Pfloyd's Elite 8 of Southern/SouthEast Ohio - Final 2024-25 Regular Season Only Edition

[High Fade]

News: Brinager has left meigs and went to Racine Southern. Impressive 2 seasons at Meigs, I don’t think he can handle not being the “dude” on his team. Looking at schedules major falloff in the transfer to southern.

... Wow!, is this news a fact ? or wishful thinking? ...

Fact. Enrolled at Southern last week. Returning home after a 3 year tour @ Meigs. Southern has a lot of NIL funding with the greenhouses and tomatoes.

[pfloyd]

News: Brinager has left meigs and went to Racine Southern. Impressive 2 seasons at Meigs, I don’t think he can handle not being the “dude” on his team. Looking at schedules major falloff in the transfer to southern.

... Wow!, is this news a fact ? or wishful thinking? ...

Fact. Enrolled at Southern last week. Returning home after a 3 year tour @ Meigs. Southern has a lot of NIL funding with the greenhouses and tomatoes.

Glad my greenhouse contribution went to a good cause …

[Hookshot]

... Wow!, is this news a fact ? or wishful thinking? ...

Fact. Enrolled at Southern last week. Returning home after a 3 year tour @ Meigs. Southern has a lot of NIL funding with the greenhouses and tomatoes.

Glad my greenhouse contribution went to a good cause …

So back to a more serious basketball question or two.
--What does this do to Meigs prospects for another major winning season in 2025-26? Hearing there could be more Marauder news coming...
--What will Southern be like with this key addition?

[pfloyd]

Fact. Enrolled at Southern last week. Returning home after a 3 year tour @ Meigs. Southern has a lot of NIL funding with the greenhouses and tomatoes.

Glad my greenhouse contribution went to a good cause …

So back to a more serious basketball question or two.
--What does this do to Meigs prospects for another major winning season in 2025-26? Hearing there could be more Marauder news coming...
--What will Southern be like with this key addition?

... Saw Southern today at the Warrior Shootout @ Warren ... I was impressed with the Tornadoes - they were going to be a very good team WITHOUT Reed Brinager ... Coach Caldwell has done a great job with the returning group led by Andre Chandler at the PG - quick, can score at all levels, endless motor at both ends of the floor ... throw in a 6-5 or 6-6 Brinager who can play all over the court ... I thought Southern was the best team I saw today at Warren ... Coach Caldwell has them playing well together - they looked ready for the season to start ... athletic group through 10 players at least ... with Brinager in the lineup it frees up EVERYONE to play within themselves imo ... by the time the season starts in late November - this group will have lots of boxes checked off - inside big, outstanding floor leader/PG, excellent D, bench that can contribute ... Southern has an asterisk beside them on my preseason Elite 8 list going to be in my top 15 for sure ...

[Hookshot]

Glad my greenhouse contribution went to a good cause …

So back to a more serious basketball question or two.
--What does this do to Meigs prospects for another major winning season in 2025-26? Hearing there could be more Marauder news coming...
--What will Southern be like with this key addition?

... Saw Southern today at the Warrior Shootout @ Warren ... I was impressed with the Tornadoes - they were going to be a very good team WITHOUT Reed Brinager ... Coach Caldwell has done a great job with the returning group led by Andre Chandler at the PG - quick, can score at all levels, endless motor at both ends of the floor ... throw in a 6-5 or 6-6 Brinager who can play all over the court ... I thought Southern was the best team I saw today at Warren ... Coach Caldwell has them playing well together - they looked ready for the season to start ... athletic group through 10 players at least ... with Brinager in the lineup it frees up EVERYONE to play within themselves imo ... by the time the season starts in late November - this group will have lots of boxes checked off - inside big, outstanding floor leader/PG, excellent D, bench that can contribute ... Southern has an asterisk beside them on my preseason Elite 8 list going to be in my top 15 for sure ...

Thanks for the Southern report Pfloyd. Are you going to do a rundown on other teams you saw at Warren?

[pfloyd]

So back to a more serious basketball question or two.
--What does this do to Meigs prospects for another major winning season in 2025-26? Hearing there could be more Marauder news coming...
--What will Southern be like with this key addition?

... Saw Southern today at the Warrior Shootout @ Warren ... I was impressed with the Tornadoes - they were going to be a very good team WITHOUT Reed Brinager ... Coach Caldwell has done a great job with the returning group led by Andre Chandler at the PG - quick, can score at all levels, endless motor at both ends of the floor ... throw in a 6-5 or 6-6 Brinager who can play all over the court ... I thought Southern was the best team I saw today at Warren ... Coach Caldwell has them playing well together - they looked ready for the season to start ... athletic group through 10 players at least ... with Brinager in the lineup it frees up EVERYONE to play within themselves imo ... by the time the season starts in late November - this group will have lots of boxes checked off - inside big, outstanding floor leader/PG, excellent D, bench that can contribute ... Southern has an asterisk beside them on my preseason Elite 8 list going to be in my top 15 for sure ...

