Ohio High February 2010: Postseason Tournament Previews and Predictions

PrintingMiami Valley Sports Magazine (MVP)

miamivalleysports.com

PhotographyStephanie Porter, Gary Housteau,

Nick Falzerano, Joe Maiorana, Jim Rinaldi,Scott Grau, Jim Metzendorf, Os Figuero,

Ben Barnes

ContributorsTom Jenkins, Jeff Williams, Kurt Stubbs,

Brad Morris, Shayne Combs

Staff WritersKirk Larrabee, Steve Helwagen,

Dave Biddle

Recruiting EditorsMark Porter, Bill Kurelic

Managing EditorEric Frantz

Order online atwww.jjhuddle.com. One

year ($19.95), two-year ($34.95) and three-year ($49.95) subscriptions available.

Subscriptions

To advertise in Ohio HighMagazine, contact Eric

Frantz at [email protected]

Questions, commentsor suggestions can be

sent to [email protected]. We encourage yourfeedback.

Letters to Editor

Ohio High Magazine is published online nine times a yearand also produces an online and hard copy issue in July(Football Preview/Year in Review). Ohio High is an inde-pendent source of news and features relating to Ohio highschool sports. Ohio High strives to report informationbased on fact, but assumes no responsability for any inac-curacies that may appear. Ohio High is not authorized,sponsored or sanctioned by any university, athletic confer-ence or athletic governing body. Subscriptions are avail-able and may be purchased online at jjhuddle.com.

Copyright 2010, Ohio High Magazine and MVP Magazine, LLC.All rights reserved.COVER PHOTOS:NICK FALZERANO (miamivalleysports.com)

c

Volume 7 Issue 6

JJHuddle.com

A breakdown of the upcoming state tournament: D-Ialready over? Who to watch in D-II, III and IV

BoysBasketball Tourney Preview14

Photo by Nick Falzerano

Monroeville placed second in D-III last year. Do the Eagles

bump up to No. 1 this season?

St. Ed’s in trouble? Monroeville favorite in D-III? Howmany titles does Graham win?

Wrestling State Tourney Preview20

A breakdown of the upcoming state tournament: MountNotre Dame’s run over? Toledo set to dominate?

Girls Basketball Tourney Preview6

Girls Hoops Biggest Surprises this season11

Boys Hoops Biggest Surprises this season18

http://www.jjhuddle.com/uploads/OH_Feb_2010.pdf

J JHUDDLE .COM6 JJ Huddle ’ s Ohio High

Gir ls Basketbal l State Tournament Preview

he highest concentration of basketball talent has been for thelast several years in Southwest Ohio (Cincinnati/Daytonareas). Before that it was in Northeast Ohio(Cleveland/Canton/Youngstown areas) and before that inCentral Ohio (Columbus area). Now for the 1st time in my 12years of operating Ohio Girls Basketball Report as if it were

in the lyrics of Bob Dylan's enhanced social conscience of the '60s...itis the 'Girl(s) from the North(west) Country' (Toledo area) leaving allothers 'on the dark side of the road'.

Although I am not picking all of 'em in this preview, this year's statetournament could make history as all 4 division state champions couldcome from the geographic northwest quadrant of our state....all fromthe same area code..the 419. All of the following northwest Ohioschools are legit title contenders... Division I Toledo Start (AP No. 6)or Toledo Waite (AP No. 5); Division II Tiffin Columbian (AP No. 3);Division III Findlay Liberty Benton (AP No. 1); Division IV Ottoville (APNo. 1), Kalida (AP No. 2) & Delphos St. John's (AP No. 4).

In the previous 34 years of holding Ohio's high school girls basket-ball state tournament never before have all 4 division state championscome from the same geographic region of the state in the same year.

Could this be the year the moon and the stars align themselves fornorthwest Ohio?...

Division I

Final Four Favorites: Cincinnati Princeton, Dresden Tri-Valley,Toledo Start & TwinsburgState Champion Favorite: Toledo StartHey Nero....you can stop fiddling...Rome has burned all the way to

the ground. After 7 years of dominance (2003 - 2009) by southwestOhio teams, this year's D-I state champion will come from a regionother than the Cincinnati/Dayton area.

It is also reasonable to project this year could mark the 1st year in 6years (since 2003) the Division I Final Four will be comprised of allpublic schools.

Fairborn RegionalWith Mt. Notre Dame and Lakota West coming back to the pack in

southwest Ohio this year, any of 13 teams have a legit shot at repre-senting southwest Ohio in thisyear's D-I Final Four. Mt. NotreDame with the best 2-guard scor-ing combination in the state ofKathryn Reynolds (2011) andRaeshaun Gaffney(2012) startedout the year as the favorite in thisregion. However, Reynolds ACLinjury in December opened thedoor. Visually it looks like one ofthose 6:00 AM fire sales with all13 teams fighting to be firstthrough...(listed alphabetically)Butler, Fairborn, Fairmont,Hughes, Lakota West, Mason,Mt. Notre Dame, Oak Hills,Princeton, Springboro,Sycamore, Ursuline and WalnutHills. (Colerain and Lakota Eastwould make it 15 teams but theychoose to go into Harrison 5District which takes the winner tothe Westerville (Central OH)Regional)

Tournament or play-off basket-ball is quite often decided bydefense and guard play. Spaceprevents me from analyzing eachof the 13 teams from southwest Ohio who have a legit shot at comingout of the Fairborn Regional. But, I do like Coach Jill Phillips'Princeton Vikings because of their ability to extend their defense andapply relentless defensive pressure. However, any one of these 13teams are capable this year of beating any of the other 12 on one dayfor one game for one prize.

Speaking of prizes there will be only one this year for southwestOhio. Teams down there had gotten used to having 2 prizes with 2teams in the Division I Final Four in 4 of the last 6 years as one of theprize-winning southwest Ohio teams travelled through the Central(Westerville) Regional. Colerain the highest D-I seed from SW Ohioand the most talented this year in SW Ohio with Ashley Wanninger(2010 - Xavier), Shelley Harper (2012), et al is attempting to be the5th "poacher" in 7 years as they head to the Westerville Regional...Pickerington North (AP No. 1) and Dresden Tri-Valley (AP No. 2) willhave something to say about that this year.

Westerville RegionalCome the 2nd weekend in March the Cincinnati Colerain Cardinals

will be re-thinking their decision to go into the Harrison 5 District asthey meet up with the AP's No. 1 Pickerington North Panthers in the

35th Annual Girls Basketball State Championships

TournamentPreview

One zip codecould sweepall four statetitles...the419

Suddenly Toledo replacesSouthwest Ohio as the state’s most

dominant region

DDiivviissiioonn IIAll four state semifnal teams

will be public?DDiivviissiioonn IIII

Can anyone stop hathawayBrown?

DDiivviissiioonn IIIIIIThree undefeated teams

make the Final Four?DDiivviissiioonn IIVV

Berlin Hiland nets fourth titlein six years?

T

J JHUDDLE .COM 7JJ Huddle ’ s Ohio High

Gir ls Basketbal l S tate Tournament PreviewSTORY BY TOM JENK INS , OGBR

Photo by Gary Housteau

Junior point guard Maleeka

Kynard, an Ohio State commit,

has Toledo Start in the hunt

for a second straight state

tournament appearance.


Gir ls Basketbal l S tate Tournament Preview

semi finals of the Westerville (Central) Regional . Although Pick Northhas one of the top 5 all-time coaches on the sideline in Dave Butcherwith top central Ohio players Kavuna Edwards (2011) and NicoleOlsewski (2010 Austin Peay), I like Marty Bice's Lady Dawgs fromDreseden Tri-Valley (AP No. 2) to come out of the Westerville(Central) Regional this year.

Like Tom Cruise, the Lady Dawg senior trio of Hannah Luburgh(Akron), Carly Young (Akron) & Alyssa Miller (Ashland) from Tri-Valleyhave shown they are on a mission this year...not an impossible mis-sion. In spite of having a relatively weak schedule, Tri Valley hasshown, in beating Boardman at Classic in the Country VII this year,they can compete and beat the traditional D-I powers in the state.After getting derailed by Northland last year in the district semis, thisteam from the east has learned about not looking ahead...this yearthey won't be looking past Columbus Northland with freshman phe-nom, Alexis Peterson and looking ahead to Columbus Brookhaven'sjunior trio of Travecia Franklin, Brianna Holmes & Marah Morris or theT'Shera Lucas (2010 Kent State) led Reynoldsburg Raiders on theirside of the bracket or ahead to Pickerington North or Colerain on theother side of the bracket.

