Brush vs Spire 1/15

B

Bball216

Well-known member
Tonight highly rated and unbeaten Brush steps up and plays unbeaten Spire Academy. So far the 3 area schools (Garfield Heights, SVSM and Bay) have not done very well. Any predictions on the game ? and does Brush have enough to hang a L on Ball and Co ?



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82-61 and Spire played without arguably there best player for most of the game.

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Does anyone know at what point Spire become this force in basketball? I knew about the training facilities,etc but never heard squat about this traveling road show until Big Baller Brand showed up.How would LBJ's STVSM squad from the 2000's do against this team if you somehow simulate a game? Does spire play Moeller?
 
James x2 said:
Does anyone know at what point Spire become this force in basketball? I knew about the training facilities,etc but never heard squat about this traveling road show until Big Baller Brand showed up.How would LBJ's STVSM squad from the 2000's do against this team if you somehow simulate a game? Does spire play Moeller?
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Hard to tell how LBJ's team would do. STVM had probably the best HS player of all time in James, but the supporting cast were all mid level D1 players and below. SPIRE has 4-5 high level D1 players among other college bound kids, but no real alpha like LeBron. Also, different era with today's kids relying so much on the 3 ball. Tough to tell but it would be a good game either way.
 
James x2 said:
Does anyone know at what point Spire become this force in basketball? I knew about the training facilities,etc but never heard squat about this traveling road show until Big Baller Brand showed up.How would LBJ's STVSM squad from the 2000's do against this team if you somehow simulate a game? Does spire play Moeller?
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I don't know when they started up, but I know STVM played Spire about 4 years ago and they did NOT look anything like the juggernaut they are now. But, they seem to get their kids placed. Below is a link to a 2015-2016 Spire press release. If this is true, then I can see why athletes are choosing this route. While the profile has obviously been elevated with the arrival of the Ball Family road show, they had plenty of talent before LaMelo hit the court for them. The PG, "Rocket" Woods is a heckuva player, and the 6'10" PF Isaiah Jackson is a stud as well. Plus, they have that 7'7" kid, too. Woods and Ball are Seniors, and Jackson is a Junior, so I don't know who they have in the pipeline. But they seem to have a solid foundation and I wouldn't be surprised if they continue to be a force to be reckoned with.

https://www.spireinstitute.org/content/blog/eleven-spire-mens-basketball-academy-athletes-sign-division-i-letters-intent
 
I think they went to the next level when the new coach was hired. Spire has obviously beat up on the Ohio high schools they have played - but I dont see them playing the big national teams either. They were supposed to play in the HoopsClassic this weekend at the Basketball Hall of Fame and backed out because a Ball Family associate asked for 10k to appear and the organizers said no way. Spire has a lot to offer because they dont follow OHSAA rules and kids focus mostly on hoops and not school work.

They are no different then the Oak Hills and Montverde teams you see on ESPN. I saw where Oak Hill and LaLumire backed out of games against Spire due to Ball being a pro and coming back to high school. I think you would see Spire struggle and even lose if they had to play the prep schools that are as stacked as they are. I will be at the Ed's game in a few weeks. The elite coaching and home court advantage will help Ed's but I'm not sure it will be enough to surpass the huge talent gap.

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According to Brush AD there was no request for payment and none was given. Spire's administration is on record as saying it will not and has not ever asked for an appearance fee. It seems there is a member of the Big Baller Brand acting independently on the behalf of the Ball family asking for money. Spire is looking into the situation that caused the team to be excluded from this weekend prestigious HoopClassic.

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tcgobucks said:
Did Brush have to pay Spire to play? What a joke. I have a hard time believing that the OHSAA allows their schools to play Spire. It's no more a real HS than Ohio State is....

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/report...ant-demands-10k-appearance-fee-060303854.html
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LaVar Ball is such a cancer. It's sad that his kids have to live under his shadow. He put a ton of pressure on Lonzo before the draft and early in his rookie seasons and has basically ruined the college chances for LaMelo (no chance the NCAA lets him be eligible next year). I doubt he was the one asking for the 10k, but I wouldn't put it past him to force someone to do his bidding.
 
That is the game I would like to see. Moe seems like the team to beat in Ohio. I know there were some outside issues prior to the SVSM game with the trip - but Moeller beat them pretty good. Based on that and the score of the Irish vs Spire game you would think it would be a hell of a gane.