Thanks for the Southern report Pfloyd. Are you going to do a rundown on other teams you saw at Warren?

... Warren? where to start? young, inexperienced at the varsity level ... an entire roster of players that I DON'T know ... I have a feeling the summer has been a valuable learning experience for the coaching staff as they try to figure out WHO they have, WHERE the offense is going to come from, WHAT type of offense they are going to lean on ... literally 100% of the offense has to be replaced ... defensively- that too is open for discussion ... ????????? the intangibles are there - players who work hard, players who play a physical game of basketball as they have been taught coming up through the Warren system ... watching Friday's games it looked like a group of kids figuring out the varsity game - how their own skill set fits into the varsity game - speed, physicality, strength ... I told Coach Mitchem for Warren - it's the first time in years that I can't pencil in the Warren roster from memory ... lots of boxes that need to be filled before November's tipoff just as it is for ALL teams - the need for a floor leader/PG ... scoring? where will it come from - tough question as everyone on the Warren roster is trying to figure out "HOW TO" score at the varsity level ... it looked like everyone on the court was "thinking" about where they were supposed to be, what they were supposed to be doing, always a "second" behind on the shot,do I shoot,pass or dribble drive or in rotation on defense, or jumping on the double team ... doesn't mean that the pieces AREN'T there! I believe the JV's were undefeated last season! they can play the game ... lots of work will be put in over the next 4 months ... scorers will be found, rotations will be figured out, the defensive comfort with each other will be there , weight room time put in, shots taken ... not used to seeing a Warren team WITHOUT size inside the paint - the option of pounding the ball inside isn't there ... that big in the paint to cover for mistakes on the perimeter isn't there ... scoring will need to come from the perimeter or on penetration to the rim - right now everyone on the floor is thinking so much - not "playing the game" as it naturally comes to them ... there were streaks of the talent they have on the floor - down 12 to Eastern Brown, the youngsters "got to the rim" without thinking about what to do with the ball & finished ... got after it on the defensive end - took a lead before the "thinking" got involved again ... Warren will be fine! I'm anxious to see the development from now thru November - boxes will be checked off ... the size problem might be solved as they have a freshman big , they have a couple PGs in the pipeline ... the D will take care of itself ...

... Will Warren be an Elite 8 team in 2025-26? it will be one of those seasons where they have to prove it to the committee but more importantly - they will need to prove it to themselves ... I'm not betting against Coach Maddox & his staff ...

Warren: young, inexperienced at the varsity level, no 6-5+ big ... need to develop a PG ... lots of questions to be answered on offense and defense ... scoring??? ... I believe Warren has one more shoot out - Caldwell Shootout next Saturday ... one thing I will be looking to see is if the youngsters relax and "play the game" first ... letting the coaching staff "mold" what they bring to the table into what they need to be at the varsity level - right now it looks like they are "trying" to do what the coaches said in practice while forgetting that they CAN play basketball ... looks like they think what they bring to the court isn't right so they aren't being themselves ... play the game! do what comes naturally from the years they've played in the system - it ain't off from where it needs to be by much ...

[pfloyd]

Fairfield Union under new head coach Coach John Helber will be a solid team this coming season ... not overly BIG but "big enough" anchored by Asa Kline 6-5 soph and strong in the paint ... scores from all levels inside, on the perimeter and a the big separator he had an outstanding midrange jumper last season and still has it this season ... strong on the boards at both ends ... handles the ball well off the dribble ... the big thing is that he is playing a bigger role in the offense ... paired with the perimeter scoring of junior 6-2 Trevor Utzinger & role players who rebound, score, play D ... lots of good pieces for FU ... I like them in the preseason top 15 ...

Alexander ... I liked what I saw out of Alexander! they have struggled in the last few years for sure BUT when I looked at the appearance of players on the court, they looked like basketball players ... I'm a fan of the soph PG Jace Cooper ... he's probably 6-1 or 6-2 with 6-5 arm span ... likes to attack the rim ... I'd like to see more of his perimeter game from beyond the arc - he's learning how to score - he'll figure out that IF he's a perimeter threat it will make him even more effective when he puts the ball on the floor to take it to the rim ... the Spartans play aggressively on D, get in your face, have a little attitude ... Coach Hill will have his Spartans winning some games this season ...

[Whs95fan]

Pfloyd, I wouldn't be surprised to see some of those sophomores from Warren work their way towards some pt this year, was impressed with what I saw from the class last season. Unfortunately wasn't able to make it out Friday so I appreciate the breakdowns.