Boys Basketball: Aekins finds right recipe for success with Scots
Wednesday, January 24, 2024
By Jarrod Ulrey
julrey@cbussports.com
Dominique Aekins of Walnut Ridge is one of the standouts in the City League this season. Photo: John Hulkenberg
His numbers and his role for the Walnut Ridge boys basketball team have shifted this winter, but Dominique Aekins has never felt more in his element.
The 5-foot-9 senior has transitioned from having a scoring-first mentality into being a balanced leader and all-around combo guard for a Scots’ team that is in the thick of the City League-South Division championship race.
Cooking — off the court, as well as on it — is something else he’s good at.
A Duquesne-commit, Aekins is considering studying sports management or the culinary arts when he gets to college.
“I love to cook all the time – shrimp alfredo, stuffed shells … I cook chicken very well, seafood, just a whole bunch of things,” Aekins said. “For our team meals, me and my mom will cook.”
It’s all part of a mentality that he describes as having to “go and get it.”
After attending KIPP Columbus but not playing varsity basketball as a freshman, Aekins transferred to Walnut Ridge for his sophomore year and immediately became a scoring threat.
He averaged 18 points in 2021-22 when the Scots struggled to a 7-14 finish and upped that mark to 28 per game last season when they improved to 13-8 and finished third at 11-3 in the City-South.
Aekins is averaging 18.9 points, 4.5 rebounds, five assists and three steals this winter, including finishing with 26 points, seven rebounds, four assists and three steals in a 91-56 win Jan. 23 over Eastmoor Academy.
On Jan. 16 during an 82-35 win over Independence, Aekins surpassed the 1,000-point mark for his career.
He has 1,051 career points heading into the Scots’ league game Jan. 26 at Briggs.
Walnut Ridge’s Dominique Aekins shoots over the Olentangy Orange defense on Jan. 20 at Reynoldsburg. Photo: John Hulkenberg
“He’s a three-level scorer, and as a senior, the game has slowed down for him,” coach Chuck Jefferson said. “He’s really playing at a good pace and just picking his poison. Some nights he’s still exciting and looks like that player that averaged 30 points a game last year. Other nights, he’s facilitating and still setting the table for his teammates.”
Aekins has given the Scots another of the City’s top offensive threats after they lost VonCameron Davis to graduation in 2020.
Davis was named Mr. Basketball that season when he averaged 26 points and helped Walnut Ridge reach a Division I regional semifinal. He closed his prep career as the City’s all-time leading scorer with 2,201 points.
“This year, (Aekins has) really stepped up his leadership,” Jefferson said. “He understands now, with him being signed to Duquesne, and he’s just focused on winning and doing everything he needs to do as a senior leader.”
Walnut Ridge is 9-6 overall and second at 8-1 in the City-South.
South is 10-3 overall and leads the league at 8-0 heading into its game Jan. 25 against Eastmoor Academy.
The Bulldogs edged the Scots 52-46 on Jan. 10 at home but must play the second round of league action Feb. 2 at Walnut Ridge.
If the teams wind up tied for the league lead, however, South will win the tiebreaker to determine which team represents the South Division in the City League championship game Feb. 17 because the Scots competed in the City final more recently.
While Walnut Ridge won its first City title since 1971 in 2020, South hasn’t been to the City title game since it won its second City championship in three seasons in 2019.
Walnut Ridge’s Dominique Aekins works up the court against Olentangy Orange on Jan. 20 at Reynoldsburg. Photo: John Hulkenberg
“In January, there’s been a lot of games going on, so we’ve had less practices and more games,” Aekins said. “It’s just been the team chemistry (that’s been our strength). We’ve definitely progressed as a group and individually. The whole team is progressing.”
While Aekins was first-team all-district and special mention all-state in Division I last season, senior guard L.J. Foster, sophomore forwards De’Yaire Adams and Marquise Lucas and freshman guard Deon Johnson have settled in alongside him to provide what Jefferson believes is one of the area’s most versatile teams. Lucas averages 15 points and five rebounds and Foster averages 12 points.
Walnut Ridge will learn its postseason drawing at the seeding meeting Feb. 11.
“I’m really just liking our versatility and our youth,” Jefferson said. “We’re led by our two seniors, Dominique Aekins and L.J. Foster, but really with our sophomores and our freshman sensation, Deon Johnson, our versatility one through eight is what’s intriguing for our squad. It’s a really young group but really very competitive. … We should be playing our best basketball as the tournament begins.
“(Johnson is) like a ‘Swiss Army Knife.’ There had been so many years (Aekins) was our only ball-handler. (Aekins has) learned a lot between his sophomore year and now.”
Aekins is the younger brother of former football standout and 2014 Reynoldsburg graduate Jordan Aekins, but he gravitated toward basketball at an early age.
He also considered Gannon, West Liberty and Lincoln Memorial before committing to Duquesne.
Having a more well-rounded team around him has helped him hit his comfort zone this winter.
“I’m a pass-first guy, so I like to facilitate more off the ball and get my teammates involved,” Aekins said. “Last year I averaged 28 points, but I don’t need to take as many shots as I did last year because I’ve got help now.”
Walnut Ridge’s Dominique Aekins drives to the basket against Olentangy Orange on Jan. 20 at Reynoldsburg. Photo: John Hulkenberg