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Bball216 said:
I think they went to the next level when the new coach was hired. Spire has obviously beat up on the Ohio high schools they have played - but I dont see them playing the big national teams either. They were supposed to play in the HoopsClassic this weekend at the Basketball Hall of Fame and backed out because a Ball Family associate asked for 10k to appear and the organizers said no way. Spire has a lot to offer because they dont follow OHSAA rules and kids focus mostly on hoops and not school work.

They are no different then the Oak Hills and Montverde teams you see on ESPN. I saw where Oak Hill and LaLumire backed out of games against Spire due to Ball being a pro and coming back to high school. I think you would see Spire struggle and even lose if they had to play the prep schools that are as stacked as they are. I will be at the Ed's game in a few weeks. The elite coaching and home court advantage will help Ed's but I'm not sure it will be enough to surpass the huge talent gap.
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According to MaxPreps, Spire plays Napa Prolific Prep on Monday. Could be their biggest challenge this year.

Does anyone think that Spire will become such a magnet for the high talent, local/Ohio kids such that they’ll leave their high schools and “transfer” to Spire to play basketball? As mentioned – no OHSAA transfer rules, the kids can focus mostly on hoops and not school work, their players are getting “placed” at D1 colleges, they are getting national attention, etc. Success begets success for recruiting.

Would Spire (at its current “status”) have attracted Zo Gaffney, Omari Spellman, Micah Potter, etc? Playing a national schedule and yet being close to “home” would seem to be attractive to families.

It will be interesting to see what Livingston from Buchtel, Hughley from Brush, etc will do.
 
Maybe not right away but if they start playing more of a national schedule - very possible. The school is not cheap to attend. If Spire starts playing Oak Hill, Montverde and schools of that pedigree its very possible they can lure some kids away. The catch is while it's a athletic institute - you will still need the grades to get into college.
 
I wonder how the 2015 VASJ team with Bragg Pardon and Parker that took Oak Hill Academy to the brink and almost beat in the Hoop Hall classic against this Spire team?
 
0ak Hill was #1 in the nation at the time and Joe's was up 11 early in the 4th. I don't think Spire is nationally ranked currently.

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Bball216 said:
Maybe not right away but if they start playing more of a national schedule - very possible. The school is not cheap to attend. If Spire starts playing Oak Hill, Montverde and schools of that pedigree its very possible they can lure some kids away. The catch is while it's a athletic institute - you will still need the grades to get into college.
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Per Spire’s website, they provide 3 academic options: private, public and online. Spire also has its partnering arrangement with Andrews Osborne Academy for academics.

https://www.spireinstitute.org/academy/andrews-osborne-academy

AOA has been around a very long time and has a strong college prep academic program. With the Osborne family support, AOA surely should be well endowed. It has the foundation to provide the academic instruction and support.

https://www.andrewsosborne.org/Page

I guess it depends on Spire and the athlete on what academic ‘option’ is used. If the basketball team’s schedule has significant travel, I imagine the online option is the one used for that group. As you say, they still need the grades to get into college.
 
Bball216 said:
0ak Hill was #1 in the nation at the time and Joe's was up 11 early in the 4th. I don't think Spire is nationally ranked currently.

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Is Spire even eligible to be ranked nationally? Obviously the OHSAA would never rank them. But even cleveland.com and other media aren't putting them anywhere near their rankings. Probably don't want to face the backlash from people.
 
What about the pigskin?

How long will it be before Spire builds a football program that starts picking kids off from OHIO programs to go play Bishop Gorman and the other travelling all star teams?
 
Spire became a powerhouse just this season when they added multiple high major D1 players to their roster. They had none prior to this season.

The overall talent on this roster is significantly better than any other team in Ohio, including Moeller.

However; they could be beat by a well disciplined team that has been playing together for awhile such as Moeller. Just like when they USA olympic team won a bronze. They were beaten by teams that had been playing together for awhile, had clearly defined roles, and played very disciplined.

LeBron's team had LeBron and Romeo, after that, Joyce, Cotton, Weems, Jones, etc, were nice players, but not the level of the guys Spire has. I would take SVSM to win though due to LeBron and the fact that the SVSM core players played together since 4th grade. (other than Romeo).
 
I remember Spire not being competitive at all in years past. In fact they had a hard time even finding OHSAA teams to play them. They were about as competitive as Andrew Osborne. It sounds like a new commitment was made when the high profile coach was brought in. They appear to be looking at increasing their footprint in basketball. If successful look for it to happen in their other sports. People are sure talking about Spire much more then in years past and for them that could be a good thing.

