“Their competitiveness,” Kopp said. “They both hate to lose more than they like to win. They hate to lose games, possessions, anything.
“In the open court they are both gifted and I always thought Matt was faster with the ball than he was without it. Caleb is the same way. If there are differences, I think it’s that Matt was more of a jump shooter. It’s tough to keep Caleb away from the rim. And when he gets there he can finish.”
Witt wrapped his prep career in 2002 as one of Ohio’s most prolific offensive players (2,366 points). He then went to Eastern Kentucky and finished as the Colonels’ all-time leading scorer (1,832 points).
South, a junior, shows the same kind of promise and prowess.
Reaching 1,000 career points and scoring 30 in the first game of the season, a victory over Ansonia, South netted 40 points last week in a win over Franklin-Monroe. He is the Miami Valley’s leading scorer (29.6 points per game).
“I‘m sure there’s a Division I program out there that can use him,” said Chuck Painter, director of the Dayton Metro AAU program. “He’s a leader … a floor general. He has an extremely high basketball IQ.”
Opposing defenses can blame his mom.
“She’s the reason I started, the reason I continue and she’s taught me everything,” South said. “My mom has always stressed to me to impact the game in some way.”
Laura South, Caleb’s mother, impacted games at South Charleston Southeastern where she led the Trojans to multiple regional appearances in girls basketball. The year after she graduated, the Trojans won the D-IV state title. Laura later starred at Clark State. Her parents, Mike and Joann Smith, bought Caleb his first basket and ball. Set to star for Southeastern like everyone else in his immediate family, South broke the mold in heading to Bethel.
Hired as a high school English teacher in 2002, Laura South enrolled Caleb at Bethel in 2010. During junior high he averaged 30 points as the Bees lost just two games in two years — both to Miami East in the finals of the Cross County Conference tournament. Expectations were high South’s freshman year. His confidence wasn’t.
“That first year was tough,” South said. “The game was faster, more physical and called completely different. It was hard mentally to adjust. I was a boy playing against men.”
South averaged 15 points as a freshman. That grew to 25 last year.
Bethel upped its game too.
The Bees advanced to the district finals for the first time since 2010 and fell to Purcell Marian 60-35 in D-III. Bethel led 24-22 at half.
“We ran out of gas,” Kopp said. “We didn’t have it. But that opened some eyes and the kids have tasted that challenge. We want the expectation here to be the district final and being one of the top teams in the CCC every year.”
Said South: “I felt like we surprised some people last year, because Bethel isn’t known as a basketball school. We’re not Tri-Village or Miami East so we’re always going to have that chip on our shoulder to show that we belong among the elite. We want to prove we’re here to stay.”
Bethel strengthened its schedule with games against D-I opponents Fairmont and Northmont. The Bees will play Roger Bacon in January’s Flyin to the Hoop.
The bulk of last year’s team remains, but the style of play has changed. More guard-oriented and playing at a faster speed, the Bees are 5-1 heading into tonight’s CCC game against visiting Arcanum. Their lone loss is to Fairmont.
“We push the pace,” South said. “If people come to a Bethel game they are going to see a team that leaves it all on the floor.”
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