Canton RegionalAs expected and predicted, there was a shift in power in the D-I

northeast last year...just expected the shift to be towards the Tigers ofTwinsburg with the Lady Pups of Canton McKinley having an outsidechance...well, the Lady Pups led by then freshman phenom, AmerystAlston and under the direction of Coach Pam & Willie Davis foundtheir way to Columbus. This year there are 3 teams that have a legitshot to get to Columbus from the Canton (northeast) D-I Regional...Youngstown Boardman (AP No. 10), Canton McKinley (AP No. 9)and Twinsburg (AP No. 3).

The return of Doriyon Glass to the backcourt gives Boardman ashot. Although they are a long shot we have to remember that Spartanseniors Glass, Darryce Moore (Ohio State) and Monica Touvelle(Youngstown State) had their freshman seasons culminate at the Final4 in 2007. Couple that with the fact that Coach Moschella and his near600 wins is a master of preparing his teams for one game against oneopponent.

The Lady Pups of Canton McKinley led by now super soph AmerystAlston, junior Lemeisha Lennon and senior Sydnee Penn (ShawneeState) have a chance to repeat their trip to Columbus but I likeTwinsburg to come out of this region. Former Solon head coach and1st year at the helm of the Twinsburg program, Julie Solis has thisteam poised for a run at a state title. After a rough opening to the sea-son with a 27 point loss to D-II power Hathaway Brown, Twinsburghas re-grouped and has run the table to date with a quality win overD-III power Regina as well as wins over tradition rich ChaminadeJulienne and Lakota West in this year's Classic in the Country VII.Twinsburg's 6'4 Malina Howard is playing up to her national rankingand freshman Ashley Morrissette has come of age and is no longerplaying like a freshman.

Norwalk RegionalLast year I stated Toledo Start was the clear cut favorite to come

out of the Norwalk (northwest) Regional...correct...this year ToledoStart is again my favorite to come out of the D-I northwest but not soclear after getting waxed by Toledo Waite by 20 in early February.

There are only 3 teams in Ohio that can start 5 NCAA D-I prospectsthis year and Toledo Start is the only D-I school that can do so...D-IIHathaway Brown and D-III Regina are the other 2. That being said all5 that start for Start are nationally ranked NCAA Division I prospects...5’10 Tiffani Blackman (senior / Seton Hall), 6’3 Azia Bishop (junior), pgMaleeka Kynard (junior / Ohio State), 2g Jaymie Jackson (sophomore)

and Sharon Sweeney (freshman) with 6'4 CeDra Evans (sophomore)coming off the bench.

As stated previously the northwest quadrant of the state has thehighest concentration of talent of any other geographic region in Ohio.

With that said the D-I state title this year lies with whoever comesout of the Norwalk Regional...and that will be Toledo Start (AP No. 6)or Toledo Waite (AP No. 5)...not even Marion Harding (AP No. 4) withShawnta' Dyer (2010 Louisville) and Brenae

Harris (2011) who have run the table so far can challenge these 2powerhouses from the Toledo City League.

As demonstrated in early February, only Toledo Waite with arguablythe best player in Ohio, 6’3 senior Natasha Howard (Florida State),can challenge these talented Spartans from Roy C. Start. There is areason Natasha Howard is one of 2 players from Ohio to be namedMcDonald's All-American...she is good enough to put her team on herback and go the distance...she is that good...once she puts her teamon her back her biggest challenge will be to keep them from jumpingoff !!!

Division II

Final Four Favorites: Chaminade Julienne,ChillicotheUnioto,Hathaway Brown & Walsh Jesuit

State Champion Favorite: Hathaway BrownWhere Division I this year will be dominated by the public school

sector, I expect D-II this year to be dominated by the private schoolsin 3 of the 4 regions.

With that said, it will be a dog fight in 3 of the 4 regions. Only theBarberton Regional (Northeast Ohio) has a clear cut "lead pipe lock".

Barberton RegionalThe No. 1 seeds in each of the 4 districts comprising this region

should advance to this regional...Salem (sorry Struthers); Geneva(sorry Conneaut); Canton South (AP No. 9) (sorry Hoban), and;Hathaway Brown (AP No. 5) (sorry Chagrin Falls). With the exceptionof Hathaway Brown everyone else's season comes to an end at thisregional. This year's reigning D-II State Champion Hathaway Brownwill be making their 4th consecutive trip to Columbus. No one in thisregion can compete with The Blazers ...period. HB is one of 3 teamsin the state of Ohio that can start 5 NCAA D-I prospects. The other 2teams are D-I Toledo Start and D-III Regina. Geneva is untested byvirtue of their schedule. As good as Amy Scullion (2010 Ohio State) ofSalem is she does not have enough support nor does Canton South'sShavon Robinson (2010 Ohio U).

Hathaway Brown is the clear cut favorite to repeat as the D-II statechampion. No one in this division has played the schedule that TheBlazers have played which was arguably the toughest in the stateregardless of division. No one in this division has the talent or thedepth to go 32 minutes with The Blazers. With seniors Alexis Dobbs(American U), Mylan Woods (Northwestern), Erica Almady (MiamiOH); juniors Molly Crosby, Tanisha Lawler, Sarah Poland & AlannaGuy and freshmen Vanessa Smith & Nia Marshall, the only team inDivision II that can beat Hathaway Brown is Hathaway Brown...theyhave shown signs that can happen !!!

Ontario RegionalPopular opinion calls it a 2-horse race in the Ontario

Regional...Walsh Jesuit (AP No. 1) and Tiffin Columbian (AP No.3)...Tiffin Columbian and Walsh Jesuit. Come post time for all thehorses to go in the gates the field will be full with Lima Shawnee,Lima Bath, Perkins (AP No. 6), Wauseon, Willard and newcomerRocky River being formidable challengers. Led by super soph HannahMcCue, Rocky River is new to the field as they come over from the




Senior point guard Alexis Dobbs

and Hathaway Brown are looking

for thier fourth straight trip to the

D-II state semifinals.



Barberton Regional where they were a regional semi-finalist last year.By the time they reach the 16th pole and round into the home

stretch the regional semi final game between Tiffin Columbian andWalsh Jesuit will determine this year's representative at the state final4. Both Walsh Jesuit and Tiffin Columbian have too much depth andtoo much experience for the other schools named above to challengeeither.

At the finish line I like Walsh Jesuit over the Jill Stein (2010 BowlingGreen) led Tornadoes from Tiffin. The outside game Walsh Jesuit haswith super soph Rachel Theriot and seniors Sarah Sureck, Cheryl Yuand Kara Goliak to go with the inside power of Nneka Offodile (2010

Loyola MD) and soph Liz Reeves will be too much for Tiffin Columbianto overcome.

Springfield RegionalLike its D-I counterpart in the southwest region, the Springfield

Regional (formerly the Vandalia Regional) will be the most competitiveand have the most crowded field of any of the 4 D-II regionals with 7teams having a shot to come out not to mention the bevy of individualtalent that will be on display.

The Mason 3 district will be particularly interesting as McDonald'sAll-American co head coach Scott Rogers' No. 1 Cincinnati seedIndian Hill Braves are joined by No. 1 & No. 2 Dayton seeds Tipp CityTippecanoe (AP No. 4) and Dayton Carroll.

In the other 3 districts comprising this regional, Kettering Alter (APNo. 2) and Big Walnut will not be challenged where ChaminadeJulienne (AP No. 8) should be challenged by the Kenton RidgeCougars in their district finals.

If I was asked to write this prognosticating article in December, Iwould have the Ashley Christie (2010 Mt. St. Mary's University) ledAlter Knights making their 3rd consecutive Final 4 appearance. I wouldhave stated that Chaminade Julienne has no chance...they were awful

in December...but then in January as if with a wave of a magic wand,1st year head coach, Duane Williams transformed this team into alegit contender. They beat University NJ and played even with D-I pickTwinsburg (44-40) at Classic in the Country VII. The Eagles then gohome from Berlin and beat Kettering Alter and Dayton Carroll. I guessit ain't how you drive it is how you arrive...it helps when you haveMcDonald's All-American Samarie Walker behind the wheel.Chaminade arrives in Columbus this year.

