(2024) - PF Jesse McCulloch

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,956]

Not often I can find game info for McCulloch.  He had 23p and 9r in a 57-54 loss to Richmond Heights yesterday.

[Demo 17,349]

38 minutes ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

Not often I can find game info for McCulloch.  He had 23p and 9r in a 57-54 loss to Richmond Heights yesterday.

For a top 100-type with a legit offer list there is just not a lot out there on the kid. Other than being a 6’9” lefty, I don’t know anything else about him. I get to see him Saturday night against Rakease Passmore/Combine Academy and am really looking forward to it. 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,956]

Found some additional stats for McCulloch.   The cutoff for ppg was 20 and he was not on that list so averaging less than 20 ppg.  For 11 games, he is averaging 3 blocks/game and 11 rebounds/game.

 

[Demo 17,349]

On 1/9/2023 at 9:51 AM, Demo said:

For a top 100-type with a legit offer list there is just not a lot out there on the kid. Other than being a 6’9” lefty, I don’t know anything else about him. I get to see him Saturday night against Rakease Passmore/Combine Academy and am really looking forward to it. 

The only 2 things I thought I knew about the kid were wrong. He’s more like 6’10” and he’s right handed. Total blank slate.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,956]

[Demo 17,349]

Interesting kid. He’s listed as a 4 everywhere. No, he’s a 5. Probably 6’10”. Big frame. Will probably play at at least 250 in college. Plus length. Not the twitchiest kid. Ok, but not great. feet at this point. Doesn’t have great change of direction. Needs to gather to elevate. Pretty good hands. Made a couple of tough catches in traffic. Maybe a Race-type athlete as he matures, but definitely more skill-based than athletic. Hit 4 3’s and has a nice stroke. Can handle and pass. Was the outlet in their press break and held up. No idea if he has a post game. He played almost exclusively out  of the high post. Solid positional defender,, plays physically, but not a rim protector. Combine took the ball to the rim like he wasn’t even there. In college he would need a primary rim protector. Played hard, smart and competed. 
 

Side note: his ‘26 teammate, TJ Crumble, had a nice game and belonged against a really good team. Good-looking prospect. 6’6” or 6’7”. Great run/jump athlete. Definitely a follow. 

[Gnet550 888]

 

[Stuhoo 75,564]

Takeaway:

The kid has seen a lot of Rutgers football games.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,956]

@Demo in your opinion is he a kid we should really be pursuing at the expense of possibly losing Burgess and/or Bidunga as a result?

[WayneFleekHoosier 46,738]

12 minutes ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

@Demo in your opinion is he a kid we should really be pursuing at the expense of possibly losing Burgess and/or Bidunga as a result?

Bidunga still seems like a reclass option to me.  He needs to remain a tip top prospect at all costs. (Pun intended). 
 

Now Burgess is a different question.  

[Demo 17,349]

2 hours ago, Class of '66 Old Fart said:

@Demo in your opinion is he a kid we should really be pursuing at the expense of possibly losing Burgess and/or Bidunga as a result?

If Bidunga wants to come, a McCulloch commitment would have zero impact. I love Burgess, most under-appreciated kid they’re recruiting. Would think those 2 are probably an either/or proposition. But if they like McCulloch enough to accept an early commitment, welcome aboard, kid. 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,956]

https://www.on3.com/news/jesse-mccullough-talks-visits-has-timeline-in-mind-michigan-state-indiana-alabama-ohio-state/

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,956]

Lutherean East (12-4) beat Mayfield (10-5) 83-75.  McCulloch 30p and teammate '26 T. J. Crumble 20p.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,956]

Tournament bracket for #1 seed Lutheran East - Division III; Northeast 2

2/24 winner of #25 seed and #26 seed

2/27 sectional semifinal

3/3 sectional championship

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,956]

 

No. 6 Lutheran East takes rivalry and makes statement, 68-52, vs. No. 5 Lutheran West

Matt Goul, cleveland.com

CLEVELAND HEIGHTS, Ohio — A crosstown rivalry is back.

It started to feel that way a year ago when Lutheran West’s student section stormed the court after an upset of Lutheran East, which had been established for the better part of a decade as a dominant boys basketball program and state-title contender.

Losing last year didn’t sit well with Lutheran East coach Sam Liggins or his players, who made sure their senior night at home wiped away those bitter memories with a 68-52 victory in front of a sold-out crowd.

“All year we had this game circled on the calendar,” Liggins said.

They made it to the OHSAA Division III state semifinals after it, but had nearly a year to stew over a 49-45 loss on the west side of Cleveland.

“They stormed the court on us,” Liggins said. “Just feeling that and feeling like they let the school down, our pride stepped in the way and they handled business.”

Lutheran East (15-4), which is ranked sixth in the cleveland.com Top 25, trailed only briefly in the opening moments Wednesday night vs. No. 5 Lutheran West. The Longhorns (18-2) hadn’t lost since December. They dominated much of their schedule to this point, but a first-quarter 3-pointer gave them their only lead at 3-2.

Before either team could catch its breath for a stoppage in play, the Falcons answered with five quick points, including a 3-pointer from junior guard Chauncey Brashers. He connected on another long-distance shot before the end of the first quarter, and Lutheran East jumped out to an 18-11 lead that swelled up from there.

Liggins, a Lutheran East graduate, wanted this one. He made sure his players knew it.

“Coach Sam always preaches that to us,” senior point guard Cody Head said. “We knew we had to win this game, not just for us but for the school, too.”

Head scored 14 points, including two early attacks at the basket. Junior forward Jesse McCulloch outmuscled the Longhorns’ defenders inside and used his finesse game to score 18 points with 12 rebounds and four assists. The tallest player on the court at 6-foot-9, McCulloch also blocked four shots.

