That was just short-term thinking. A greater goal awaits with postseason play beginning and the hope is Tuesday’s 71-44 victory isn’t the last one.
“We really feel like as a team we have not played our best basketball yet. I think that we have a deep team with a lot to offer,” Trotwood head coach Carl Blanton Sr. said.
If so, it’s a bad omen for future opponents.
Trotwood was awarded the top overall seed in the North section of the Southwest District for the Division III tournament. The Rams moved into the top spot on the final day of the rankings before the draw.
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
“It was actually shocking because at the time we thought we lost the top seed. I didn’t know that we got it back until Tipp’s coach Brock [Moon] let me know that we had it back,” Blanton Sr. said.
Trotwood’s district path begins against No. 16-seed Piqua at 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Centerville High School. They wouldn’t face another single-digit seed until at least the district final with the South’s three-seed, Goshen, as a likely potential opponent on March 7 at UD Arena.
The Rams had a gauntlet to get through in their February schedule. Trotwood played five straight road games and closed the season with games at Lima Senior, at Cincinnati Princeton, at Chaminade Julienne and at Dunbar and home against Reynoldsburg prior to Tuesday’s game against an Oakwood squad riding a 13-game winning streak.
Trotwood split those six games and believes they have come out better for it.
Blanton Sr. said playing the best opponents they can find provides the lesson of understanding the level of intensity it will take when playing not just those teams, but in tougher tournament games as well.
“We want to see all styles of play so that we would be prepared for the tournament. We had some tough losses that we took and we had to go back and rebuild and start over and look at ourselves in the mirror so we could make some changes so that we can be successful,” Blanton Sr. said.
“We did that and I think that this group now is turning it around. I think they understand the job that we got before us.”
Trotwood has six seniors that all get thrown into the mix. Daveon Arnold is one of the best three-point shooters in the area, going 6-for-7 from beyond the arc on Tuesday as part of his team-best 23 points. 6-foot-5 Justyce Taylor is a menace in the paint.
Credit: Steven Wright
Credit: Steven Wright
But it’s Je’Carious Reaves who runs the point that kickstarts the offense as needed.
“We put the ball in his hands and he gets us to where we need to be,” Blanton Sr. said of Reaves.
Oakwood, despite its skillful size, couldn’t match Trotwood’s athleticism on Tuesday. Trotwood wasn’t able to produce a big run but it never needed one.
The Rams were fine exchanging four points for every two allowed and gradually knew that would compound over the course of the game that turned into the 27-point win.
The steadiness shown in the final game of the regular season reflected the approach taken to improve throughout the season. That led to Trotwood becoming the No. 1-seed in the district with hopes of it leading to at least a trip back to the regional finals where last year’s campaign ended.
“I think we kind of gelled tonight and gave ourselves a glimpse of what it can look like when we play our best basketball,” Blanton Sr. said. “I think the next games we just take it one at a time, look at Piqua, check out their film and see what we got to do to adjust for that game.”
About the Author