TBA Regional (Central / Eastern OH Regional)Looking at this regional a Bob Seger line keeps popping in my

head...'like working on a mystery without any clues'. Heck, the OHSAAhas not even determined the site of this regional formerly known asthe Zanesville Regional. All I do know is that River View will not bemaking its 4th Final 4 in 5 years and whoever the representative fromthis region is, it will be a newcomer to the Final 4 dance card inColumbus.

I like Cambridge but I don't think their schedule has not made themtournament ready; I like 6'4 junior Chelsea "The Butler Did it" Butlerand Minerva with their 2 quality wins over Canton South (AP No.8)...the only 2 losses Canton South has to date but they are not seed-ed in their district; I like Coach Feasel's Olentangy Lady Braves with6'2 Christine Delaney (2010 Lake Erie College) who dropped toDivision II this year but unsure of their capabilities other than on I-270Beltway; I like Miami Trace and have for the last couple of years butthey have come up short in each of those years; I like ChillicotheUnioto (AP No. 10) and their quality win over Cincinnati Indian Hill (APNo. 7) earlier in the year but, uhm...but, uhm...no buts...by default I likeChillicothe Unioto to be the newcomer to the Final 4 D-II dancecard...but then again it could be Colonel Mustard in the Library withthe Candlestick Holder !!!

Division III

Final Four Favorites: Findlay Liberty Benton, Middletown Madison,Oak Hill & ReginaState Champion Favorite: ReginaOf all 4 divisions, Division III will have the most teams return to

Columbus for an encore performance in this year's Final Four...3 ofthe 4...Liberty Benton (AP No. 1), Oak Hill (AP No. 3) and Regina (APNo. 2).

Unlike last year where Regina ran the table (27-0) the Royals haveshown some areas of vulnerability this year giving rays of hope to theother 3 teams at the D-III dance.

The odd thing this year is I expect Liberty Benton, MiddletownMadison and Oak Hill to all be 20-0 coming into the Final Four andRegina being the only team in the D-III Final Four to have any loss-es...2 in the left hand column, one to D-II Hathaway Brown and one toD-I Twinsburg.

Nonetheless, I must give credit where credit is due...the AP has thisone right in that all 4 of these schools are the top 4 in the AP Poll.

Cuyahoga Falls RegionalAs Jackie Wilson once sang 'the whispers are getting louder'...come

high noon on March 20, 2010 those whispers will reach an all timedecibel level where some will be cheering "long live the Queen" whileothers will be rejoicing "ding dong the witch is dead"...on that date theRegina Royals' 12 year reign with 7 state championships will end asthe school is closing its doors at the end of this school year and thelandscape of Ohio D-III girls basketball will change.

In their quest for a 7th title, Regina is one of 3 schools that can put5 legit NCAA D-I prospects on the floor...the best point guard in the

Kettering Alter and Dayton Carroll are just two of the

teams that will vie for the D-II Springfield Regional title.

The race also includes CJ, Tippecanoe and Kenton Ridge.



Gir ls Basketbal l Surpr ises

AA llooookk aatt ssoommee ooff tthhee bbiiggggeesstt ssttoorriieess ooff tthhee yyeeaarr iinnggiirrllss bbaasskkeettbbaallll::

BBoottttlleenneecckk iinn SSoouutthhwweesstt DDiivviissiioonn IILike everyone I fully expected traditional powers Mt. NotreDame and Lakota West to come back to the pack in the D-Isouthwest region. I just did not expect the pack to be sobig in numbers...13 teams have a legit shot to come out ofthe D-I Fairborn Regional...some have a better shot thanothers but it will not be a surprise no matter who comesout of there. Alphabetically: Butler, Fairborn, Fairmont,Hughes, Lakota West, Mason, Mt. Notre Dame, Oak Hills,Princeton, Springboro, Sycamore, Ursuline and WalnutHills. It would be 15 but Colerain & Lakota East chose to gointo the Harrison 5 district which takes the winner to theWesterville (Central OH) D-I Regional. As a sub-surprise tothis category would be Oak Hills reeling off 10 wins in arow to start the season.

NNuummbbeerr ooff NNCCAAAA DD--II CCoolllleeggee SSiiggnneeeessSince the 1999-2000 season Ohio has averaged 65 to 80NCAA D-I college signees with the most being from the2003 class when 103 players from Ohio signed D-I collegescholarships. Between 2003 and 2008 10 to 12 Ohioteams a year started 5 legit NCAA D-I prospects. This yearthere were only 3 teams (Hathaway Brown, Regina &Toledo Start) capable of starting 5 legit NCAA D-I prospectsyet Ohio has had 67 players to date sign NCAA D-I collegescholarships. One would have to surmise that parody is aresult of the talent being more evenly spread out.

MMccDDoonnaalldd''ss OOvveerrssiigghhttThe McDonald's All American Selection Committee got 2 ofthem right from Ohio in selecting Natasha Howard (ToledoWaite / Florida State) and Samarie Walker (ChaminadeJulienne / UConn). I think there are 5 to 6 players fromOhio that were deserving this year. In 2003 Ohio had 5McDonald's All-Americans. (Alison Bales - Beavercreek /Duke; Jessica Davenport - Columbus Independence / OhioState; Dee Davis - Cincinnati Princeton / Vanderbilt; BrandiHoskins - Chaminade Julienne / Ohio State, and BrittanyHunter - Columbus Brookhaven / UConn). I did not expectOhio to have 5 this year but I did think 3 to 4 would beselected especially with the game being held in Columbus

OH. {Note: The McDonald's Selection Committee did getthe coaches right with Dave Schlabach (Berlin Hiland) & Dr.Scott Rogers (Indain Hill)}

MMoosstt SSuurrpprriissiinngg WWiinnss && BBeeaatt DDoowwnnssThere were several quality contending teams that had sur-prising beat downs and 'scratch your head' wins this yearin the same season. The following are 5 that stand-out.

- Chaminade Julienne's gettting a double digit beat downby Lutheran East in December at the Braggin' Rights Classicthen winning over nationally ranked University NJ at Classicin Country VII. - Columbus Brookhaven getting beat by 20+ in earlyDecember at Toledo Start then beating Africentric inFebruary for the Columbus City Championship. - Toledo Start win over Top 10 Potter's House (FL) atClassic in the Country VII then in early February gettingbeat down by 20 at Toledo Waite. {Note Toledo Start is theonly Ohio team to beat Potter's House of the 8 Ohio teamsthat have played thme over the last 2 years.}.- Twinsburg's 25+ point beat down by Hathaway Brownin late November then in January an overtime win againstRegina.- Youngstown Boardman's 30+ point beat down byHathaway Brown in early December then later in themonth beating Canton McKinley.

IImmppaacctt ooff FFrreesshhmmaann Not since 1999 - 2000 season when the Class of 2003were freshmen have so many freshman impacted the suc-cess of their high school varsity teams especially at some ofthe larger enrollment and traditional powerhouse schools.Those freshmen include the following 12 players fromaround the state...(folks before you get too excited thatsomeone is not listed, this is not intended to be a completelist nor a top list of impact freshmen)

LLiisstteedd aallpphhaabbeettiiccaallllyy:: Zenobia Bess (Gahanna Lincoln);Paige Cashin (Newark); Destini Cooper (Reynoldsburg);Aaliyah Dotson (Canton McKinley); Marley Hill (PickeringtonCentral); Ashley Morrissette (Twinsburg); Alexis Peterson(Columbus Northland); Hannah Plybon (Orrville); EmilyRoper (Cincinnati Princeton); Vanessa Smith (HathawayBrown); Sharon Sweeney (Toledo Start); Martha Thompson(Regina)

-- TToomm JJeennkkiinnss,, OOGGBBRR

Surprises this season?There have been plenty...



state Tay'ler Mingo (2010 Florida State); 6'2 PaSonna Hope (2010 Ol'Miss); 6'2 junior Therany Dunnigan; super soph Nirra Fields, andfreshman Martha Thompson

Although Regina's road to Columbus is a bit more challenging thanlast year, in the end from Pymatuning Valley to Smithville to Orrville toYoungstown Ursuline to Akron Manchester to Loudonville that age-oldanthem of "Wait Until Next Year" will be echoing throughout theCuyahoga Falls Region!!!

