(2023) - PG Gabe Cupps to INDIANA

[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,080]

5 minutes ago, HoosierDad14 said:

 

That is one helluva first post.  Welcome to btb.

[HoosierX 1,523]

9 minutes ago, HoosierDad14 said:

 

Going to have to agree with Cupps there, should have been an and 1.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,080]

FINAL:  Centerville 64    St. Ignatius 33       Cupps led all scorers with 15 pts.

Centerville advances to the state championship game vs. Pickerington Central tomorrow night at 8:30.

Centerville  stretched the lead to 48-21 after 3.  Also a report that Cupps had a second dunk on a baseline drive.

[Hovadipo 55,200]

A few more angles of Gabe dropping the hammer, featuring the ELITE UD Arena TV angle. 

[WayneFleekHoosier 47,976]

[/url] A few more angles of Gabe dropping the hammer, featuring the ELITE UD Arena TV angle. 

Hope to hear a lot of Cupp to the Cup over the next handful of years.


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[Stuhoo 79,798]

47 minutes ago, HoosierTrav said:

I’m getting big time Jordan Hulls vibes from this kid. His upside is higher, I believe. 

He’s like a pass first, strong, 6’2” not catch and shoot, drive and dish Jordan Hu… ahhh, I just can’t.

 

[cthomas 6,335]

I believe we are going to love this young man at IU. We can talk about wings and bigs all day long, but all of our best teams have had a great point guard. Cupps could be the one who attracts the talent that leads us to the promised land.

[lillurk 3,738]

1 hour ago, HoosierX said:

Going to have to agree with Cupps there, should have been an and 1.

Initially thought he was saying he put it on the defender’s head but now I think this is correct.

Also he’s got the swagger to honor Sheehey if he wears zero at IU

[lillurk 3,738]

7 minutes ago, lillurk said:

Initially thought he was saying he put it on the defender’s head but now I think this is correct.

Also he’s got the swagger to honor Sheehey if he wears zero at IU

Though JHS posted pics on IG today in an IU 0, so it may not be available 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,080]

Dayton Daily News -

From the moment he stepped on the UD Arena floor Saturday night to warm up, Centerville’s Gabe Cupps heard the heckling from the Cleveland St. Ignatius student section.

“That’s something I’ve embraced,” Cupps said. “I don’t really pay any attention to it.”

His team – regardless of its 45-game winning streak – likewise embraces every moment together and pays attention to every detail that makes them better. When the expectations are heaped upon them, they embrace each other and are faithful to the process that head coach Brook Cupps demands they follow.

“We came out and played with an intensity and an edge that we needed,” Brook Cupps said. “Our guys did a really good job of just staying in their role and playing for each other. That’s what we want Centerville basketball to look like.”

From the opening minutes through a 16-point halftime lead and a 35-point start-the-running clock lead in the fourth quarter, the Elks’ process revealed everything they do well in their 64-33 semifinal victory over St. Ignatius, continuing their drive toward a possible second straight Division I championship.

There’s one final step toward the elite status of trying to become the 22nd team in state history to win two straight (three have won three straight) championships. The Elks (29-0) face Pickerington Central (25-2) at 8:30 p.m. Sunday. Pick Central rolled past Lakewood St. Edward 74-42 on Saturday. Last year the Elks defeated Westerville Central 43-42 to win their first state title in their first state appearance.

On Saturday, Cupps scored 15 points, had four assists and ran his team with precision. No doubt the announcement Friday that he had been named Mr. OHSBCA – that’s the Mr. Basketball award given by the state coaches – had something to do with the student section’s attempt at intimidation. Cupps is also a candidate to win the more well-known Mr. Basketball award voted on by the news media.

Brook Cupps’ wife heard the news first about the award and texted him so he could tell Gabe before he heard it from someone else. As the father tried to tell his son, he noticed Gabe was crying. He asked him why. Gabe told him it was because he had just practiced for the last time with the seniors.

“It’s something I’m grateful for, but it was never the goal,” Gabe Cupps said of the award. “I thought back to all the work that I’ve put in and how grateful I am to have these guys around me.”

Those guys played with their usual team effort on both ends. Tom House scored 10 of his 13 points in the second half in a bounce back from how he shot in the regional tournament.

“If he sees one go in, I think that helps his game a lot,” Cupps said. “And we want his confidence at an all- time high, especially going into the state championship.”

Rich Rolf scored 12 points and kickstarted the Elks with two early 3-pointers. The Elks kept shooting well, carrying a 60% rate well into the second half. They finished at 54.3% and made 7 of 18 3-pointers. Their defense was in lockdown mode, holding the Wildcats to 32.5% and only 1 of 11 on 3-pointers.

“We were really solid defensively and made it tough for them to get good looks,” Brook Cupps said.

Pick Central will present a more athletic challenge to the Elks. The Tigers are led by 6-foot-6 junior Devin Royal, who scored 19 points Saturday. Royal has several high-level Division I offers. The best athlete on the floor will be 6-4 senior Sonny Styles, the five-start football recruit headed for Ohio State.

“They’re super talented and they’ve got a lot of guys that can hurt you,” Brook Cupps said. “It’ll be a great game, but that’s what it’s supposed to be when you play in the state championship game.”

And Gabe Cupps will be ready for anything the opposing students try, but he might not notice. Early in the second half with the Elks leading by 19, the St. Ignatius students started chanting, “Gabe Cupps sucks.”

“If they want to talk bad about me, it’s all right,” he said. “I’ll just go play my game.”

And he did.  In that moment he drove the lane and dunked over and on an Ignatius player, and the Centerville student section erupted with its loudest cheers of the night.

Cupps said he didn’t hear the derogatory chant. He just saw an opening and embraced the moment.

[Demo 19,665]

Mr OHSBCA doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. 

[HoosierTrav 7,742]

16 hours ago, Stuhoo said:

He’s like a pass first, strong, 6’2” not catch and shoot, drive and dish Jordan Hu… ahhh, I just can’t.

 

I wasn’t comparing their games as much as I was comparing their impact on the team. Jordy was the glue. I see a similar role with Cupps. Also I did mention that his had higher upside. Relax. Everything will be ok Stu. 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,080]

After 1Q Centerville trails Pickerington Central 10-9.  I think Gabe has 6 pts.

Reported that PC is double teaming Gabe every time he has the ball around the top of the key.

[Hovadipo 55,200]

Sunday night state championship games… Never heard of that one. 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,080]

Halftime Centerville trails 21-17.  Team not shooting well.  Gabe has 9 pts.  Deng and Kiefer, 2 of Centerville's starters each picked up 2 early fouls and spent most of the 2nd Q on the bench.

Attendance for the game in excess of 8,000.

Edited March 21, 2022 by Class of '66 Old Fart
Added attendance figure

[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,080]

Centerville stats at the half: -Just 6 of 20 shots (2-10 from 3)

• -Gabe Cupps has all three FTs (3-for-3)
• -They've given up 16 points in the paint
• -They have four offensive rebounds but only three second chance points
• -Top scorers: Cupps (9) and Rich Rolf (6)

 

PC 10-20 from the floor and five of those misses are from 3.

 

 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,080]

Keifer picked up his 3rd foul very early in the 3rd.  PC lead up to 10 just 2 min. into the 3rd.  Elks can't buy a basket.  PC has scored 18 of its 25 pts. in the paint.

[sweetpain 535]

Centerville making a run down 6

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[sweetpain 535]

Down 2

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[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,080]

3rd Q and PC still leads but it's down to 36-34.   PC lead had grown to 11 but shots finally started to drop for Centerville midway thru the 3rd and its defense stiffened.