Portsmouth 08-09

[fromtheparkinglot]

O.K. what does the team have coming back next year...let's discuss the players....what does the team need to improve? Please be constructive.

[baller3]

Portsmouth has a nice team coming back next yr. They will have one of the best backcourts in southern Ohio. I have to also include my Cavs backcourt with Caleb Knights running the show. Anyways, the Trojans will have some talent on the floor and challenge several D3 schools in tourney play. Trojan Dave is a supporter of Portsmouth trojans so he will be able to tell you more.

Good Luck this year. I will be happy if you guys come in 2nd in the SEOAL and win the district title.

[Enemy of State_98]

I think Portsmouth will be a solid team this year they are a very athletic team that could give other teams alot of problims good luck this year.

[Jason Vorhees]

14-6....

[trojandave]

The Portsmouth Trojans in 2008-09 return their top 7 players from a year ago(based on their tournament roster) and look to finally break a school record 6 straight losing seasons.

The Trojans' backcourt of Andrew Bendolph(soph) and Forrest Johnson(junior) should be the best in SE Ohio and one of the best in the state. Bendolph made honorable mention all-state and all-SEOAL, while Johnson made honorable mention all district. These 2 kids complement each other very well and both have the capablility to score over 20 points in a game. With the experience gained from last year, and their heavy duty off-season play, they should be a very tough matchup for any opponent.

The frontcourt features 6-7 senior Nate Cadogen, 6-6 senior Anthony Williams, 6-2 senior Corey Allison, 6-1 senior Jacob Stevens, and 6-5 senior Zack Link. Cadogen was posting double doubles quite often, while Williams was the leading scorer and rebounder until he got hurt in December. He came back but didn't quite have the form before the injury, but he is completely healthy now. Allison started in the tournament at the other forward, and Stevens started a number of games throughout last year. Allison has a very nice outside shooting touch, while Stevens played very workmanlike and steady basketball, and had a perfect shooting night vs. Zane Trace in the tourney. Link will be an important player on the front line, and is an athletic kid with a great attitude who can block shots or pull down rebounds.

There are some other kids who will battle for spots on the varsity, including James Lawson, Nick Nelson, Patrick Underwood, London Malone, and Tre Underwood. Also Josh Myers could be in the mix if he decides to play basketball.....he was outstanding in the 8th grade, but chose not to play last year. There is word that he may very well play again this year.......and that would be a big plus.

I think that Portsmouth should contend for the SEOAL title, along with Chillicothe, Zanesville, and Logan, with Ironton possibly in the running. It is very reasonable to assess that this team has the talent to advance to the regional in Athens.....offensively they should be outstanding.....but the one major question mark with this team will be........will they lock down on the defensive end?

If they do.........they could be REALLY GOOD.

GO TROJANS!!!

[TrojanXplosion]

It would really be nice to see the Trojans return to the dominate basketball program they once were.

[claypantherfan]

As long as every body that played last year and they stay healthy they will be dominant. Defantly in the guard position with Bendolph and Johnson. And downlow with Williams

[backdoor54]

In my opinion Portsmouth has a very talented team, but im not sure if they will have what it takes to win their league or to reach their true potential. Very talented and Iv seen these guys working in the off season. Will they be disciplined? Without it they cannot win against good team and they wont pick up many close games. They can't just get bored on defense and reach for steals they would get against bad teams. They must crash the glass defensively as a TEAM. Portsmouth has the Talent to bring PHS basketball back to where it belongs, but do they have the small things? The desire, descipline, and game in and game out effort. That is yet to be seen.

[art_vandelay]

That backcourt is going to be scary! Also plenty of size in the frontcourt means PHS looking like a 15-5 type team.

But like others have already said, Portsmouth's overall success will be determined by what kind of work they do on defense and on the boards. This team will be able to run with anybody, but will they get after it on the defensive end in a low-scoring halfcourt game? Those are the types of games that are the norm come tourney time (i.e. Chillicothe's tourney win over Logan Elm). I got a feeling though that the Trojans will D-up in crunchtime and will win a District Championship.

Looking forward to the camp updates from trojandave.*

[trojandave]

Backdoor makes some good points about the Trojans. They must do the little things better........and not make unnecessary fouls. Rebounding was actually pretty good last year for Portsmouth, as in most games the Trojans held their own on the glass.

The major reason that Portsmouth didn't post a better record last year was because they didn't commit themselves on the defensive end......I went to every game, and it just wasn't there night in and night out. That's not to say they can't play defense.......they just have to have the desire........and I believe they will.........these kids WANT TO WIN and now knows what it takes to play with the very good teams on their schedule.

Although there are things we can do better, gaining a year of experience for a team returning all 5 starters should prove to be very valuable this coming season. And there is no question the talent is there.............if they put it all together, they could be VERY GOOD.

I think the Trojans will contend for the SEOAL title simply because we will be better, while Chillicothe and Zanesville won't be as dominant as the last 2 years.

[ManitouDan]

good points brought up by backdoor. The team has the talent and size. Can they actually run a 1/2 court O and get decent shots ? Can they win games against teams with decent guard play where they are made to defend in the 1/2 court.

Both require discipline . Thats the key , can they be disciplined to not be lazy and complacent in the 1/2 court game, on both ends.

Having said that they will once again annihilate teams with questionable guard play. Beat those team like drums. We will see alot of 88-50 games in favor of PHS this year . But can they win the 52-50 game ?????? can they beat teams they can't take the ball from with full court pressure ? I hope so ! I like the young trojans. MD

[trojandave]

Portsmouth opens the 2008-09 season against Greenfield McClain at the Chillicothe Shootout on Dec.6. That should be one of 5 games that day at CHS, an event that is held every year and draws a good crowd. PHS then has a 13 day layoff before their next game when they will play at South Webster on Dec.19.