Lexington RegionalExpect the Liberty Benton Eagles to soar out of this region although

they could encounter some turbulence along the way. Led by seniorstalwart Amanda Hyde, Liberty Benton returns 4 of their 5 startersfrom last year Final 4 (23-2) team. Rejoining Amanda Hyde in theEagles' formation heading back to Columbus this year are sharpshooting sophomore Caite Craft, junior Shanay Gibson and seniorAmber Peterson.

To land safely at the Schottenstein Center the LB Eagles will haveto fly past the Flyers of Milbury Lake (AP No. 6) in the districts, thenwithstand the battering attack of the Tinora Rams from Defiance (APNo. 8) in the regional semis, then survive and advance against theNew London Wildcats or the Collins Western Reserve Roughriders orthe Megan White (2010 Tennessee-Martin) led Heath Bulldogs in theregional finals.

The reward last year for getting out of this region was LibertyBenton got to face Regina in the state semifinals (lost 59-30). Thisyear the reward would be not having to face Regina until champi-onship Saturday

Athens RegionalWalking softly and carrying a big stick...a big oak stick..the Oaks

from Oak Hill are second only to Regina in Division III to be a 'leadpipe lock' in making an encore appearance at this year's State FinalFour.

Trying to turn these Oaks into paper and furniture are several lum-ber"jills"...the Karli Beasley led North Adams Green Devils, CoachJack Vanreeth's now D-III West Muskingum Tornadoes, ChillicotheZane Trace and the AP's No. 5 ranked Zoarville Tuscarawas ValleyTrojans. One thing that all of these teams will have to learn...in orderto chop down these Oaks you need a chainsaw not a hatchet...akin toSean Connery in 'The Untouchables'..."don't bring a knife to a gun-fight"

Just take a look at Coach Hale's forest of Oaks..they return all 5starters...in fact they return their top 8 from last year's 25-2 D-III staterunner-up team. Led by fearless point guard junior Mikie Strite theseOaks are poised to make this the 2nd of 3 to 4 consecutive Final Fourappearances. With only losing 2 of their top 8 next year, I will go onthe record now and predict the Oak Hill Oaks will be next year's D-IIIstate champion...this year it is still Regina's to lose.

Springfield RegionalHow appropriate that the newcomer to this year's D-III Final Four

dance will come from a newly named regional...this regional was for-merly known as the Vandalia Regional. This is also the most interest-ing of the 4 Division III regionals in that I can see any of 3 teams com-ing out...in reverse order of my picks...No. 3 would be Anna, No. 2would be Columbus Africentric and my pick to come out of this regionsis Middletown Madison.

Ana is like that Aunt who just won't go away...you know the one thatis always..."your hair is too long" or "your skirt is too short"...that one.Ranked No. 9 in the AP poll, I have the Rockets on the outside lookingin. Anna's advantage is in the bracket position where they are oppo-site of both Africentric and Madison. With Africentric and Madisonmeeting in the regional semis both could think their semi final is the

regional final game leaving Anna a shot to spank either one...just likethat Aunt that won't go away.

Having been a fixture in the D-IV Final Four since 2007 with 3appearances and 2 state D-IV championships, Coach Will McKinney'sLady Nubians are acting like The Jeffersons and are 'moving on up'this year. I really like the Raven Ferguson (2011) led Africentric LadyNubians but I think it will take them a year to navigate their waythrough the D-III waters before getting back to Columbus.

Coach John Rossi's Middletown Madison Mohawks are my pick tocome out this regional this year. Each year they have made a progres-sive step towards getting to the Final Four. Last year Madisonadvanced to the regional finals before losing to Versailles. TheMohawks have the best one-two offensive punch in the SpringfieldRegional with the strong inside out play of highly recruited 6'2 juniorAlly Malott and 5'10 senior Lindsey Hoskins (Lehigh). Note: The Springfield Regional semifinal between Columbus

Africentric and Middletown Madison will be well worth the price ofadmission no matter what the cost. The match-up betweenAfricentric's Ferguson and Madison's Malott will feature 2 of the top 3college prospects in Ohio's junior class plus you get the undercardmatch-up of Madison's Hoskins (Lehigh) against Africentric's juniorBrittany Thomas (Akron).

Division IV

Final Four Favorites: Berlin Hiland, Columbus Harvest Prep, MariaStein Marion Local & Ottoville State Champion Favorite: Berlin HilandFor the last 5 years it has been Berlin Hiland...Berlin Hiland

...Columbus Africentric...Berlin Hiland...Columbus Africentric...WithColumbus Africentric having moved up to Division III this year thatleaves Berlin Hiland looking for a new dance partner at The Schott. Massillon RegionalThe D-IV Massillon Regional is a mirror image of the D-III

Springfield Regional in that it is a 3 horse race...Mogadore, LutheranEast & Berlin Hiland...sorry Kirtland (AP No. 7) but I don't think youhave seen anyone on your schedule like the high flying Falcons ofLutheran East who you will face in your district finals.

The Jordan Poth led Mogadore Wildcats have been creeping quietlyunder the AP's radar all year. Like Anna in the Springfield D-III region-al, Mogadore's advantage is in the bracket position where they areopposite of both Hiland and Lutheran East. With Hiland and LutheranEast meeting in the regional semis both could think their semi final isthe regional final.

There is no question that the Lutheran East post combination ofLatisha Walker (2010 Xavier) and Amber Bogard (2011) are not onlythe most dominant in this regional but are one of the best post combi-nations in the state regardless of division.

There is no question that Berlin Hiland entered the season with oneof the best 3-guard combination in the state regardless of division andwithout question the best in D-IV with seniors Hilary Weaver (Lehigh),Noelle Yoder (Bowling Green) and Mykaila Mast (Ohio Dominican).Mast went down with a late November knee injury...enter the Millergirls sophomore guards McKenzie & Regan.

As stated earlier come tournament / play-off basketball at any leveldefense and guard play are the keys. Post play gets you to the tourna-ment but superior guard play prevails in the end.

Berlin Hiland with its superior guard play makes its 11th Final Fourappearance this year in McDonald's All-American co-head coach DaveSchlabach's 19 years at the helm.

Elida RegionalThe 4 districts comprising the Elida Regional are the most balanced



of any of the 4 D-IV regionals. Like the D-I Fairborn Regional there are14 teams that could come out of the Elida D-IV Rregional.

In the Archbold District there are 4 teams in legit contention for thetitle...Pettisville, Edgerton, Stryker and Toledo Christian.

In the Attica District there are also 4 teams vying for the title...NewRiegel, Bucyrus Wynford (AP No. 8), Mt. Blanchard Riverdale andFostoria St. Wendelin

In the Findlay District, I really like Toledo recruit junior StephanieRecker and the Pandora Gilboa Rockets but they have to get by VanBuren in the semis and either Arlington or Holgate in the district finals.

In the Lima District the battle for the title will come down to 2

schools with statewide recognized coaches...Coach Nann Stechshulteand her Minster Wildcats against Coach Treva Fortkamp and herMarion Local Flyers.

Coach Fortkamp and her Marion Local Flyers have the easiest pathto the regional semis, have more depth and better size than any of theteams from the other 3 districts... Flyers file flight plans for Columbus!

Pickerington RegionalTwo of the four seats are in the Pickerington Regional are already

reserved...Waterford (AP No. 10) from the Athens 2 District andColumbus Harvest Prep (AP No. 5) from the Westerville District.

New Boston Glenwood or Reedsville Eastern (AP No. 6) are theodds on favorite to fill the seat for the Athens 1 District. St. MaryCentral Catholic from Sandusky, Mansfield St. Peter's, ColonelCrawford or Norwalk St. Paul are the contenders to fill the seat savedfor the Lexington District.

With Waterford and Harvest Prep on opposite sides of the bracketthese 2 favored teams should match up for a great regional champi-onship game.

Coach Jerry Close and his veteran Waterford club are led by 6'1senior power forward Sina King (Akron). These Wildcats have beentested having gone the distance with traditional D-I power North

Canton Hoover and having beaten D-II contender Indian Hill (AP No.7) on the big stage at Classic in the Country VII.

Coach David Dennis and Warriors of Harvest Prep hit the lottery thispast summer when Grove City did not pass its levy and initially didaway with all extracurricular activities where the 3 college D-Iprospects from Grove City, juniors Shicole Watts, Shortee Beaversand Chelsea McKnight, came with the OHSAA "ok" looking for a homein Canal Winchester.