“We’ve been thinking about it all year,” McCulloch said. “This is a big rivalry for Lutheran East.”

Liggins can credit his colleague, second-year Lutheran West coach Jordan Duke for that. The two have faced each other in the past, as Duke’s Cleveland Central Catholic teams occasionally matched up with Liggins’ Falcons.

“What he’s doing over there is phenomenal,” Liggins said. “Probably going to make a deep tournament run. What he’s been able to do in his two years is fantastic.”

They won’t have to face each other.

Lutheran West is a top seed in the Division II North Ridgeville District, while Lutheran East will head east to Warren for the Division III district tournament. If they meet up in Dayton, it will be to root for each other.

Duke, whose team handed Chagrin Valley Conference rival Cuyahoga Heights its first loss last week and meets that team again a week from Saturday, credited his growing rival for important postseason preparation.

Lutheran West had won 11 straight.

“No matter if we’re high or low, they’re playing for each other,” Duke said. “We didn’t play well, but it was never about themselves but about what can we do to get better. It’s always been about us.”

His junior point guard, Derek Fairley, is among the area’s leaders in assists. Fairley added four of those, mostly going to junior guard Jayson Levis, who scored a team-high 14 points. Fairley also blocked two shots, presenting a challenge that brought the best in Liggins’ guards.

“They’re a good backcourt, but we know we’re a good backcourt, too,” Head said of himself and Brashers.

They played like rivals, which their coaches liked to see.

“The rivalry hasn’t been there in a long time, and we’re just glad to be able to bring it back and compete at a high level,” Duke said. “They got us this year and we’ll be ready and have the same feeling they had next year. That’s the beauty of rivalries.”

The rivalry’s revival has conjured memories for Liggins, who played in it.

“I played in this game, when it was standing-room only,” he said, “and I wanted to show my kids the significance of what this rivalry means between two Lutheran schools on two sides of town. We wanted to make a statement.”

[Gnet550 888]

 

[Demo 17,349]

 

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,956]

Lutheran East 84-50 regional championship win over Cuyahoga Heights.

CANTON, Ohio — Sam Liggins sat on the bench worried about Lutheran East’s matchup with Cuyahoga Heights so much that he nearly forgot to greet the opponent’s starters during pregame introductions.

Assistant coach and athletic director Anthony Jones took care of that for him while the reserves were introduced.

Freshman T.J. Crumble nearly tripped over himself a few times, but still found a way to the basket. He had junior Jesse McCulloch to pass to on the interior, as they occasionally hooked up for a big dunk in the Falcons’ 84-50 win for another OHSAA Division III regional boys basketball championship at the Canton Memorial Fieldhouse.

“I was very nervous,” said Crumble, who scored a game-high 18 points. “I was talking to my coaches in the locker room. I was very nervous, but they said not to let the game get to me.”

McCulloch noticed Crumble played at a higher speed than he normally does, but it still led to him scoring 12 of his points in the first quarter, as Lutheran East (20-5) jumped out to a 22-8 lead on the Red Wolves (24-3).

“It’s a big time of the year,” McCulloch said. “He did really well to come into this environment, play his game and get buckets.”

Their size, with Crumble standing at 6-foot-7 and McCulloch at 6-9, presented a challenge in which Cuyahoga Heights had no answer. Both are Division I college prospects, among the top in their classes. McCulloch scored 16 points with seven rebounds and four blocks. Crumble also had seven rebounds.

As a result, Cuyahoga Heights scored only a point for the first seven minutes of the second quarter. The Falcons’ lead grew to 37-9 before Kaelib Graaf’s free throws with 43.7 seconds left in the half.

“Obviously we were outmatched in so many different ways, but the message at halftime was to represent your families and your community,” Cuyahoga Heights coach Michael Tartara said. “Let’s go show them who we are.”

The Red Wolves came out firing with five of their seven 3s in the third quarter. Junior guard Cade Davies hit two of them, finishing with 13 points. Senior forward Nate Biggers hit one and scored 13 points. Junior guard Braylan McClardy got in on the act with a 3-pointer before he finished with 13 points.

Cuyahoga Heights appeared in its first regional final since 1997, but in each of the last two years ran into a juggernaut. Richmond Heights stood in the way last year in the Division IV district semifinals before its state-title win. Now Lutheran East became the obstacle with its state championship expectations, now back in Dayton for a third straight year in the state semifinals.

“Anytime you’ve got so much on the line and chance to make the state final four, you can’t take it for granted,” Liggins said. “You look around the state, see some of the favorites and No. 1 seeds get upset or go down.”

The Falcons haven’t gone down yet.

They will play Canal Winchester Harvest Prep (22-6), which is coming off a 59-46 regional final win vs. Preble Shawnee, next Saturday afternoon at UD Arena in Dayton.

All five of Lutheran East’s starters scored in double figures to make that trip possible. Senior point guard Cody Head scored 16 points with eight rebounds. Junior guard Chauncey Brashers had 13 points with three 3s, and Ronald Taylor hit five 3s for 15 points.

Their calming influence helped Crumble settle in as a ninth grader playing on this stage for the first time.

“We know we’re going to get every team’s best shot because we came in No. 1 in Division III,” Crumble said.

McCulloch said he wouldn’t Crumble remaining nervous with the way he played in Canton.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,956]

With this win, Lutheran East moved into tomorrow's state championship game vs. Ottawa Glandorf.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,956]

Lutheran East takes its second Division III title in 3 years with a 67-61 win over Ottawa-Glandorf.  McCulloch was plagued by foul trouble and fouled out with 4 minutes left in the game finishing with just 4 pts.and 5 reb.

Never found consistent game stats.

17 games:  17.5 ppg

10 games:  7.8 rpg