who has the best chance to reach the state around the area??

[Peake]

Chili and Peake, with Portsmouth with the talent to do it. In D3 I don't see anyone beating taft, but I think peake or portsmouth can get there.

I will take Copley and McMaster over Bendolph and Wayne. Bendolph makes that ship go with his leadership, good decision making, etc but he is not an overly talented player. He works well for what Portsmouth does, but if I were taking kids based on talent they I would take the other two.

[Rvbballdude]

Chili and Peake, with Portsmouth with the talent to do it. In D3 I don't see anyone beating taft, but I think peake or portsmouth can get there.

I will take Copley and McMaster over Bendolph and Wayne. Bendolph makes that ship go with his leadership, good decision making, etc but he is not an overly talented player. He works well for what Portsmouth does, but if I were taking kids based on talent they I would take the other two.

Chesapeake seems weaker at the point than last year to me and some of the bench doesn't play the physical defense they did in the past,I dunno last year they just seemed to sneak into the final 4. This year they are on the radar and they just don't seem to be as motivated?
We will see.

Haven't seen Portsmouth play,only in shootouts.

[Peake]

Don't seem to be as motivated? Based on what? They have beaten OVC teams by an average of 30+ and lost as single game to a team that is as good as any in our area. I am curious how you can say they are weaker at this point. I will say they are probably not as solid at the pg position, but all other positions they are better imo, including a 6'4 kid who hits 5-6 3's against you. That is something they did not have last season. E. Kennedy would be the best player on most OVC teams and he comes off the bench for Chesapeake.

Sneak in? Really. Beating Piketon, Garaway, and Ironton doesn't really scream sneaking in imo.

[Ironman92]

Peake/Portsmouth....one of those two

[southernohio13]

I actually like the road Chillicothe has to get to Columbus. They will have to probably beat Washington Court house to get out of sectionals. WCH had trouble with D4 Fairfield and D3 Adena until the 4th quarter. District Semi-finals they will matchup to either Logan Elm or Sheridan. I do not think Logan Elm is as talented like in the past. Sheridan has a nice ballclub but i do not know if they can keep up with Chillicothe 's athletes. District Final could be the toughest if they matchup against Warren again. They've beaten Warren twice already this season but it is tough to beat a team 3 X. In the regional semi's they would probably matchup against a Carrolton. Carrolton beat Logan by 1 point. I think Chillicothe would have a favorable matchup but it would be difficult because C- is undefeated. In the other bracket teams like Zanesville and Hartley would matchup against each other. Regional final would be a tough test but I think this Chillicothe has faced opponents at that level. Then its the final four. A lot of things happen in the tournament that changes the outcome. Good luck to all.

[trojandave]

Chesapeake and Portsmouth did not play in the regular season this year........last year, the Trojans beat the Panthers 77-70 at PHS late in the regular season.

One aspect of Andrew Bendolph's game that I think has been overlooked by some is his OUTSTANDING defense........Andrew has been the best defensive guard that I have seen in the SE District this year, with Wayne Evans and Zaide Whitley not far behind........he has basically shut down every point guard that he has played so far.......one of the main reasons that the Trojans defense is very underrated as a team......to date, PHS with Andrew has scored 67.2 PPG, while giving up only 45.8 PPG, with opponents FG% under 40%........as a team PHS is creating double digit turnovers, while consistently outrebounding opponents, even taller teams.

I know a lot of fans like to talk about offensive production when it comes to talking about who's better than who, but defense cannot be overlooked..........I don't know how far the Trojans will go in the tourney, but I can say that there won't be a better defensive team in the D3 tourney than Portsmouth..........and the Trojans do have a very capable offense, but it is the defense that will make PHS a very tough team to beat in the postseason.

For a long time, defense was Portsmouth's achilles heel, but not this year........finally, thanks to our coaching staff and dedicated kids, the Trojans are playing championship level defense. Coach Gary Kellough of Chillicothe told me at Dayton that defense was the key to the Trojans' season........and he looks like a prophet in saying that.

Portsmouth's 3 guards of Bendolph, Evans, and Whitley can disrupt offenses out front, and then Tre Underwood and Dion McKinley have done a great job in the paint.

[peake71]

trojandave, I have only saw the trojans in a scrimmage with the peake. the trojans have a good team that is nightmares for most teams. The peake imo is better than last year with the bench being stronger. we might just meet down the road but as usual we play one game at a time.

[trojandave]

Peake71: There's a lot of talk about a possible Portsmouth vs. Chesapeake matchup in the regionals........BUT IF both teams don't care of business starting with GAME ONE, it won't happen......let's hope both of our teams do indeed take it "one game at a time".

