making a 15th appearance in the Class AA title game … Rice has won eight city titles, including seven in the last 16 years … The Raiders have played an ambitious non-league schedule, which included the prestigious Beach Ball Classic and the Cancer Research Classic … Rice beat rival St. Raymond to win a sixth consecutive New York Archdiocesan title.
SCOUTING REPORT
(from league coach under condition of anonymity)
“Rice lives and dies by their press and they need their defense to help score. If I’m Christ the King, I almost want to slow them down and make them play half court defense because they’re not used to doing that. I think Melvin [Johnson] and Jermaine [Sanders] are going to have to shoot the ball well and [Emmanuel Andujar] is the X-factor for them. He needs to have a big game.”
PLAYER CAPSULES
Devaughn Reid
Year: Senior
Position: Guard
Height: 6-1
Notes: Assumed the starting point guard position when Da’Shaun Suber transferred to St. Patrick (N.J.) … Has been around the Rice program almost his entire life, watching Kemba Walker, Kenny Satterfield and Edgar Sosa when he was younger … Father, Charles, is the Harlem school’s freshman coach … Had his best offensive performance in a 75-63 win against St. Raymond at Gauchos Gym on Jan. 14.
Mitchell’s take: “He’s had a couple of injuries that has held him back a little bit, but he’s shown when he’s healthy and very focused he can be good, like that St. Raymond’s game at home.”
Melvin Johnson
Year: Junior
Position: Guard
Height: 6-3
Notes: Went 4-for-4 in a pair of one-and-one bonuses in the final 31.1 seconds of the fourth quarter to seal a 55-52 win against Holy Cross in the semifinals Wednesday night at Carnesecca Arena … Exploded for a career-high 32 points on 13-of-15 shooting in a 77-70 win against Mount Vernon at the SNY Invitational … Is second on the Raiders in scoring, averaging 10.9 points per game.
Mitchell’s take: “He’s a good shooter. He has the ability to score at a high rate. I’m hoping he can bring that on Sunday also.”
Tyler Wilson
Year: Sophomore
Position: Guard
Height: 6-0
Notes: While he doesn’t score a lot – he averages 2.9 points per game – Wilson is known more as a defensive catalyst, a sophomore who will try and lock down the opposing team’s best player.
Mitchell’s take: “He’s a sophomore point guard who is great on defense.”
Jermaine Sanders
Year: Senior
Position: Forward
Height: 6-6
Notes: A finalist for Mr. New York Basketball, which was shared by Jabarie Hinds (Mount Vernon) and Achraf Yacoubou (Long Island Lutheran), the southpaw swingman is one of the toughest matchups in the CHSAA … Has signed a national letter of intent with Cincinnati … Was on the last Rice Class AA intersectional championship team two years ago … Leads the Raiders in scoring at 18.1 points per game and exploded for 30 in a semifinal win against Holy Cross.
Mitchell’s take: “Jermaine is Jermaine. He won a freshman champion, won a varsity championship Durand Scott’s senior year and he’s our best player. We need him to be the best player on the court for us to be good on Sunday.”
Joshua Gomez
Year: Senior
Position: Center
Height: 6-9
Notes: The team’s lone true post player, Gomez averages 5.5 points per game … Had 14 points to help lead Rice to a sixth consecutive New York Archdiocesan title win against rival St. Raymond … Had 12 points in an Archdiocesan semifinal win against All Hallows … Had 10 points and 14 rebounds in televised win against Mount Vernon.
Mitchell’s take: “He’s a good rebounder, not a bad shooter for his size and he’s gotten better blocking shots. We’re going to need his size Sunday.”
BENCH
Notes: Emmanuel Andujar came off the bench and scored nine big points in the semifinals and averages 9.2 points per game … At 6-foot-6, 200 pounds, Richard Council, who averages 8.9 points per game, provides some length off the bench … Jahmeek Jones is a quiet assassin who exploded for 16 points, including four 3-pointers, in a 79-63 regular-season win against Holy Cross … Dayshon Smith has helped spell the guards and played solid off the bench.
Mitchell’s take: “Emmy can handle the ball, he can rebound it, can pass the ball, a streaky shooter at times, but a multi-positional player … Richard is a banger, a strong inside player … Dayshon is a good shooter, good dribbler and good passer … Jahmeek is a shooter, a senior who has some experience
COACH
A longtime assistant, Dwayne Mitchell moved over a seat on the Rice bench when Mo Hicks joined Steve Lavin’s staff at St. John’s as the director of basketball operations. He preaches, both to his players and to the media, the importance of maintaining the Rice tradition and has managed to endure an up-and-down season to have the Raiders playing in their 15th final.
In a transition year, Mitchell has been helped immensely by a carefully selected staff, featuring AAU power broker Kimani Young, former Rice standout Jerry McCullough and longtime carryover assistant Lamar Hill.
“Kimani has been great, he knows the game of basketball, played it at a high level and he’s bringing all that to the team, he pushes guys in practice so we can get better as a team … Jerry is a Rice dude and it’s great to have him because he has Rice in his blood and he brings that personal experience as a Rice student … Lamar has been around since Mo’s been here, a veteran guy who brings a lot because of his experience around the program.”