In one of the best regional championship games in the state I likethe Warriors of Harvest Prep over the Wildcats from Waterford.

Springfield RegionalThe more things change the more they stay the same...'same as it

ever was'...Talking Heads. Just like last year the winner that comesout of the Van Wert District will be the winner of the SpringfieldRegional…period...no "ifs"...no "ands"...no "buts".

With 3 of the AP's Top 4 in Division IV in the Van Wert District, it willbe the most competitive and fiercely fought of any of the 64 DistrictChampionships in the state of Ohio...will it be Ottoville (AP No. 1)?;will it be Kalida (AP No. 2)?, or; will it be Delphos St. John's (AP No.4)?

I do know it will be great theater and the most entertaining districtplayoffs in the state...small schools with large...real large followingsplus some bad blood between schools...Jerry Bruckheimer could notscript it any better.

The AP got it right last year with Convoy Crestview being the topteam in the Van Wert district...I am going to go with the AP again thisyear in picking Ottoville to be the last team standing in the Van WertDistrict...sorry Fort Loramie and the Tipp City 2 District ...sorryHouston and the Tipp City 1 District...sorry Cincinnati Country Day andthe Tipp City 3 District we will try to get you speaking roles in nextyear's sequel.

Summary

This year’s 35th Ohio High School State TournamentChampionships will feature at least 10 new "faces" of the 16 teamscompeting for each of the 4 state titles. Determining who is going toColumbus is going to make for great theater at all 3 levels, district,regional and state and in all 4 divisions over the next several weeks.

The OHSAA does a tremendous job coordinating and putting onwhat friends of mine from across the country call the best high schoolstate tournament in America. Just think 800 teams…not an easy task.Come out and support this great game.

Come out and support all the teams, players and coaching staffsthat have worked hard all year and made sacrifices to compete in thisgreat game. – OH

Berlin Hiland (and senior guard Noelle Yoder) is looking to

make its 11th state semifinal appearance. The Hawks

have won three of the last five D-IV state titles.


THE OHIO GIRLS BASKETBALL REPORTOhio Girls Basketball Report started 12 years ago has become

over the last 9 years the No. 1 single-state scouting service inAmerica. Currently there are 208 colleges across America thatsubscribe to Ohio Girls Basketball Report and rely on the infor-mation provided by Tom Jenkins and his staff in evaluating play-ers from Ohio. Tom has over 45 years of playing, coaching andevaluating experience associated with the game of basketball. Heis devoted solely to the promotion of the game of Ohio girls bas-ketball through his publication, Ohio Girls Basketball Report andthe promotion of the players of the game through his services.


Boys Basketbal l S tate Tournament Preview

s we near the end of the Ohio boy’s basketball regular sea-son with the annual tournament draw coming up this week-end, it’s time to give our astute analysis and highly educatedpredictions. Of course, astute and highly educated aren’twords usually associated with us but we will go with it.

Here is our attempt at greatness.Teams listed are the ones we consider the favorites at each site and

not every team at each district.

Division I

Final Four: Lakewood St. Edward over Cincinnati Moeller,Columbus Northland over Massillon Jackson.State Championship: Columbus Northland over Lakewood St.

EdwardIn Division I, the four regional sites that will make up the state tour-

nament are Cleveland State, Xavier University, Akron University, andthe Columbus Fairgrounds. One winner from each site will advance tothis year’s state tournament at Value City Arena on the campus of TheOhio State University.

Cleveland State RegionalThe Cleveland State Regional will consist of four district sites includ-

ing Grafton, Euclid, Solon, and Broadview. At Grafton, three teams from the Northeast Ohio Conference will be

looking to advance in Brunswick, Medina, and Strongsville along withdark horses Olmsted Falls and Westlake.

At Euclid, it should be a three-team race with Mentor, LyndhurstBrush, and Solon.

The Solon District has a host of top-notch clubs looking to advance

including Warren Harding, Cleveland St. Ignatius, Garfield Heights,Cleveland Heights, Euclid, and Shaker Heights. This is by far thetoughest district in the region.

At Broadview, Lakewood St. Edward’s, Midpark, Revere, and Parmashould be the top teams. District Winners: Brunswick, Mentor, Warren Harding, Lakewood

St. EdwardRegional Champion: Lakewood St. Edward

Xavier RegionalThe Xavier Regional is a bit dif-

ferent with the draw decidingwhich teams will stay at Xavierand the ones who will shift toColumbus. This regional will bemade up of four SouthwestDistricts while the fifth SW sitewinner will head to Columbus.

This sector is really hard to saywith a plethora of good teamsthat are all very similar. Here is alook at who we think are the topteams. The list includes:Cincinnati LaSalle, CincinnatiMoeller, Cincinnati Princeton,Cincinnati Winton Woods, HuberHeights Wayne, and Trotwood-Madison with the likes ofCincinnati Aiken, CincinnatiWoodward, Cincinnati St. Xavier,Cincinnati Elder, CincinnatiWalnut Hills, Cincinnati Colerain,and Middletown are looking tomake some noise. District Winners: Cincinnati

LaSalle, Huber Heights Wayne,Cincinnati Moeller, CincinnatiPrincetonRegional Champion: Cincinnati Moeller

Akron RegionalThe Akron University Regional will consist of four district sites includ-

ing Canton, Copley, Bowling Green, and Toledo. At the Canton Civic Center, Massillon Jackson, Canton McKinley,

North Canton Hoover, and Canton Timken should be the favorites atthis site.

The Copley District will have favorites in Twinsburg, Barberton, andAkron East.

At Bowling Green University, Perrysburg, Mansfield Sr., MarionHarding, Findlay, and Holland Springfield all have a legitimate shot ofadvancing.

At the Toledo University, Toledo St. John’s, Toledo Central Catholic,Toledo Whitmer, Toledo Rogers, Toledo St. Francis DeSales, andSylvania Southview will be looking to advance.District Winners: Massillon Jackson, Copley- Twinsburg, Mansfield

Sr., Toledo St. John’sRegional Champion: Massillon Jackson

Columbus RegionalThe Columbus Fairgrounds Regional will consist of four district sites

88th Annual Boys Basketball State Championships

TournamentPreview

Will publicschools winall four

divisions?Individual and team talent is

immense this season; The Nation’sNo. 1 team headlines the chase

DDiivviissiioonn IICan anyone stop aNorthland repeat?

DDiivviissiioonn IIIIWill familiar faces should

show up in Columbus?DDiivviissiioonn IIIIII

Will four public schoolsmake the Final Four?

DDiivviissiioonn IIVVCan Dayton Jefferson get it

done?

A




Senior J.D. Weatherspoon

and Northland are looking

to win a second straight

state title and a national

championship.

STORY BY KURT STUBBS, OHSHOOPS.COM



including three from Columbus and one from the Southwest. TheColumbus draw will put all of the area teams including Tri-Valley (East)and Logan (Southeast) into three different districts during the onlinedraw this weekend. The SW team will come from the fifth district.

Here are some of the top D-1 Columbus-area teams. The listincludes: Columbus Northland, Gahanna Lincoln, Westerville South,Westerville North, Upper Arlington, Dublin Coffman, Mount Vernon,Columbus Beechcroft, Columbus Brookhaven, Pickerington North,Pickerington Central, and Olentangy Orange. District Winners: Columbus Northland, Gahanna Lincoln,

Westerville North, Cincinnati Winton WoodsRegional Champion: Columbus Northland

Division II

Final Four: Dayton Dunbar over Cleveland Benedictine, ColumbusDeSales over Toledo LibbeyState Championship: Dayton Dunbar over Columbus DeSalesIn Division II, the four regional sites that will make up the state tour-

nament are Canton, Kettering Fairmont, Ohio University, and BowlingGreen University. One winner from each site will advance to this year’sstate tournament at Value City Arena on the campus of The Ohio StateUniversity.