[peake71]

Things can happen I remember, and somebody may have to correct me, Fairland had won the OVC and hadn't lost but a game or two and they faced a Symmes Valley team that had won two or three (only three divisions then) and beat them in the first game of the sectionals

[Peake]

Bendolph is a good high school player, but he is not above a d3 or naia player imo. Tell me who he is getting recruited by. My guess mostly d3 and naia schools. He is a good defender, and what he brings to the table for Portsmouth is perfect for what they need. They already have two very good scorers in Wayne and Dion, he is not asked to go out and drop 20 a night. He imo is asked to be a good floor leader, distribute the basketball, play good defense, and take care of the basketball. He is good at doing those things no doubt. He is perfect for any team that doesn't need him to be a main offensive contributor.

Now with that being said, I think comparing his ability to score is very different then Copley. Copley is a very very dangerous outside shooter who has to be nearing 1000 points if he hasn't already topped it. He, like Bendolph, has seen his role reduced by the emergence of Austin McMaster. He will take over at point, distribute, create, rebound, defend, and can score. So if we are talking what the teams need then yes Portsmouth needs what Bendolph offers, but if we are talking talent then Copley is your better option. McMaster is a different animal, how many 6'5-6'6 gaurds have you seen in this area. I can name several and almost all of them have went on to play at the next level. Austin is a matchup nightmare. How do you defend a 6'5 guard who can run the floor, shot from the outside, drive and finish, or post you up? Again if you are talking pure talent, I go with Austin.

What I don't understand are claims like, "there won't be a better defensive team". How in the world can you make this claim? I watched Cin Taft and they were by far the most impressive team I have seen in d3. How many other d3 top 10ish teams have you seen to make that claim?

How can anyone make the claim that Chesapeake couldn't beat Chili? Based on what? How do you build a case for Chessy not beating Chili to support your claim you are better?

Have you seen Chesapeake play to make any of these claims?

[peake71]

peake, I have been a peake fan for a number of years and this group we have is a special group of kids. This team doesn't have to depend on one person to score the 20 to 25 points every night. I have enjoyed watching this group and hope they make it back to the final four.
Other than the conference this has been one of the harder schedules we have faced in a long time and imo would give Chilli all they want.

[callie11]

No one has a chance !

[Peake]

Of everything said you fixate on that comment. I said 5-6 good things about him, but honest opinion i don't think he is above a d3 player. jmo

Now try and answer one of the questions directed at you, as you try and build a case for your team while talking down another that I am willing to bet you have not seen.

Saying someone is better then another without building a case is not good debating imo.

[ohbuckeye2]

a few weeks ago, :someone;' posted that Bendolph did not belomng on the same floor with the Carter kid from Ironton, said he was not enough for the Trojans to beat Ironton, also said he would not make that big od difference when he returned to the Trojan line up.

what has happened since then?
shut Carter down ' "dont play the sick card, he was dancing and dunking during warm ups"

have won 8 games in a row, including beating d2 Marrietta 2 times who had only lost 4 games at the time, 2 of them to the Trojans, AND, beat d 2 Chillicothe who was in the top 10 in the state in D2.

I agree , I would not take Peakes 2 guards for Bendolph and Evans.

who all thinks that Peake could beat Chilli?.......not even close in my opinion

I'd take Chesapeake over Chillicothe. Chesapeake not only has a really good starting five they have a good bench. When you have Eric Kennedy coming off the bench that says alot about the starters. Just My opinion, as you have yours.

Taft is My pick to win it all in D3............

[Peake]

agree on Taft

[moose]

I'm going with Trojandave as favorite to make it to state. I just hope he's wearing purple when he gets there.

[hoopin]

I've heard Portsmouth is awful good this year. With Bendolph back that only makes them even tougher. What was his suspension regarding?

[southernohio13]

Having a bench is nice and all but chillicothe proved they can win a state championship with 7 players. You can only play 5 at a time...... Peake will definately have a long run in the tournament. I don't think they will make it to columbus this yr. However i like to support all teams in southern ohio.

[Peake]

I have not seen Portsmouth play this season, but I saw both Wayne and Dion on the AAU circuit several times. i have seen Ironton, Chesapeake, Cin Taft, Huntington Prep, Logan WV. I have seen Bendolph play the previous three years.

SO make a case, just saying something without anything to back it up is worth little imo.

How would they be too much? Use some logic here. Break it down. Like opponents Chesapeake has the same record as Portsmouth v them, and a 50+ blowout of Gallia in which you beat them by 5. Rock Hill beat Gallia by the same amount btw. Williamson of Logan imo is better then Ragland.

Portsmouth beat Chili by 10. You are acting like Chili is unbeatable unless you are Portsmouth. I don't get the logic.

[danicalifornia]

Using Portsmouth win over Gallia is a moot point, they didn't have Bendolph, which means that they were a different team.

Chillicothe has lost 3 times, all 3 against teams that have very good chances to reach their state tournaments in each division. Same goes for Chesapeake's loss. I can't wait til the regionals are over due to the constant bickering and non-ability to just have a mature conversation about teams without putting other teams down.