Dayton prep star is charged

By Marc Pendleton

Dayton Daily News

DAYTON

Dayton Thurgood Marshall’s leading scorer, Jordan Watson, has been charged with petty theft and criminal damaging and will miss the Cougars’ state semifinal game Thursday in Columbus.

Watson, a senior guard, was observed concealing and not paying for an iPod Ear Bud at a Wal-Mart on Sunday and also damaging a DVD. He was taken to Montgomery County Jail and charged with the offenses.

Marshall plays Toledo Rogers in a Division II semifinal at Ohio State University’s Value City Arena.

Marshall coach Darnell Hoskins said that Watson is suspended from the team and will miss Thursday’s game, but would be reinstated for Saturday’s title game should the Cougars advance.

“I told him to chalk this up to a huge, huge learning experience,” Hoskins said.

“Jordan Watson, despite what happened, is the face of our program and has been a stellar kid. ”

Last Saturday, Watson scored a game-high 32 points in leading Marshall to a 74-59 regional final defeat of Cincinnati Roger Bacon. That earned the Cougars (21-5) their second trip to state in the last three years.

Watson averages a team-leading 18 points.

Hoskins, in his first season at Marshall, said Watson was suspended for “conduct detrimental to the team rules.”

Watson bonded out of the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office on Sunday and returned to school on Monday.

None of the teams this weekend qualified a season ago, the third straight year that’s happened. However, 2009 state champions Columbus Northland, Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary and Cleveland Central Catholic are back.

Toledo Rogers, Cincinnati Taft, and Houston are all first time participants.

In Div. I, the top three teams in the final Associated Press poll are playing — Garfield Heights, Northland, and Cincinnati LaSalle.

In Div. II, only No. 5 Columbus Hartley remains, while in Div. III, No. 1 Cincinnati Taft and No. 10 Portsmouth are still alive. Berlin Hiland finished No. 2 in the Div. IV poll and Continental was No. 9.

Garfield Heights is the highest scoring team coming into the tournament (79.5 ppg scored) and Columbus Hartley is allowing the fewest points (39.0 ppg).

Garfield Heights’ coach, William “Sonny” Johnson, will try to become the first AP “Mr. Basketball” winner to coach a team to a state title. Johnson won the award in 1998. Johnson’s brothers, Julius and Demetrius, won a state championship in 2000 with Warrensville Heights.

Information from the OHSAA was used in this report.