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Brotherly love

Elder Kane-Johnson offers advice and a workout partner

Tribune Chronicle / John Vargo Cyler Kane-Johnson, right, of Niles drives against Boardman’s Zach Ryan Friday night at Niles.

NILES — Cyler Kane-Johnson dribbled near midcourt and heard someone badgering him.

The voice sounded familiar. It should, it was his older brother Cameron, who sat on the sidelines during Friday’s game between Niles and Boardman.

“That’s to hype him up,” said Cameron, who is the all-time leading scorer at Niles with 1,342 points. “I know how his personality is. He’s a real big trash talker. That’s kind of worn off on to me over the years because I was real quiet in high school.

“I talk trash too. Sometimes I might talk trash to him on the sideline. He’ll hit a shot and look at me like I’m an opponent. I know it’s helping him in this area because he a little crazy.”

Cyler, a senior guard, has scored 55, 34 and 26 points in his first three games against Liberty, Salem and Boardman, and now has 1,164 career points.

Boardman utilized a box-and-one defense on the 5-foot-10 Cyler, who made a couple of 3-pointers in double teams — what some might consider high-risk shots. The Spartans defeated Niles on Friday, but couldn’t find a reasonable answer to the Red Dragons’ prolific scorer.

“It’s really hard to stop him,” Boardman coach Pat Birch said. “Our goal was to make him earn everything, really make him work and try to get him frustrated. He still buried some shots on us that you tip your cap. I don’t know what else you can do.

“We tried to get the ball out of his hands and make him work for everything.”

Work. The Kane-Johnson brothers do plenty of it together in the offseason.

Cyler is insistent on working out with Cameron, who currently practices with the Youngstown State University men’s basketball team. Cameron, a non-scholarship player, must sit out this season after transferring from Westminster College. He’ll work out again with his younger brother, just not to appease his desire.

“I’ll be coming home and he’ll ask, ‘Will you be going to the gym?’ “ said Cameron, who has two years remaining at YSU. “Some days I don’t feel like it but I need it for myself too because I’m still chasing a scholarship. I’m glad he’s there to push me. We work out all the time.”

Some shots, they go in for Cyler. Others are off target. Either way doesn’t wane his abilities.

“He taught me how to take control of the game no matter if it’s shooting or rebounding or defensively, just to continue to dominate every possession,” Cyler said. “With shooting, he taught me don’t worry about the last miss and keep shooting. That’s what shooters do.”

Defense. First you might think neither one can play it. Both are gifted offensively, the heck with guarding. It couldn’t be further from the truth.

Cameron flusters his YSU teammates during practice, often playing the opposition’s point or shooting guard. What kind of defensive prowess does Cyler have?

“A lot,” Cameron said. “It’s from guarding me. Definitely a lot since he’s got a body on him, more muscle mass. I think he’s still got to work on his feet a little bit more. That’s coming. That’ll develop.

“He’s definitely got the body, got the IQ. He’s got the athleticism. He’s got to work on his feet a little bit more.”

Cameron left Friday’s game around 9 p.m. He had to get back home to rest up for a Saturday morning session with YSU assistant coach Jason Slay, who always displays a very energetic, hard-working personality, even at 8 a.m.

Cameron said Cyler would like the session with coach Slay, one that leaves Cameron very weary. The payoff is great, though, sort of like the brothers’ sessions together.

“We like to get pushed hard,” Cameron said. “In the moment we might hate it, but we know in the long run it’s going to help us out. We love it afterward.”

Niles coach Doug Foster knows how hard Cyler works on his game, something he appreciates.

“The biggest thing with Cyler is he’s going to give us what he’s got every single night,” Foster said.

It’s those game nights Cyler looks forward to, the antagonism from the stands. From Cameron, it has more impact than from a normal heckler.

“I’ll hear him yell at me,” Cyler said. “If I make a good move, he’ll give me a little look like, ‘There you go.’ It’s a love-hate thing. He’s hard on me.”

That’s what you call brotherly love.

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