Findlay Prep ready to defend national title at ESPN event

By Ray Brewer (contact)

Monday, March 29, 2010 | 2:07 a.m.

The Findlay College Prep basketball team is three wins away from back-to-back national high school championship.

The Pilots (29-2) will play Charlotte (N.C.) Christian at 5 p.m. Thursday in the quarterfinals of the eight-team ESPN National High School Invitational at Coppin State in Baltimore. The game will be televised by ESPNU.

Findlay, which is based out of Henderson International School, won the inaugural ESPN event last year, capping an undefeated season and taking the network's title.

Findlay's 10 players come from all over the world — Canada, Denmark, Nigeria and various cities in the United States. The Pilots aren't part of the Nevada state association and don't compete for a state championship.

Hence, the importance of the national tournament.

"I like being on the top of the mountain and knowing people are trying to chase us," said Nick Johnson, Findlay's junior guard who is one of the nation's top recruits for the class of 2011.

Findlay, which is seeded No. 2 for the tournament and ranked No. 10 by ESPN, opened its season five months ago with the goal of returning to the event. ESPN selects the teams for the event. High schools who are part of a state association aren't eligible.

Findlay's journey to the tournament hasn't been as smooth this year. The Pilots had a 45-game winning streak snapped in November with a 53-52 loss to Northland High of Columbus, Ohio.

In February, they lost, 54-51, to Montverde Academy of Florida. Montverde is seeded No. 1 for the tournament and ranked No. 9 nationally by ESPN.

Senior forward Tristan Thompson, a Texas signee who averages 16.1 points and 9.5 rebounds per game, missed most of the loss to Montverde after injuring his ankle in the first quarter. One of the Pilots' few weaknesses is a lack of depth on the inside, and without Thompson they clearly struggled.

Thompson, who hasn't seen game action since the injury, also was hindered with foul trouble in the loss to Northland.

Yes, he's that important. Just ask his longtime running mate.

"He's a great player. He takes up a lot of space in the lane," said Cory Joseph, Findlay's senior point guard and the nation's No. 21 overall prospect by ESPN.

"He's got a lot of talent. We have to get him the ball and let him get to work."

Joseph and Thompson arguably are the top two players in the tournament. It's been that way since their days playing together as children in Ontario, Canada.

The duo will play for the West team Wednesday in the McDonald's All-American game in Columbus. The following day, they will be in the starting lineup for Findlay against Charlotte Christian.

However, they say the hectic schedule won't be a concern.

"(The schedule) has been like that the last three years of playing high-level high school basketball," Thompson said.

Thompson, Joseph and senior forward Godwin Okonji are the lone holdovers from last year's team. Still, the experience gives them a slight advantage — especially in preparation.

Findlay hasn't played since late February. So, in keeping the schedule comparable to last year, coach Mike Peck gave his players the first week of March to recover from the rigors of the season.

"We've had three weeks to fine tune some things," Peck said. "It was unrealistic to think we were going to get two hours of hard work in practice every day."

The other quarterfinal games are Christ School of New Jersey against Winter Park of Florida, Montverde taking on Montrose Christian of Maryland, and Oak Hill (Va.) battling Mountain State Academy of West Virginia.

The championship game is 10:30 a.m. Saturday on ESPN.