Forest Park Looks Like A Contender In 1A
In a span of two weeks Forest Park of Baltimore city has run off a streak of impressive wins. Coach Jermaine Dunn’s squad has taken down City College by 30, Garrison Forest by 54 and then knocked off two IAAM…
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Continue ReadingIn a span of two weeks Forest Park of Baltimore city has run off a streak of impressive wins. Coach Jermaine Dunn’s squad has taken down City College by 30, Garrison Forest by 54 and then knocked off two IAAM teams in Mt. Carmel and Institute of Notre Dame. They are now 13-2 and looking like a dangerous foe down the stretch.
Forest Park is loaded with athletes and Coach Dunn is not afraid to let them play. They win games by pressuring and creating havoc on defense, and then running teams out of the gym. I have never seen a team get as many breakaway layups with no defenders back as this one did against Garrison Forest. They do not have a lot of size but they have speed everywhere. When I wrote my evaluations of the players it seemed like I was writing the same thing repeatedly because of the similar skill sets on the roster.
I am now adding Forest Park to my list of teams to watch out for in the 1A state playoffs with Coppin Academy and Pikesville. It should be fun.
Nakiyah Johnson ,2019
The ring leader in the run has been Nakiyah Johnson. The versatile guard/wing had 21 points, 5 assists and 9 rebounds in their win over Garrison Forest and these numbers are typical for her. Johnson is an exceptional athlete that can score in a variety of ways. Like the rest of the team she is dangerous in transition, but she can also fill it up off drives and pull ups. This season she has shown an improved range on her jumper so she is even more of a scoring threat. She has good size at 5’9″ and I think she is being overlooked a bit. A low D1 or D2 will score a hidden gem when she signs in April.
Nia Henry, 2021
The sophomore forward has transformed her game over the past year. At 5’10’ she has not grown much since middle school so she is no longer confined to post play. She still sports a mean drop step which she uses to score inside, but she has developed other parts of her game as well. She looks very comfortable pushing the ball and has been scoring a lot of transition baskets by running the floor. Her handle and face up game are emerging as well. Look for her to have a solid summer on the circuit.
Dominique Billie, 2020
Dominique is a shooting guard that thrives in the open court. She is a scrappy defender and gets her hands on a lot of passes, which leads to fast break opportunities. She is a slasher and attacks the glass so she gets points in different ways. She is quick and explosive around the basket.
Josias Mickens, 2020
Josias is a crafty point guard that puts pressure on defenses by constantly attacking and probing, looking to score or dish off. She is capable of both as she will averaging 11 points and almost 5 assists per game. She is picking off 4 steals per game so she is a contributor on defense as well.
Dorthea Banks, 2020
Another 5’6″ guard with some speed. Ms. Banks is an active defender who disrupts the opponents with her quick hands. She’s an aggressive on ball defender and scores a bunch in transition.