21st MCRC Boys Previews: River Rouge

Taking a look at the pre-season top ranked teams participating in the 21st Annual Motor City Roundball Classic.

Team Page (Team info, Schedule, Results, Stats)

River Rouge (18-6) Every year under head coach Lamonta Stone adds value to the Panthers and the state.  Junior point guard Darian Owens-White, junior wing Delantae Peterson, senior forward Javon Lawrence, and sophomore Dalen Parker provide strength at multiple positions for a team that fell short in last year’s regional.. - IPS Basketball
 

(18-6, Class B): Lamonta Stone will be looking for big things from 5-10 junior point guard Darian Owen-White and 6-4 senior Dorian Watson. Javon Lawrence will give the Panthers size inside at 6-7 and 6-5 junior forward Delantea is a physical presence. Darian is the son of Adrian College head coach Mark White. "He is like a coach on the floor and a vocal leader," said Stone of Owen-White, who has an offer from Toledo. "Dorian can play every position on the floor.” -  Detroit News

Outlook: Look for an improved Rouge team with a well-balanced scoring attack. Junior point guard Darian Owens-White always has been a pass-first guy, but he has improved his scoring over the summer. Junior Delantae Peterson, 6-4, is capable of playing either forward spot and scoring inside. Dorian Watson, 6-3, a transfer from South Lyon East, is a physical guard who is a tough matchup. Robert Blackwell, a stalwart from the football team, will be the defensive specialist, and 6-7 Javon Lawrence has a soft touch from the perimeter. -  Detroit Free Press

20. River Rouge (18-5), B: Back for the second year of his second stint as coach at his alma mater, Lamonta Stone thinks this season’s Panthers contingent might wind up better than last year’s squad that won a Class B district championship. Sophomore Darien Owens-White, son of Adrian College coach Mark White, assumes the team’s point guard duties from Stone’s namesake and son, currently playing at Eastern Michigan. Delonte Peterson is a junior and Division I college recruit on the wing. Dorian Watson, a tall guard who transferred in last winter from South Lyon East, will fill in another spot in the backcourt and Javon Lawrence is a 6-foot-7 big guy with a soft touch and Julius Lauder, a lineman on the school’s football team that just finished a season that ended in the state finals, highlight River Rouge’s post attack.  - State Champs