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Coach Bartruff stepped down earlier this week after 7 seasons as the HC at Washington. They are definitely going to miss him as I thought he did an outstanding job, usually with a very small lineup.

The Blue Lions are coming off of a 3-19 season in which they didn't have a senior on the roster. They have a couple of nice guards back, but after this coming year, they've got some major lean years ahead of them.

I truly don't feel like they will be in bad shape once this next class graduates. The sophomore class has talent and had a full year of varsity experience this year. The freshman class this year lacks a lot of skill but the eighth grade class has a few players and the seventh grade class is loaded. I believe they were undefeated league champs and have size and speed to match. The biggest problem with the Washington CH program has been the lack of getting kids to come out for basketball. This past year they had less around 15 kids from freshman to senior. They had a freshman class this year who hadn't won a game either year in junior high, and they were forced to play a JV schedule due to the lack of upperclassmen coming out for basketball. In my opinion that's the biggest task of the new coach when he is named. Recruit the hallways like crazy, there are a lot of good athletes roaming the halls at WCH.

Welcome to the new millinium. Sad that a great porgam is that far down. Good luck going forward !

Sad to see the Blue Lions program take a turn for the worse........there have been some memorable moments that come to mind when I think of Washington CH basketball........in 1978, WCH had an outstanding guard in John Denen, and that year the Blue Lions met my Portsmouth Trojans in the district championship. After tying the game in regulation virtually at the buzzer, the Trojans won 56-54 in OT, but Denen had a great game and Portsmouth was fortunate to advance to the regionals.

In 1992, the Blue Lions had a spectacular PG named Travis Robertson, who is now the coach at Waverly. He made a half court shot at the buzzer to beat Columbus Whitehall with future NBA star Samaki Walker. Unfortunately, WCH lost in the regional finals. In 1999, WCH had yet another great PG in Brandon Gray and the Blue Lions once again advanced to the regionals. After Portsmouth lost to Philo in the regional semifinal, the Blue Lions lost a heartbreaker 56-53 to Philo in the regional championship.

In 2001, Portsmouth beat Washington CH 58-56 in the district semifinal, after the Trojans' Larry Berry made a game winner with just seconds to play. Just a few years ago, Dustin Pfeiffer carried on the tradition of standout PG's for the Blue Lions. Perhaps no other program in the SE district has produced more outstanding PG's in the last 30 years than Washington CH.

Despite the tough tournament losses, Washington CH basketball has a lot to be proud of, and they have a winning tradition that has just taken hopefully a short setback. History has shown that WCH will win more than they will lose, and I look for this trend to continue, maybe not immediately but within a few years.

They beat Cambridge in 1993 on half court shot , not 1992. They then lost to Whitehall in 1993 regional finals. I believe Geno Ford was senior on that Cambridge team. Good luck Courthouse. We'll be rooting for you.

Ehigh: Thanks for the corrections on that. I tried to recall that info from memory, and obviously was slightly off on the 1992/1993 years and the opponents.

An article was posted in the Record Herald where WCH Athletic Director Mark Bihl was quoted in saying that he wants to have a new coach selected by the next school board meeting on April 23rd. Any predicitions or insight on who has applied or who you think would be a good fit?

Connor Scott will be the next Blue Lion HC- Good luck Connor on the start of your HC career.

Who all applied for this position?

Congrats to Connor. He will have a talented group of guards to work with next year.

Congratulations to Connor Scott ! I've always thought Coach Scott had the makings of an outstanding varsity head coach from his time courtside at Chillicothe under the leadership of Coach Huffer ... Good stuff ! a great hire for the Blue Lions !