Don't have the whole schedule yet, but the Trojans will play more games at home than on the road this coming season......yet another reason to believe that Portsmouth will have a good season. It could be a VERY GOOD season...........

The Trojans will have a very active summer tour, ranging from hosting their own shootout on June 5-6, where they will most likely play Chillicothe and Oak Hill, to going to Chesapeake June 7th, then to Cedarville June 13-14, Akron 20-21, and either the Ohio University or Ohio State Camp/Shootouts the Sunday after Cedarville. They will also play in the Wheelersburg Summer League, and will continue open gym until the middle of July.

I plan on attending the home shootout on June 5-6, then Chesapeake on the 7th, and then Cedarville on the 13th, which most of their play is that day. I will post results when I get the chance.

GO TROJANS!!!

[TrojanXplosion]

^^^^^^^^^^^
Sounds good. How good is Greenfield going to be this year??? I know that they are always pretty tough but, are they going to be really good or just average???

[trojandave]

The big news in the off season is the status of Vinny Zollo.....the 6-8 sophomore-to-be who had a big year last season for the Tigers. Apparently from reading threads on this message board and others Zollo will not be at Greenfield next season.......and if indeed that be the case, the Tigers will suffer a big loss in the middle. But McClain is McClain.....Van Matre has had only 1 losing season in 27 years, and he will find a way to win more games than he loses......but I have to think that Portsmouth has an excellent chance to defeat the Tigers next December.

[trojandave]

Manitou Dan makes a good point about next year's Trojans. Can they win the close games?.........last year, they hardly had close games at all......either they blew out their opponent or got blown out..........but I think that one thing that will work in their favor will be their free throw shooting........with Bendolph and Johnson, London Malone or James Lawson coming off the bench, free throw shooting from this group should be pretty good, above 70%. Considering that these kids will be doing most of the ball handling late in the games, good free throw shooting is critical to winning close games. And these kids can also handle the ball well.....another huge factor to making plays in the clutch.

6-2 senior Corey Allison is also a very good free throw shooter, and it wouldn't be wise for teams put him at the line. I don't have the stats in front of me, but he might have been the best free throw shooter on the team last year. Very capable of close to 80% at the line, and playing the 3 position should get his share of chances at the charity stripe. Returning 6-1 senior Jacob Stevens is also a good free throw shooter.

If there's one area on offense that 6-6 senior Anthony Williams could stand the most improvement, it would be his free throw shooting. He has a nice game that can go inside or out, but his free throw shooting last season was inconsistent. And with his style of play, he will get his share of free throws. I would like to see him get that percentage to at least 70% and preferably higher than that.

6-7 senior Nate Cadogen's free throw shooting improved quite a bit from the 2007 season, and while there's room for improvement, he probably won't get a lot of touches late in games if Portsmouth is trying to protect the lead, because the guards/forwards will do the bulk of the ball handling. Nate's biggest asset to the Trojans in close games late is his ability to pull down rebounds.......he was a consistent double double player last year.

There's one thing that all of the above mentioned players will have to do at some point in the 2008-09 season.......and that is make some free throws in the clutch. Hopefully our kids will step to the line with confidence and knock them down.

I think it's always beneficial to have close games during the regular season......and preferably near the tournament......and I do believe that the way the SEOAL sets up for 2008-09, Portsmouth will have its share of close encounters.......but hopefully we will still come out on top...........it's one thing to have close games, but it's even more important to WIN them. And how teams handle the ball and shoot free throws down the stretch DIRECTLY affects the final score.

GO TROJANS!!!

[trojandave]

Andrew Bendolph will miss the first weekend of summer shootouts due to an AAU committment. His team is doing very well. Portsmouth has a shootout on Thursday, June 5th at PHS with several local teams, and Friday, June 6th has Chillicothe and Oak Hill coming in, while Saturday the Trojans will travel to play in the Chesapeake Shootout. There is a chance that Andrew will play Thursday of that week but will definitely not play Friday or Saturday.

Andrew will be participating in the remaining shootouts for the balance of June. Portsmouth has a very busy June schedule of shootouts/camps, including Cedarville, Ohio University or Ohio State, and Univ.of Akron.

Looking forward to seeing the Trojans play next week, and I will post results as soon as I can.

GO TROJANS!!!

[biggdowgg]

glad you posted this...I will be down to see this.

[trojandave]

biggdowgg: I wish we had Andrew against Chillicothe and Oak Hill.....not having him is a big loss, but I am interested to see what we can do without him. I would say either London Malone or James Lawson would fill in his absence since they are going to be point guards.......

I saw Nate Cadogen yesterday when I was talking to his father at their home, and he is one BIG kid!! He was 6-7, 250 lbs. last year, and now is 6-7, 270 lbs.!!! He will be a load for any opponent next season, and he was a consistent double double player last year. I would expect more of the same for Nate, and he most likely will have a very nice college football scholarship in hand when the first hoops game tips off.

[trojandave]

Tobias: The shootouts at PHS on the 5th and 6th are scheduled to start at 4:00 pm, while the Chesapeake Shootout is supposed to start around 9 am.

There is supposed to be 2 games running simultaneously at the PHS shootouts, but I am not sure of the Chesapeake format........might be the same thing.

[claypantherfan]

Does any body know what teams are going to be there at the PHS shoot out?