The Trojans don't have a lot of size on the summer roster, with the two freshmen Mekhi Berry at 6-3 and Liam Livingston at 6-2. Berry easily plays about 6-5 with his hops. He dunks with ease. There's a couple of kids who have some size that haven't been showing up for June basketball. Hopefully they will decide to play come November.
I've said it before about these Trojans......they are absolutely one of the quickest PHS teams ever, and their wins in summer ball mostly have been because their quickness has disrupted their opponents. With the roster they have now, they can easily go 8-9 deep, and that doesn't include 6-2 Logan Adkins, who is still on the mend from knee surgery in January. He may be medically cleared by August or September.
Portsmouth Trojans 2024-25
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trojandave
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- Location: Portsmouth HS--15 State Appearances in Boys Basketball--4th All Time in Ohio
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trojandave
- SEOPS
- Posts: 5089
- Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2004 11:41 pm
- Location: Portsmouth HS--15 State Appearances in Boys Basketball--4th All Time in Ohio
Re: Portsmouth Trojans 2024-25
The Trojans defeated Western Pike 57-36 and Ironton St.Joe 49-17 at the Rock Hill League on Thursday, then made a quick rebound from that to win all 3 games at the North Adams Shootout. PHS beat Western Pike 59-38, host North Adams 42-39, and then bested Felicity (Clermont County school) 60-46.
So far PHS is 15-0 against Minford, Symmes Valley, South Gallia, Western Pike (3 times), Eastern Brown, North Adams, Oak Hill, Rock Hill, Coal Grove, Felicity, Point Pleasant (WV), Ironton St. Joe, and Lynchburg Clay. The Trojans lost all 3 games at Ohio Dominican vs. teams outside the SE district.
Against host North Adams yesterday, PHS trailed 37-28 with around 7 minutes to play, but they turned up the defense to outscore the Green Devils 14-2 the rest of the way to pull out the win. NA has a good team that will be very competitive in the SHAC along with Eastern Brown and Lynchburg Clay.
The thing that stands out about these Trojans this summer is their quickness on defense. The offense has improved dramatically over the last few weeks, with more players sharing the ball in the halfcourt which was not the case early on. Credit to Coaches Smith and Collins for making the necessary adjustments.
Portsmouth will finish play in the Rock Hill League on Thursday, and will play Valley at PHS on Friday, starting time might be around 1:00 PM but is not official.
So far PHS is 15-0 against Minford, Symmes Valley, South Gallia, Western Pike (3 times), Eastern Brown, North Adams, Oak Hill, Rock Hill, Coal Grove, Felicity, Point Pleasant (WV), Ironton St. Joe, and Lynchburg Clay. The Trojans lost all 3 games at Ohio Dominican vs. teams outside the SE district.
Against host North Adams yesterday, PHS trailed 37-28 with around 7 minutes to play, but they turned up the defense to outscore the Green Devils 14-2 the rest of the way to pull out the win. NA has a good team that will be very competitive in the SHAC along with Eastern Brown and Lynchburg Clay.
The thing that stands out about these Trojans this summer is their quickness on defense. The offense has improved dramatically over the last few weeks, with more players sharing the ball in the halfcourt which was not the case early on. Credit to Coaches Smith and Collins for making the necessary adjustments.
Portsmouth will finish play in the Rock Hill League on Thursday, and will play Valley at PHS on Friday, starting time might be around 1:00 PM but is not official.
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trojandave
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- Location: Portsmouth HS--15 State Appearances in Boys Basketball--4th All Time in Ohio
Re: Portsmouth Trojans 2024-25
Portsmouth ran it's final record to 8-0 in the Rock Hill League with a 44-40 win over a talented Huntington St.Joe team, and followed that with a 61-38 win over the Green Bobcats.
The win over HSJ was one of the best of the summer for PHS, as the Irish have some very good individual talent. They also had quite a size advantage on the Trojans, and played a very physical style. The Trojans matched physicality with physicality, and fought back from a 35-28 deficit with just about 5 minutes to play (running clock). Connie Thomas and Daequan Woods sealed the comeback win for PHS with some clutch FT shooting in the last 2 minutes.
Green jumped out to a 17-10 lead, but after that it was all Trojans, as they outscored the Bobcats 51-21. Green's #3 got off to a hot start from 3 ball land, but Crisshawn Dukes was assigned to guard him afterward and his D negated his shooting.
The "Fresh Four" of Mekhi Berry, Joe Greene, Manny Thomas, and Liam Livingston have helped make this summer a big success for the Trojans. Other than the Ohio Dominican scrimmage, where PHS went 0-3, the Trojans are 17-0 against everybody else. The ODU shootout was early in June, but the Trojans have improved dramatically since then. Among the teams Portsmouth has beaten include Huntington St.Joe, Eastern Brown, Lynchburg Clay, North Adams, Point Pleasant (WV) and Symmes Valley.
Mekhi Berry is the official "dunkmeister" of the Trojans, as he rarely goes a game without a dunk.
Portsmouth's scrimmage with Valley today was cancelled, but it's possible PHS may find a scrimmage for next week.
The win over HSJ was one of the best of the summer for PHS, as the Irish have some very good individual talent. They also had quite a size advantage on the Trojans, and played a very physical style. The Trojans matched physicality with physicality, and fought back from a 35-28 deficit with just about 5 minutes to play (running clock). Connie Thomas and Daequan Woods sealed the comeback win for PHS with some clutch FT shooting in the last 2 minutes.
Green jumped out to a 17-10 lead, but after that it was all Trojans, as they outscored the Bobcats 51-21. Green's #3 got off to a hot start from 3 ball land, but Crisshawn Dukes was assigned to guard him afterward and his D negated his shooting.
The "Fresh Four" of Mekhi Berry, Joe Greene, Manny Thomas, and Liam Livingston have helped make this summer a big success for the Trojans. Other than the Ohio Dominican scrimmage, where PHS went 0-3, the Trojans are 17-0 against everybody else. The ODU shootout was early in June, but the Trojans have improved dramatically since then. Among the teams Portsmouth has beaten include Huntington St.Joe, Eastern Brown, Lynchburg Clay, North Adams, Point Pleasant (WV) and Symmes Valley.
Mekhi Berry is the official "dunkmeister" of the Trojans, as he rarely goes a game without a dunk.
Portsmouth's scrimmage with Valley today was cancelled, but it's possible PHS may find a scrimmage for next week.
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trojandave
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- Location: Portsmouth HS--15 State Appearances in Boys Basketball--4th All Time in Ohio
Re: Portsmouth Trojans 2024-25
One player that has hardly been mentioned that has improved a lot is Jay Lofton, who will be a junior this coming season. He has shown that he is capable of handling the PG duties, most likely as a backup to Connie Thomas or Daequan Woods. He is a threat from 3 ball land but can also take it to the hole.