Canton RegionalThe Canton Civic Center Regional will consist of four district sites

including Stow, Kirtland, Boardman, and Canton. At Stow, the teams to look out for are Cleveland Benedictine,

University School, and Walsh Jesuit. At Kirtland, there isn’t really oneteam that stands out. Cleveland Collinwood and John Hay will havegood records while Mentor Lake Catholic and Notre Dame-CathedralLatin are formidable. At Boardman, Poland and Youngstown CardinallMooney should be a two-horse race. The Canton District has AkronSVSM, Akron Buchtel, Louisville, and Alliance Marlington. District Winners: Cleveland Benedictine, Cleveland Collinwood,

Poland Seminary, Akron SVSMRegional Champion: Cleveland Benedictine

Kettering RegionalThe Kettering Fairmont Regional will consist of four district sites

including three from Dayton Districts and one from Columbus. NeitherDayton nor Columbus have specific districts at this point so this will bea little foreshadowing.

The list of top Dayton teams includes: Dayton CJ, Roger Bacon,Thurgood Marshall, Wilmington, Dayton Dunbar, Kettering Alter, BishopFenwick, Indian Hill, Bethel-Tate, Bellbrook, St. Paris Graham,Bellefontaine, Eaton, Kenton Ridge, Tippecanoe, Urbana, andSpringfield Shawnee.

The list of top D-II Columbus teams includes: Columbus DeSales,Columbus Bishop Watterson, Bexley, Canal Winchester, EastmoorAcademy, Bishop Hartley, Centennial, and Columbus East.District Winners: Dayton Dunbar, Dayton Thurgood Marshall,

Columbus Bishop Watterson, Cincinnati Roger BaconRegional Champion: Dayton Dunbar

Athens RegionalThe Ohio University Regional will consist of four district sites includ-

ing Ohio University Eastern, Coshocton, Ohio University, andColumbus.

At Ohio University Eastern, Carrollton, Coshocton, Meadowbrook,and East Liverpool should be the favorites.

At Coshocton, Zanesville, Minerva, Dover, John Glenn, Claymont,

and New Philadelphia will be the front runners for a very competitivedistrict.

Ohio University will have Logan Elm, Chillicothe, Waverly, Hillsboro,Athens, Washington CH, Vinton County, and Vincent Warren.

The list of top D-II Columbus teams includes: Columbus DeSales,Columbus Bishop Watterson, Bexley, Canal Winchester, EastmoorAcademy, Bishop Hartley, Centennial, and Columbus East.District Winners: Carrollton, Zanesville, Logan Elm, Columbus

DeSalesRegional Champion: Columbus DeSales

Bowling Green RegionalThe Bowling Green University Regional will consist of four district

sites including Westlake, Ohio Northern, Bowling Green, and Ashland. At Westlake, Bay Village, Avon, and Vermilion look to be the

favorites. At Ohio Northern, Celina, Elida, Lima Bath, and Van Wert are the

front runners. The Bowling Green top dogs should be Defiance, Toledo Libbey,

Rossford, Eastwood, and Napoleon.At Ashland, Port Clinton, Lexington, Mansfield Madison, and

Bellevue are the favorites.District Winners: Bay Village, Celina, Toledo Libbey, LexingtonRegional Champion: Toledo Libbey

Division III

Final Four: Findlay Liberty-Benton over Oak Hill, Cincinnati Taft overOrrvilleState Championship: Cincinnati Taft over Findlay Liberty-BentonIn Division III, the four regional sites that will make up the state tour-

nament are Ohio University, Bowling Green, Canton Field House, andKettering Fairmont. One winner from each site will advance to thisyear’s state tournament at Value City Arena on the campus of TheOhio State University.

Athens RegionalThe Ohio University Regional will consist of four district sites includ-

ing three from the Southeast and one from New Philadelphia out of theEast. The Southeast Districts aren’t officially set so we will once againbe foreshadowing. The list of top Southeast teams include: Oak Hill,Ironton, Chesapeake, Peebles, Zane Trace, Piketon, Portsmouth,Lucasville Valley, Wheelersburg, South Point, Belpre, and EasternBrown. At New Philadelphia, Sugarcreek Garaway, St. Clairsville,Shenandoah, Bellaire, West Muskingum, and Buckeye Trail are all inthe mix. District Winners: Ironton, Oak Hill, Chesapeake, Sugarcreek

GarawayRegional Champion: Oak Hill


sites including Mansfield, Napoleon, Elida, and Columbus. Just like theother Columbus districts, the draw will determine what district eachteam falls into.

At Mansfield, Plymouth, Ontario, and Western Reserve should all bein the hunt. At Napoleon, Archbold, Metamora Evergreen, Delta, andDefiance Tinora are the favorites. At Elida, Findlay Liberty-Benton,Coldwater, Ottawa-Glandorf, St. Henry, Lima CC, Delphos Jefferson,Elmood, and Riverdale will be in contention at the best small-schooldistrict in Ohio.

The list of top D-III Columbus teams include: Cardington Lincoln,



Madison Plains, Bloom-Carroll, Marion Elgin, Bishop Ready, NorthUnion, Centerburg, Grandview Heights, and Fredericktown. District Winners: Plymouth, Archbold, Findlay Liberty-Benton,

Bishop Ready

Canton RegionalThe Canton Field House Regional will consist of four district sites

including, Painesville, Wooster, Warren, and Salem.At Painesville, Cleveland VASJ and Cleveland CC should be the

favorites. At Wooster, Orrville, Jerome Hillsdale, Smithville, WoosterTriway, and West Salem Northwestern will all be in the hunt.

The Warren District should come down to LaBrae and NewtownFalls. At Salem, East Canton, East Palestine, Campbell Memorial, St.Thomas Aquinas, and Youngstown Ursuline all have a chance toadvance. District Winners: Cleveland CC, Orrville, Newton Falls, Campbell

MemorialRegional Champion: Orrville


including three Dayton Districts and one Columbus.The top D-III Dayton-area teams include: Anna, Hamilton Badin, Tipp

City Bethel, Jamestown Greeneview, Middletown Madison, DaytonNorthridge, Preble Shawnee, Versailles, Twin Valley South, NewLebanon Dixie, Reading, Cincinnati Taft, Cincinnati Shroder, CincinnatiSummit Country Day.

The list of top D-III Columbus teams include: Cardington Lincoln,Madison Plains, Bloom-Carroll, Marion Elgin, Bishop Ready, NorthUnion, Centerburg, Grandview Heights, and Fredericktown. District Winners: Cincinnati Taft, Cincinnati Shroder, Middletown

Madison, Bloom-Carroll

Regional Champion: Cincinnati Taft

Division IV

Final Four: Harvest Prep over Continental, Dayton Jefferson overYoungstown ChristianState Championship: Dayton Jefferson over Harvest Prep In Division IV, the four regional sites that will make up the state tour-

nament are Bowling Green, Columbus Fairgrounds, Canton FieldHouse, and Kettering Fairmont. One winner from each site will advanceto this year’s state tournament at Value City Arena on the campus ofThe Ohio State University.


sites including Liberty-Benton, Gibsonburg, Napoleon, and Elida. At Liberty-Benton, New Riegel, Van Buren, Vanlue, Leipsic, North

Baltimore, McComb, Miller City, and Pandora Gilboa will all have a say.At Gibsonburg, Toledo Ottawa Hills, Toledo Christian, and Lakeside

Danbury should be the favorites. The Napoleon District should beAntwerps’ to lose. At Elida, Columbus Grove, Continental, and Kalidawill be involved in a tough three-way dance. District Winners: Pandora-Gilboa, Toledo Ottawa Hills, Antwerp,

ContinentalRegional Champion: Continental

Columbus RegionalThe Columbus Fairgrounds Regional will consist of four district sites

including Ohio University, Willard, and two from Columbus.The Ohio University District will have South Webster, Reedsville

Eastern, Beaver Eastern, Racine Southern, and Symmes Valley. The top D-IV Columbus-area teams are Harvest Prep, Newark

Catholic, Tree of Life, and Grove City Christian. At Willard, TiffinCalvert, Carey, and Bucyrus Wynford should be favored. District Winners: South Webster, Harvest Prep, Carey, Newark

CatholicRegional Champion: Harvest Prep

Canton RegionalThe Canton Regional will consist of four district sites including

Byesville, Struthers, Warren, and Garfield Heights. At Byesville,Shadyside, Berlin Hiland, Tuscarawas CC, Bishop Rosecrans, Malvern,and Strasburg will all be in the mix. At Struthers, Lake Center Christian,McDonald, Wellsville, and Youngstown Christian are the favorites. TheWarren District should belong to Vienna Mathews. At Garfield Heights,Dalton, Rittman, Bedford Chanel, and Lutheran East are all in the mix. District Winners: Shadyside, Youngstown Christian, Vienna

Mathews, DaltonRegional Champion: Youngstown Christian


including three from Dayton and Wapakoneta. The top D-IV Dayton-area list of teams include: Dayton Jefferson,

South Charleston Southeastern, Fort Loramie, Springfield CC, YellowSprings, Sidney Lehman Catholic, Cincinnati Seven Hills, Lockland,and Russia. At Wapakoneta, Fort Recovery, New Bremen, NewKnoxville, Marion Local, Delphos St. John’s, Fort Jennings, andOttoville will make for a staunch district tournament. District Winners: Dayton Jefferson, Delphos St. John’s, Cincinnati

Seven Hills, Fort LoramieRegional Champion: Dayton Jefferson — OH

Dayton Dunbar senior Geron Johnson is one reason the

Wolverines are a D-II state title contender. Johnson and

Dunbar are ranked No. 1 in the state.



