“Keep an eye on us,” Smith said. “We’re a work in progress that has hope and could become an achieving team. But we’re very young.
“All these guys can play. That doesn’t mean they’re all great. We’re all the same in a lot of ways, but there’s not a guy on our team that I’ll be afraid to put on the floor.”
Smith said Madison isn’t particularly big, but does have good length and athleticism.
“We have good team quickness,” the veteran coach said. “We’re going to depend on strong perimeter play to pull us through. I think we’re athletic enough to be able to extend the floor defensively.
“We’d like to get out and run, but we’ll have to control possessions a little bit. You can run and gun against people you’re supposed to beat, but sometimes you’ve got to grind it out against people who are better than you are.”
Whiteman, Paarlberg and Gomia all figure to be starters, along with Grant Whisman. The 6-foot-5 freshman is a guard/forward with perimeter and down-low skills.
“He was probably the best eighth-grader in our league last year,” Smith said. “He gives us size and athleticism that we’ve been lacking. He’ll go through some growing pains, but he’s so long and can shoot. And he’s only 14 years old.”
The fifth starter (in the off-guard position) should come from a group that includes seniors Ryan Friend and Ethan Limon, juniors Tyler Baumgartner and Bo Higgins, and freshman Matt Gomia.
Smith is expecting sophomore guard Cameron Morgan to make an impact in January. He’s a transfer from Preble Shawnee and has to sit out the first 11 games.
“I think Ben, Grant, Mason and Logan have got to score for us, and it needs to be balanced,” Smith said. “Any scoring we get from our 5 through 8 players will be icing.”
The Mohawks have a lot of guys that can shoot the 3. Logan Gomia is among them, and Smith calls him “one of the most dedicated basketball players I’ve ever had. He’s our captain and our leader.”
Senior forward Donovan King will contribute. Also in the mix are the Duritsch brothers, 6-6 junior Kevin and 6-4 sophomore Ryan.
“Donovan’s kind of an X factor,” Smith said. “He can shoot the 3, and he’s probably the toughest guy on our team as far as being physical defensively and rebounding the ball. Our level of toughness as a team rises when we put him in the game.”
Northridge has won three straight Southwestern Buckeye League Buckeye League championships, but lost most of its 2015-16 squad to graduation.
Smith believes Northridge will be in the hunt for another title, but he said Carlisle and Shawnee might be the two best Buckeye teams.
“We’d like to have something to say about that,” Smith said. “We’re hoping to put up a fight in the league.”
Tommy McGuire has rejoined the coaching staff as a varsity assistant for Madison, which opens the season at Shawnee on Friday night.
Madison Mohawks
Coach: Jeff Smith, 20th season
2015-16 Record: 12-11 overall, 4-8 in the Southwestern Buckeye League Buckeye Division (fifth place, tied)
2016-17 Schedule (all start times 7:15 p.m. unless noted): Dec. 2 — at Preble Shawnee; Dec. 3 — at Tri-County North, 7 p.m.; Dec. 9 — Middletown Christian, 7 p.m.; Dec. 10 — Edgewood; Dec. 13 — at Milton-Union; Dec. 16 — Carlisle; Dec. 29-30 — Brian Cook Classic; Jan. 3 — at Monroe; Jan. 6 — at Dixie; Jan. 10 — Waynesville; Jan. 13 — at Northridge; Jan. 20 — Milton-Union; Jan. 24 — Valley View; Jan. 27 — at Carlisle; Jan. 28 — Xenia Christian, 7 p.m.; Jan. 31 — Dixie; Feb. 3 — at Waynesville; Feb. 7 — Northridge; Feb. 10 — Preble Shawnee; Feb. 15 — Cincinnati College Prep Academy, 7 p.m.; Feb. 18 — Cedarville, 7 p.m.
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