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One of our early signees Zach Denny is averaging over 29 points per game so far this season. Valley View has faced some pretty good competition and, obviously, defenses are designed to stop him as the team does not have a whole lot of scoring options. In addition, he is shooting 90% from the foul line (he has attempted more foul shots per game than any player in the Dayton area which is a good sign). Denny also has 4 steals per game so far.

Good start.

Go Falcons!

He put up 41 recently.

I hope he is awesome. Luke Kraus graduated as the all time scoring leader at Findlay passing Big Ben.

Denny just went for 51 tonight to knock off previously unbeaten Carlisle 84-66.

Nice, do you have a way to get his stories/box scores online?

7, that was indeed a big game for Denny against a very good undefeated New Carlisle team. Only five three pointers but scoring from a variety of spots/slashes/pull ups and drives. 51 is a pretty big number in a 32 minute HS game game. Or a 40 minute college game. Or a 48 minute NBA game. There is no question that he will face quicker more athletic defenders every day/game in college. No question there will be a lot of growing to do and a big transition period. No question that he will be seriously challenged like at no other point is his athletic life.

Also no question this guy is a true scorer. A real scorer.

Scott Thomas- while an entirely different player/length of player etc- turned out to be a very good player for us while having to carry his entire HS team on his back. Scored over 25 pts a game his last two HS years. Denny is filling that role for Valley View- and scoring despite defenses specifically designed to stop him.

Go Falcons!

falconfan1 wrote:7, that was indeed a big game for Denny against a very good undefeated New Carlisle team. Only five three pointers but scoring from a variety of spots/slashes/pull ups and drives. 51 is a pretty big number in a 32 minute HS game game. Or a 40 minute college game. Or a 48 minute NBA game. There is no question that he will face quicker more athletic defenders every day/game in college. No question there will be a lot of growing to do and a big transition period. No question that he will be seriously challenged like at no other point is his athletic life.

Also no question this guy is a true scorer. A real scorer.

Scott Thomas- while an entirely different player/length of player etc- turned out to be a very good player for us while having to carry his entire HS team on his back. Scored over 25 pts a game his last two HS years. Denny is filling that role for Valley View- and scoring despite defenses specifically designed to stop him.

Go Falcons!

Is there a paper that posts his box scores?

Globetrotter wrote:

falconfan1 wrote:7, that was indeed a big game for Denny against a very good undefeated New Carlisle team. Only five three pointers but scoring from a variety of spots/slashes/pull ups and drives. 51 is a pretty big number in a 32 minute HS game game. Or a 40 minute college game. Or a 48 minute NBA game. There is no question that he will face quicker more athletic defenders every day/game in college. No question there will be a lot of growing to do and a big transition period. No question that he will be seriously challenged like at no other point is his athletic life.

Also no question this guy is a true scorer. A real scorer.

Scott Thomas- while an entirely different player/length of player etc- turned out to be a very good player for us while having to carry his entire HS team on his back. Scored over 25 pts a game his last two HS years. Denny is filling that role for Valley View- and scoring despite defenses specifically designed to stop him.

Go Falcons!

Is there a paper that posts his box scores?

Globe, the Dayton Daily News posts Valley View box scores usually. A few of their box scores are on daytondailynews.com There was a big write up on his 51 point game but I can't find it anywhere online.

Globetrotter wrote:I hope he is awesome. Luke Kraus graduated as the all time scoring leader at Findlay passing Big Ben.

I'm hoping Z. Denny pans out better than Luke did.

Z. Denny had 44 last night...will he be the man to help take us to the NCAAs? Will he still come to BG if Coach Orr gets the axe?

zete wrote:Z. Denny had 44 last night...will he be the man to help take us to the NCAAs? Will he still come to BG if Coach Orr gets the axe?

Since he's already signed for next year, the answer would probably be yes...though he could request a release from the scholarship, in the case of Lou leaving. Not sure how that deal works, but seems like I've heard of kids getting released in similar situations.

DAYTON —

After lighting up the scoreboard with a third-straight 40-plus-point performance, Valley View High School senior Zach Denny took one final shot Friday night. This one, though, came courtesy of a Jefferson Bronco. As the two sides went to their benches for the postgame handshake, one Bronco put himself in Denny’s path and delivered a chest bump following the Spartans’ thrilling 70-66 come-from-behind win.