Boys Basketbal l Surpr ises

very year there are surprises in Ohio boy’s high school bas-ketball, but for different reasons. For instance, some teamssurprise us by winning a lot more games than we originallyexpected while others for one reason or another just couldn’tlive up to the lofty expectations. The same goes for playersas some kids explode onto the scene from virtually zeroexposure the previous year.

We are going to look at some of the biggest surprises thus far in2009-2010.

Mentor making noise up northIn D-1, one team in particular began making waves after a three-

day run in San Diego (CA) that culminated with a 70-67 triumph ofpreviously unbeaten Massillon Jackson. However, sitting at 8-0, itdidn’t seem like the Mentor Cardinals were getting much love aroundthe state until January 10th at Cleveland State.

The Cardinals, who are known for making big runs in a short periodof time, erased a sizeable first half lead against unbeaten WarrenHarding and endured two overtimes to manage a 99-91 victory. Thewin went a long way for Mentor’s publicity. The Cardinals followedwith a 32-point blowout win over a good Cleveland Heights team andthen victories over Euclid and Cleveland VASJ helped solidify its highranking.

Mentor ran off 14-straight wins to start the season before losing toShaker Heights (76-69) on February 5 followed by a loss toLakewood St. Edward (78-63) the next night. The Cardinals secondleading scorer, senior Jaron Crowe, missed the Heights game with aknee injury and was nowhere near 100 percent while scoring 12points against Ed’s.

“In my opinion, Crowe is one of the best guards in the state,” saidMentor boss Bob Krizancic.

Even the head coach was a bit surprised by the torrid start despiteknowing his team would be pretty good.

“I thought we would be good because of our guards, but didn’texpect to start 14-0,” Krizancic relayed. “I do think we can make a runin the tourney because we have been to the regional the past twoyears and three of the past four. When we are healthy we are a verygood team, but we must be able to run and press to be successful.”

Those in Northeast Ohio knew of Cole Krizancic and his abilities,

but even the biggest of hoop junkies in that area couldn’t have prog-nosticated what type of season the Mentor junior is having.

Krizancic made second team Northeast Lakes All-District a seasonago when he averaged 16 points per game. This season, the headcoach’s son, has been on another playing level scoring 27.4 per out-ing.

“He has turned into a completed player,” said Mentor head coachBob Krizancic who is also Cole’s father. “His ability to get to the rim isthe biggest difference from last year.”

Westerville South is proving height isn’t everything.The Wildcats, with zero players over 6-foot-2 on the varsity roster,

are still unbeaten. Most Columbus-area basketball aficionados hadSouth pegged for a quality basketball team, but no one was talkingundefeated.

South has played very few close contests and owns quality winsover Westerville Central (2), Logan Elm and Bishop Watterson alongwith its most impressive win over rival Westerville North. Quite a fewstate-wide basketball junkies have proclaimed the South/North crowdwas the biggest they have seen thus far in 2009-2010.

The Wildcats are led by 6-foot-2 junior guard Traevon Jackson,who does almost everything for his club. The strong lefty is the son offormer Ohio State and NBA star, Jimmy Jackson. It was 21 years ago(1989) that Jackson’s father led Toledo Macomber-Whitney to the D-1state title.

Party for 4!It was no surprise that Columbus Northland was going to be the

cream of the crop in Ohio, but going undefeated was in question withthe likes of Findlay Prep (VA), Oak Hill Academy (VA), and DetroitCountry Day (MI) on the schedule. The Vikings have disposed ofPrep and Oak Hill while the Country Day contest was cancelled dueto the weather. At this point, it almost looks inevitable for Northland torun the table.

However, Northland (16-0) is just a quarter of the story. Four teamsincluding the Vikings have a chance to run the table in the CentralDistrict (D-1). Upper Arlington, Gahanna Lincoln and WestervilleSouth all have a chance to end the regular season undefeated. Thatfeat is almost unbelievable considering the four teams are all in a 30-mile radius of one another.

We don’t rebuild we reload!In D-II, three teams are thriving after losing key components off of

last year’s teams.Logan Elm is coming of a trip to the D-II state tournament and lost

not one but two 1,000-point scorers in Tim Congrove and BrandonAmann. What could they possibly do for an encore? The Braves are15-2 with no signs of slowing up. Logan Elm has setbacks toHamilton Township and unbeaten Westerville South with quality winsover Waverly, Chillicothe, Zane Trace, Bloom-Carroll, and CanalWinchester.

How about Columbus St. Francis DeSales? The Stallions made theD-II state tournament yet again in 2009, but four starters graduated.Fortunately, one of those four wasn’t senior Nick Kellogg. The OhioUniversity signee has helped a group of new starters to a (17-2)record with its only losses coming to teams from Florida.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of them all has been DaytonChaminade Julienne. The Eagles lost guard Ryan Bass to DaytonDunbar via transfer, but have shown very little ill-effects in starting theyear (15-2). Bass was the leading scorer in the Greater CatholicLeague last season at 18.6 points per game. It seems the move hasworked out well for both parties as Dunbar is No. 1 in the state in D-2and CJ was No. 2 for a few weeks.

E

Who did whatthat wasn’t

supposed to?Got that? A look at the best - and

some not so great - surprises in boysbasketball thus far


Boys Basketbal l Surpr ises

Sometimes surprises aren’t a good thing especially when a teamdoesn’t quite live up to expectations. In some regards, Wilmingtonhas been a bit of a disappointment considering the hype that wasplaced on the Hurricane by most people in the know.

The criticism, however, may not be justified. Wilmington has playedmuch of the season without last year’s leading scorer and Ashlandsignee Jordan Berlin. The 6-foot-3 senior has played sparingly in justfour games this season including marginal minutes in the last twoaffairs. Berlin has scored a mere 20 points this season after dumping300 last year.

It hasn’t all been bad, senior Quentin Rollins is getting 18.1 points

per game in leading the Hurricane to a respectable (10-5) record.Rollins is a Miami (OH) signee.

Wilmington’s defeats have been to some pretty good competition inDunbar, The Christ School (NC), Miller Grove (GA) and ColumbusDeSales. Don’t be surprised if the regular season disappointmentturns into tournament time delight with a healthy Berlin.

Change of scenery doesn’t bother East Canton.Now in D-III, former D-IV stud East Canton is thriving and off to its

best start in school history at (15-0). “We have a really nice group of kids,” head coach Chad Spurgeon

said. “This is a senior-laden team that has really bought into the teamconcept. We have had slow starts in half our games, but these kidsdon’t get rattled. We always seem to dig our heels in and start gettingstops on defense.”

State Championship Slump!Cleveland Central Catholic, the defending D-III state champions,

had lofty expectations heading into 2009-2010 with the return of oneof the premier juniors in the state (Anton Grady) and Navy commitChall Montgomery. However, couple a strong schedule with graduat-

ing three starters, and it has been a tremulous start for the Ironmen. The Ironmen started the year 0-6 before beating Padua Franciscan

and Gilmour Academy. CCC, after the winless start, has won 7-of-10.Central Catholic’s first six games consisted of Akron SVSM,Cleveland VASJ, Lakewood St. Edward’s, Cleveland Benedictine,Akron Hoban and Cleveland East Tech then later against ClevelandSt. Ignatius and another game with VASJ. To say the schedule hasbeen demanding would be an understatement. Don’t be surprised tosee CCC make a nice run come tourney time despite the slow start.