As for any local teams beating them - it's possible. I have said from day one Ed's was my pick because of the above statement made by another poster. Not only does Ed's have a great home court advantage they have superior coaching. While Ed's might not be as athletic as SVSM or Brush they do have the best coach by a mile over those two teams. They wont get caught up in pre game hype and dunking contests - they will focus on the task. They will go out and execute the plan Flannery comes up with and if it's a good one - they have a shot. Even that however may not be enough to bridge the talent gap. SVSM took that team 3qts. If Ed's can do the same and carry it over to the 4th - who knows. One thing for sure (like SVSM) the stage will not be to big for Ed's. I will be lucky enough to witness it in person.

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Bball216 said:
I remember Spire not being competitive at all in years past. In fact they had a hard time even finding OHSAA teams to play them. They were about as competitive as Andrew Osborne. It sounds like a new commitment was made when the high profile coach was brought in. They appear to be looking at increasing their footprint in basketball. If successful look for it to happen in their other sports. People are sure talking about Spire much more then in years past and for them that could be a good thing.

As for any local teams beating them - it's possible. I have said from day one Ed's was my pick because of the above statement made by another poster. Not only does Ed's have a great home court advantage they have superior coaching. While Ed's might not be as athletic as SVSM or Brush they do have the best coach by a mile over those two teams. They wont get caught up in pre game hype and dunking contests - they will focus on the task. They will go out and execute the plan Flannery comes up with and if it's a good one - they have a shot. Even that however may not be enough to bridge the talent gap. SVSM took that team 3qts. If Ed's can do the same and carry it over to the 4th - who knows. One thing for sure (like SVSM) the stage will not be to big for Ed's. I will be lucky enough to witness it in person.

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The Irish didn't get caught up in the hype. (I know you didn't mean it that way!) They had a game plan to shorten the game, and they stuck to it. And it worked ... for 3 quarters. However, once Spire extended the lead a bit, the Irish tried to open things up a little more, shoot a couple more 3's, to try to get back into it. And things got away from them quickly. The Irish could have stuck to the game plan at that point, but that would only have guaranteed a 10-15 loss. I can't blame Coach Dru for trying to open things up and get back in the game. But, man, it did NOT work out for us in the 4th quarter at all! For the NEO teams, I agree that Ed's would likely have the best shot at Spire, but as suggested by others, the game that would be very intriguing this year would be Spire versus Moeller.
 
That is exactly what I was saying. Ed's and SVSM are used to big crowds and big games. Brush and Garfield both got caught up in the hype and excitement of the event. The only difference between the two was Brush has a nice team and Garfield is horrible.

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Unlimited Potential said:
Final from Dayton:

Prolific Prep, CA 94
Spire Academy 59
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Does PP have anyone of note outside of this Burnett kid that everyone's talking about? With all of the LaMelo hype and everyone freaking out about Spire taking a loss, it's hard to actually find a decent recap of the game and how PP was able to shut down Spire.
 
Spire finally played a team that had the quality of players they have in multiples. Spire has played some good Ohio high school teams - but they have not played the big boys like LaLumire, Oak Hill, Dematha, Monverde,etc. That had been the question on them all year - how good are they. They have been dominating in their wins against lesser talent. I saw some highlights online last night and Spire just looked defeated. They looked the way the teams they have defeated looked - poor body language, sulking and disinterested. Spire has a nice team - but it is by far not one of the best teams in the nation - not even close. Spire is alot of hype because of Ball.

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I saw a tweet from the coach for Prolific Prep who beat Spire by 35. He said the Spire kids told the Prolific Prep kids in the hotel lobby that this game would be a ‘scrimmage ‘ for them. Got they @$$ BEAT!! Don’t write checks with your mouth your game can’t cash...


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Bball216 said:
Spire finally played a team that had the quality of players they have in multiples. Spire has played some good Ohio high school teams - but they have not played the big boys like LaLumire, Oak Hill, Dematha, Monverde,etc. That had been the question on them all year - how good are they. They have been dominating in their wins against lesser talent. I saw some highlights online last night and Spire just looked defeated. They looked the way the teams they have defeated looked - poor body language, sulking and disinterested. Spire has a nice team - but it is by far not one of the best teams in the nation - not even close. Spire is alot of hype because of Ball.

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Just saw the box score from the game. 24-15 PP after 1 quarter, 41-26 at half. Then PP opened it up in the 3rd quarter. Spire plays like an AAU team: when theyre up, they're high energy and everyones having a good time and playing well. When they're down or face a little bit of adversity, they can't handle it and everyone just wants to get their points and move on. Bad body language, etc. Teams like Spire are bad for HS BB. It's all about me me me.
 
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