“It’s part of the game,” said Denny, who retaliated with a smile as he continued to the Valley View bench. “I’ve been facing that four years now.”

If you’ve never seen Denny play it’s easy to assume he’s a gunner. He’s not. He takes 42 percent of his team’s shots, but he’s making 46.2 percent from the field and 34.5 percent from 3-point range. On Friday he took 29 shots (and made 15) against Jefferson. Nine other Spartans combined for 26 (and made eight).

“If he’s averaging 25 percent shooting a game, you can say, well, okay (maybe he shouldn’t be shooting so much),” Valley View coach Ben Buehner said. “But if he’s averaging 50 percent a game seeing the defenses he’s facing it’s hard not to let the ball be in his hands.”

If you’ve never seen Denny play, you should. Broncos defenders couldn’t stop his penetration to the basket even though they knew it was coming. In the first quarter he tied the game at 19-19 by hitting a 22-footer with a defender in his face. In the third he halted a Broncos’ rally with another quick-release 3-pointer. He finished the game scoring five of the Spartans’ final seven points, all off free throws.

If you’ve never seen Denny play, take the advice of Jefferson coach Art Winston, who has coached some pretty good ballers in his tenure with the Broncos.

“I enjoyed watching him play. I didn’t enjoy losing, but he plays the game the right way,” Winston said. “He’s legit. He plays an all-around game. I got a lot of respect for his demeanor and his coaches, too. The kid is a reflection of his coaches. He doesn’t talk trash.”

After his 44-point outing Friday — he scored 41 and 51 in his previous two games — Denny increased his area scoring lead to 36.1 points per game. But he’s not the Spartans’ only scoring option. Cooper Nolte entered the weekend averaging 11.5 and Ethan Brown 9.4.

Nolte took a defensive rebound and went baseline-to-baseline for a key basket to start the second half. Andrew Zellner scored off a Denny pass to cut Jefferson’s lead to 62-59 with three minutes left in the game and converted two bonus free throws to put Valley View up 67-64 with 56 seconds to play.

Denny said he and his teammates know the challenge Buehner faces keeping all the players (and sometimes parents) happy. As for Denny, there’s only one number he wants to lead the area in.

“Wins. I just want to win,” said Denny, who averaged 28.8 points last season. “Whatever it takes for our team to win is what I want”

Added Buehner: “As a coach you know you’re not going to please everybody. You do what you think is right for the team to win. He’s a playmaker and we like the ball in his hands. He draws attention.”

He certainly got Jefferson’s on Friday night — both during and after the game.

“He’s probably one of the top players in the state of Ohio,” Winston said. “I don’t think the game has changed, but every so often you get a kid who can shoot from halfcourt. Like a Jim Paxson or a John Paxson. You never know where they’ll pop up, but he’s one of those kids.”

I saw Denny play tonight. Valley View vs Eaton. He had a relatively "quiet" 12 or so in the first half, but turned it up in the second and finished with 43.

What I liked: He can create for himself off the dribble. He has a nice jumpshot that he gets away quickly. He's very aggressive on offense. He's better off the drive than I expected. He draws alot of double and triple teams and still manages to finish. He's got good body control and goes straight up, avoiding charges. He seems like the type that never gets rattled. He got leveled with a cheap shoulder near the end of the game. He got right up, smiled and shrugged it off. His expression barely changed all game.

One thing he'll need to work on is creating for his teammates and actually dishing on a drive once in awhile. I don't recall one time where once he started to drive, he did anything other than shoot, even when he would draw in 3 defenders. It worked out tonight, but that won't fly in college. He missed a 2 handed dunk attempt on a clean breakaway when the game was close. Right now he clearly plays more like a 2 or 3 than a point. He likes to set up without the ball around the perimeter and pop out to get open and fire a quick 3. I liked him better on the drive and when he would work to create his own shot outside. I was surprised they really didn't try to screen for him up top. I would think that would be his game.
He's a solid defender when he chooses to be. He was disruptive and had several steals near the end of the game during a run to pull away, but he didn't look interested in playing d in the first at all. He was cherry picking almost every time Eaton put up a shot. He's plenty fast and athletic enough at this level. It's hard to say how that will translate to D1 competition.
He's got some things to work on, but if he's willing and able to adapt, I think we're getting a good one.

Nice, thanks