The Wheels have fallen off!Injuries, illness, and you name it, it’s all affected Wheelersburg in

one way or another. The Pirates, who were expecting big things thisseason especially after receiving Portsmouth transfer junior AndrewBendolph, have struggled to a (6-9) start thanks in large part to theinjury bug.

“It has been a tough year starting with the loss of our point guardBrandon Schankweiler before the season with a shoulder injury,”Wheelersburg coach Tom Barrick stated. “(Andy) Stegman hasmissed a game with an injury and we have another starter out withmononucleosis.”

Barrick believes other factors have played into his team’s lacklusterseason.

“We have lost five games in the last minute, so if those games gothe other way this conversation isn’t happening,” believes the Piratesmentor. “We as coaches have been saying all year the one thing thathas hurt us the most is consistency. We haven’t been able to stayconsistent. We can’t play 28 minutes and expect to win a 32-minutegame.”

The Pirates have lost six games by five points or less, two by 10,and one by 11.

Through all the misfortunes of this season, a deep tournament runis not out of the question.

Continental is moving about the state.In D-4, the Continental Pirates are off to a blazing start (15-1). It’s

not surprising to see Continental playing well because they do that ona yearly basis, but the way last season ending had some questioninghow they would respond. Continental was (14-6) last year, but lost inthe first round of the tournament to a (5-15) Hamler Patrick Henryoutfit. The debate is over, but tournament success will write thisteam’s legacy. Outside of close victories against Lima TempleChristian and Archbold, the Pirates have been slicing up their oppo-nents by an average margin of 27.4 points per game.

This is stuff legends are made of!Richard ‘Dick’ Kortokrax’s storybook ending came up a bit short

last year after losing to Oak Hill in a heart-breaking double overtimeaffair in the D-IV state championship game. However, the legendwasn’t done being asked by the board to return for another season.This is the same board that wanted him out. Most were wonderingwhy Kortokrax didn’t ride off in the sunset with his state runner-up tro-phy, but the veteran knew what was coming. The Wildcats lost virtual-ly the whole team including four starters from last year’s unit, butleading scorer Jordan Basinger returned.

What Kortokrax knew that most didn’t was Kalida’s sophomoreclass has a chance to be special. With Basinger leading the younggroup, Kalida has won eight-straight with wins over Columbus Grove,Leipsic, Ottoville, and Defiance Tinora along with early season tri-umphs of Pandora-Gilboa and Delphos Jefferson. Its only losses areto Archbold and St. Henry, which occurred well over a month ago.Kalida (12-2) will meet Continental on February 19th in what shouldbe a classic. — OH

Chaminade Julienne (and senior forward Joe Staley) are

one of the state’s biggest surprises this year and a threat

to win the D-II Kettering Regional.


STORY BY KURT STUBBS, OHSHOOPS.COM


Wrest l ing State Tournament Preview

o sport in Ohio has a more attended single-event champi-onship than wrestling. Not track, not basketball…not even –dare we say – football. Nope. This past year, 9,845 peopleattended the Division I state football final between ClevelandGlenville and Hilliard Davidson. The D-I basketball finalbetween Columbus Northland and Cincinnati Princeton was

played in front of 12,104. The state wrestling tournament’s fifth ses-sion – the session in which the state finals are contested – wasstaged before a staggering 14,787 last year.

Expect similar numbers this year. And expect some dramatics and different outcomes.For the last three years Lakewood St. Edward, Graham and Troy

Christian have won the Division I, II and III state titles, respectively.There’s a great chance at least one of those teams WON’T repeatthis season and a good chance two might not.

The only safe bet heading into this year’s 73rd annual statewrestling championship? Graham will leave the Schottenstein Centerwith its 10th straight D-II title on March 6.

Division I

Some pundits – and very well respected ones – say that St.Edward’s string of 13 straight state titles ends this season. Even theOhio High School Wrestling Coaches Association has the Grizzliesahead of the Eagles (in the final poll released Wednesday,Wadsworth edged St. Ed’s 68-65 for No. 1).

As for me…I have to see it to believe it.For the last 13 years St. Edward has taken on all comers in the

season’s final tournament and conquered them all – convincingly.Prior to last year’s 111.5-91 victory over Massillon Perry, the Eagles

closest margin of victory during their parade had been 23.5 in 1999(St. Ed’s beat Huber Heights Wayne 116.5-93).

Last year the Grizzlies finished a disappointing fifth after explodingin the early rounds.

Wadsworth, which trailed St. Edward by just five points after twosessions last year, had four wrestlers make the semifinals and all fourlost. The Eagles also had four wrestlers in the semifinals and all fourwon.

There is wrestling…and then there is state tournament wrestling.St. Edward enters the postseason this weekend ranked No. 10 in

the country by the AmateurWrestling News. Wadsworth isNo. 8.

It has to be said that nomatch-up heading into the statetournament is more intriguingthan this one.

Often times wrestling comesdown to wanting to see two indi-viduals square off. This year thebuzz is about these two teams.

Wadsworth has beaten St.Edward three times in the lasttwo years in dual meets and withits 36-23 win this season cap-tured the state duals champi-onship for the second consecu-tive year.

But again, the Grizzlies havenot beaten the Eagles at state –and that’s what it’s ultimatelyabout.

Potentially each team has fivestate finalists so the state titlecould come down to those wrestlers who simply earn state berths,win a couple matches and place. St. Edward seems to be strong inthe lighter weights, while Wadsworth is tougher at the heavier ones.

What this also means is that the Ashland District suddenly becamea huge player in deciding the state title. Both St. Edward andWadsworth are in that qualifier.

And how about this…Potentially the state title could come own to the final match as both

teams’ heavyweights are expectd to make a run at the state title. Andwhen they hooked up at the state duals, Wadsworth’s Ben Buzzellibeat St. Edward’s Greg Kuhar 3-2.

Yep, this race is that close.Champion: Lakewood St. EdwardRunner-Up; WadsworthDarkhorse: St. Ignatius

Division II

Last year Graham turned in the most dominant performance in the72-year history of the state wresting tournament. The Falcons hadseven individual champions, which broke the previous record of sixset by Cleveland West in 1951. Graham also broke the record fortotal team points with 282, besting St. Edward’s previous mark of229.

Overall, Graham qualified 13 wrestlers to state and all of them

73rd Annual Wrestling State Championships

TournamentPreview

A sudden shiftin who winstrophies?Maybe...

Graham a favorite for its 10thstraight Division II title, but D-I and

III up for grabs...or are they?

DDiivviissiioonn IIDoes St. Edward’s string of

13 straight get snapped?DDiivviissiioonn IIII

Who many individual titleswill Graham win?

DDiivviissiioonn IIIIIIDoes Monroeville add ateam title to its resume?N


Wrest l ing State Tournament Prev iew

stood on the podium. The Falcons also had wrestlers place second(two), third (three) and seventh.

This year they could do even better. Seriously.The most dominant high school program in the state – regardless

of gender or discipline – the Falcons also enter the postseason in thehunt for a national championship, which would be their second inthree years.

Graham is currently tied with Apple Valley, Minnesota at No. 1 inthe Amateur Wrestling News national rankings.

The Falcons had been No. 3 prior, but then on Jan. 30 they blastedthen No. 1 Blair Academy (N.J) in a home dual, 36-21.

While Graham doesn’t have any wrestlers going for their fourthstate titles (like David Taylor did last year), they have plenty of ham-mers, including four who are looking to defend their titles.Champion: GrahamRunner-Up: Oak HarborDarkhorse (for second): Walsh Jesuit

Division III

Two years ago Monroeville finished third in the D-III team race. Lastyear the Eagles were second – by a point – to Troy Christian (113-112).

If Monroeville wins a state title, it is going to be this year.The Eagles have three wrestlers – juniors Hunter Stieber, Cam

Tessari and Chris Phillips – looking to win their third state title andone – senior and Ohio State recruit Logan Stieber – who is looking towin his fourth.

And barring a miracle they will.The question remains though will the four horsemen generate

enough points – and will they get enough help – to win the team title?The answer is yes.Champion: MonroevilleRunner-Up: CVCADarkhorse: West Jefferson — OH

STORY BY ERIC FRANTZ


Monroeville junior Chris

Phillips is looking to win

his third state title. Phillips

is ranked No. 1 in the coun-

try at 171 pounds.

Documents

Ohio High February 2010: Postseason Tournament Previews and Predictions