Two of CJ’s best players are first-year players, but have games resembling upperclassmen.
Mychael Hanson and Ja’Kyiah Cook have been crucial pieces on the floor during the successful run the Eagles are experiencing this postseason.
Their impact has been felt all over the hardwood. Both have led the team in scoring for most of the season. Their names can be found in the top-five of rebounding, assists and blocked shots amongst all Greater Catholic League Co-Ed players this season.
Cook, a 6-foot guard, made first team All-Southwest District in Division III, and Hanson, a 5-foot-8 guard, was a third team performer.
Cook saved one of her best performances of the season for Saturday’s regional final 49-45 win against Carroll. She produced her fourth double-double in scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, and hit a season-high six free throws to help close out the victory.
“Those two together, I think some of it is just they don’t know any better, right?” Allen said. “The things they don’t know aren’t worrying them. They’re just going out there playing.
“I think our seniors and our other kids are doing a good job of helping put them in positions where they’re comfortable, where they can just go play and they don’t have to overthink the game. They can use some of their natural ability.”
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
CJ plays Copley in the state semifinals at 11 a.m. Thursday at the Nutter Center. The winner advances to face either Unioto or Akron St. Vincent St. Mary in the D-III championship game scheduled to tip at 3:45 p.m. Friday at UD Arena.
It’s the first time since 2013 the Eagles are in the final four and the program’s eighth overall appearance.
CJ has won nine games in a row. Its last three tournament wins have been nail-biters.
A four-point win against Badin in the district final saw senior Maggie Bush hit go-ahead free throws in the final minute. Cook did the same to fend off Tippecanoe during a five-point victory in the regional semifinals.
Allen said players like Janae Cain, a senior, and others have stepped up for not only the team overall, but as on-court mentors for Cook and Hanson.
“We told our seniors before our semifinal against Tipp, just ‘hey, the freshman haven’t been here. Make sure you stay with them and in their ear,’” he said. “Especially if for no other reason, because it’s loud and they may not be able to hear me.”
Allen credited Bush, Cain and fellow senior Mahaliyah Hill as being the emotional weight bearers that allow Cook and Hanson to be “supremely talented players.”
Allen said he still sees freshman-like mistakes from his young duo. At the same time, he feels their instant attachment to being members of the team makes it seem like the group has been together for longer than just this season.
“I think the thing that I’ve been most proud of is they’ve grown. We’re in game 25 or 26 or whatever game that we’re in right now, and they continue to get better,” Allen said. “They continue to learn where they can have success and where they don’t, they’re not forcing it. They make really good reads and right decisions and the great thing is, they’re unselfish.”
And Allen says they just want to do one thing.
“They just want to win.”
GIRLS DIVISION III STATE SEMIFINALS
Who: Chaminade Julienne vs. Copley
When: 11 a.m., Thursday
Where: Nutter Center, Wright State University
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