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Area boys high school basketball has been exceptionally strong the last decade, with multiple state championships to prove it. But last season was one for the ages.
Four area teams earned final four spots in all four divisions in the state championships at Columbus, with two – Wayne (D-I) and Tri-Village (D-IV) – capturing their first state titles.
And then there was the Luke Factor. To suggest this area hadn’t seen such a point producer as Franklin’s Luke Kennard doesn’t do the Duke University freshman and two-time Mr. Basketball justice. He rewrote many significant single-game and career state scoring records and finished as the No. 2 all-time scorer in state history with 2,977 points.
It was a very good year.
“Maybe it has re-energized me some,” Franklin coach Brian Bales reflected. “Coaching Luke, I got to experience something a lot of coaches only dream about. Playing in front of sellout crowds and everything that went with it, but there was so much dealing with it that at times I didn’t stop and smell the roses and enjoy it the way I should’ve. There were a lot of different things to manage with Luke-mania.”
The boys basketball season begins today. The girls began last week.
“Everybody wants to win a state championship,” Wayne coach Travis Trice said, “but the truth is at the beginning of the year there’s only a handful of teams that have enough talent to do it and I think we’re in that mix.”
That’s no boast, not with three projected senior starters who already have signed to play at the next level: 6-foot-4 Trey Landers (8.7 points, Dayton), 5-11 Rodrick Caldwell (10.4, Bowling Green) and 6-5 Chazz George (15.8, Findlay), a transfer from Stivers.
Wayne also has a couple of standout football players to count on in 6-4 L’Christian Smith (7.1) and 6-3 Alex Reigelsperger, who returned to hoop after taking off last season. Senior guard Demond Parker (6.8) also is a proven floor leader.
Wayne (26-4) won its first state hoop title by beating upstart Springfield in a regional final and sweeping Lakewood St. Edward (57-51 in OT) and Westerville South (65-57) at state last March.
“I think we absolutely have everything we need to win another state championship,” Trice said. “A lot of things are going to have to fall right. We’ve got to stay healthy and play together, but we have all the pieces. We have size. We have rebounding. We can defend. We can shoot the ball and handle it. When you get to the tournament it’s all about matchups and how you’re playing at that time.”
Few were playing better than Springfield (20-8), which won nine straight and cut down Trotwood-Madison and Greater Catholic League South powers LaSalle and Moeller in the postseason. Back for coach Isaiah Carson’s Wildcats are 6-3 standout junior Danny Davis (18.7) and 6-9 senior Darius Harper (10.4), who signed with Miami.
Also back is Wilmington 6-4 senior Jarron Cumberland (24.5). A four-year starter, he signed with Cincinnati and is a potential Mr. Basketball. The Hurricane (25-2) lost only to Covington Catholic (Ky.) and Moeller last season.
Fairmont (19-5) and Centerville (23-4) graduated the bulk of their scoring, as did Trotwood-Madison. Greenville 6-4 senior Clay Guillozet (22.4) is the Greater Western Ohio Conference’s top returning scorer.
Division II: Dunbar (22-6) lost in a state semifinal and graduated four-year starting guard A.J. Harris (Ohio State). Senior Evan Clayborne also transferred to Thurgood Marshall. But the Wolverines always seem to reload a formidable lineup and will build around three-year 6-4 starter Terrance Landers (11.6) and 5-11 junior Storm Cook (16.6), a transfer from Piqua.
Thurgood (12-11) is loaded for a great run with the likes of four-year 6-8 senior starter Derrick Daniels (15.4) and 6-1 senior guard Darnell Hoskins Jr. (15.1), the son of coach Darnell Hoskins. Daniels has signed with Miami and Clayborne is headed to Cleveland State. Hoskins also is being courted by NCAA D-I programs.
CJ (22-7) also advanced to the D-III state final four last season and has since bumped up a division. The Eagles feature one of the area’s best guards in 6-foot junior Christian Montague (9.3) but lost standout grads Alan Vest (Wright State) and Myo Baxter-Bell.
There are a couple of notable City League coaching changes. Felix Turner has taken over at Stivers after a long run at Meadowdale. He succeeds Shawn McCullough, who’s now an assistant to Mark Baker at Middletown. Dwayne Chastain succeeds Turner at Meadowdale.
Also, Shaun O’Connell resigned after guiding Ponitz (19-6) to its first share of the City League title. He’s now at Withrow and was succeeded by Dwayne Hansbro at Ponitz.
Division III: Northridge (24-3) was the surprise of last season but won't be this time because of the return of 6-5 Drew Ogletree (12.7) and 6-foot Averon Ely Jr. (14.0), both of whom are seniors. That should be the nucleus of another Southwestern Buckeye League title team and more for coach Jeff Lisath's Polar Bears.
Miami East 6-5 senior Damien Mackesy (16.4) is a proven scorer and makes the Vikings another worthy contender for Cross County Conference honors.
Stivers has a formidable inside presence in 6-6 senior Isaiah Williams (15.5), who signed with Akron. Hardest hit by graduation losses were Kyle Ahrens of Versailles (Michigan State) and Ryan Mikesell of St. Henry (Dayton).
Division IV: Tri-Village (30-0) had a season for the ages. The Patriots flirted with a state title in 2013 and pulled it off with its 1-2 scoring punch of state player of the year Colton Linkous (Cedarville) and Damion Cook (Edison). It'll be up to senior guard Tyler Van Winkle (10.5) to rally coach Josh Sagester's Patriots.
Senior guard Drew Sosby (15.5) of Jackson Center (21-6)) provided plenty of heroics in a regional semifinal defeat of Troy Christian and will be counted upon to lead the Tigers through another tough Shelby County League venture.
Russia will find out what it’s like not to have Paul Bremigan at the controls. He resigned after 31 seasons and 437 wins. Bremigan succeeded Tim Miller, who resigned at Troy after eight seasons. Spencer Cordonnier takes over at Russia after assisting Bremingan the last few seasons.
This also will be the first time in four seasons that Troy Christian coach Ray Zawadzki hasn’t had his play-making son Grant Zawadzki (Indiana Wesleyan) in the lineup.
Flyin' to the Hoop: Creator Eric Horstman has the largest field yet, 42 teams from 12 states, and 23 games spread over the Martin Luther King holiday from Jan. 15-18 at Fairmont's Trent Arena.
Here’s all you need to know: The No. 1 draft picks in the NBA from 2012-14 all went Flyin’. That would be Anthony Davis (2012), Anthony Bennett (’13) and Andrew Wiggins (’14). Anything else? Sure, Jabari Parker was a No. 2 pick (2014).
Ticket info is available at FlyintotheHoop.com.
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