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katmandu
01-19-2015, 08:36 AM
Cool story from a local paper.


By Tom Archdeacon (http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/staff/tom-archdeacon/) - columnist


KETTERING —
DeAndre Ayton and his Balboa City School teammates ran into something akin to a modern day version of The Steel Curtain on Sunday at Trent Arena.
Technically, the Steel Curtain was the dominating defensive front of those Pittsburgh Steelers’ teams of the 1970s that won four Super Bowls.
+http://media.cmgdigital.com/shared/lt/lt_cache/thumbnail/275/img/photos/2015/01/18/f5/3f/011915-arch-1.jpg (http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/news/sports/high-school/son-of-former-steelers-great-steals-the-show/njrGW/?source=ddn_skip_stub#modal-6673448)
MARC PENDLETON / STAFF
Deandre Ayton, a 6-11 sophomore and the nation’s top recruit for the Class of 2017, is guarded by Jibri Blount (5). ... Read More (http://www.mydaytondailynews.com/news/sports/high-school/son-of-former-steelers-great-steals-the-show/njrGW/?source=ddn_skip_stub#modal-6673448)

But quite possibly the hardest hitter on that defense was cornerback Mel Blount.
An aggressive and physical proponent of the “bump and run” in a day when defenders weren’t so easily penalized, Blount unnerved receivers across the league. Along with the four championship rings he won, he was a five-time Pro Bowler, the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Year in 1975 and after his 14-year career ended, he was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
A while back The Sporting News picked the 100 greatest players ever in the NFL and he was No. 36.
Mel’s son Jibri, who at 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds is bigger than his dad, is now a senior power forward on the unbeaten Akron St. Vincent-St Mary basketball team. Sunday he was matched up on the 6-foot-11 Ayton as SVSM and Balboa City out of San Diego faced each other in the Flyin’ to the Hoop Tournament.
Ayton, a sophomore originally from Nassau, Bahamas, is everyone’s No. I recruiting prospect in the Class of 2017. Although he’s still growing and filling out, he already has something of a Kevin Garnett frame and a 7-foot, 4 ½ inch wingspan.
He’s also a YouTube sensation. There are clips of him slamming home monster dunks, swatting opponents’ shots into the bleachers and soaring up to grab rebounds above the rim.
He was one of the players that the some two dozen college coaches at Sunday’s games – including West Virginia’s Bob Huggins, Miami’s John Cooper, Wright State’s Billy Donlon and assistants from places like Arkansas, Arizona State, Tennessee and Ohio State – came to see.
While they did get to see a glimpse of a few shining moments from Ayton, what they mostly saw was Blount play him physical and frustrate him as SVSM routed Balboa City, 65-40.
Blount, who is headed to Cleveland State next season, said he didn’t search out Ayton’s YouTube heroics beforehand.
“I don’t do that to any opponent – I just don’t want to start believing all the hype,” he said. “One thing Coach Dru (SVSM head coach Dru Joyce) tells us is that no matter who we’re playing, they are men just like we are. They put their pants on the same way we do. He lets us know anybody’s beatable.”
“And today I saw (Ayton) was a younger guy and didn’t have as much weight on him, so I tried to stay on his chest so he had a tough time catching the ball. And when he did catch it, he knew I was right there.
“One thing I pride myself in is being physical down low in the paint. I want the other guy to know I’m there.”
Ayton certainly did. He was just 5 of 15 from the field and finished with 10 points. He did manage 12 rebounds, three blocked shots and an assist.
But Blount countered with 11 points on 4 for 8 shooting, 12 rebounds and two steals.
Sunday made the second big victory in the Dayton area in less than 24 hours for SVSM. Saturday night the Irish – the No. 1 ranked Division II school in Ohio and now 12-0 – went into Dunbar’s gym and overwhelmed the Wolverines, 79-64.
Blount had a team-high 26 points.
His dad was at both games.
“I can’t describe how incredible it feels to watch him out there,” Mel Blount said after Sunday’s game. “To see your kid out there at this stage of his career and to reflect back on when he was born, when he was a baby in diapers and then just going along and getting bigger and bigger, it’s a tremendous feeling.”
Joyce said Blount – and his wife – have done a great job raising Jibri:
“Mel has made his son understand this is his life. (Mel’s) time was in the past and he enjoyed it and now he wants his sons to enjoy theirs. He supports them and lets them know they don’t have to live up to him, they are their own people.”
Jibri called his dad “the greatest influence in my life. He’s someone I look up to. He’s done everything I dream of doing. So he doesn’t live through me. He supports me and encourages me and wants me to know all the things sports can teach me.
Maybe it was on a different stage – football, the gridiron – but he’s accomplished everything there is to accomplish: four Super Bowls and the Hall of Fame.”
Mel said the first thing he’s stressed with his sons is “to respect people, do the right thing and put other people in front of you. Just follow the basic principles of life and also love the Lord. As a parent you try to live your life so your kids can use it as an example.”
For Mel Blount, these aren’t just idle words.
After his football career, he opened a pair of Mel Blount Youth Homes – one in Georgia where he grew up and one in Claysville, Pa. outside Pittsburgh – that were shelters and Christian missions for victims of child abuse and neglect.
Over the years he was honored by President George H. W. Bush as a “Point of Light” and by the Caring Institute, who named him one of the 10 most caring people in America.
Jibri said he’s proud of his father and honors him when he can.
Although he now lives and plays basketball in the heart of Cleveland Browns territory, he said he’s a Pittsburgh Steelers fan.
“When we have jersey days at our school, I always wear my dad’s Steelers jersey,” he said. “I like it that there aren’t many Pittsburgh fans there. Sometimes it feels good to be the bad guy.”

And that’s just the way he played it Sunday at Trent Arena.

Pappy
01-28-2015, 02:31 PM
Like father like son. Good people begat good people. Wonder where he will go to college, I'd like to follow him.

NCSteeler
01-29-2015, 04:23 AM
So I'll be the first. He'd look good in black and gold as a te

Hindes204
01-29-2015, 05:57 AM
Like father like son. Good people begat good people. Wonder where he will go to college, I'd like to follow him.


Cleveland State is what the article said

Craic
01-29-2015, 02:27 PM
So I'll be the first. He'd look good in black and gold as a te

LOL. Was wondering when I'd see that. Then again, it looks as if he's a good defender. So maybe a FS? Sure could use the help if he has hands to catch!