Portsmouth Trojans 22-23 Basketball

[Jonjon]

If it’s been happening for years there’s only one answer then.

[trojandave]

Trojans' defense showed up vs. New Hope as PHS won 73-47. How Portsmouth (1-2) does this season will come to their defense. The first 2 games it wasn't there. Liked the new starting lineup with Isaiah Lewis at guard. He gave us 5 points and some sticky D.

[trojandave]

Portsmouth used a sticky defense and a 12-2 spurt in the 3rd quarter to beat Chesapeake 59-44 at PHS. DeAndre Berry had 18 pts., while Devin Lattimore had 16 and Tyler Duncan 13. PHS now 2-2 overall and 1-2 in OVC play. CHS went 3-19 on the 3 ball, while PHS went 6-22.

PHS JV lost 49-20 and are now 0-3 on the season.

[MattyIce]

In the Trojans 3 losses, they have given up 72, 73, and 72 points. It doesn’t matter who you are playing; if you give up 70 plus points in a high school game, you will LOSE every time. The Trojans have way too good of athletes to be giving up this many points. Defense used to be a staple for Portsmouth Basketball. Come on Trojans, sit down and guard someone!!!

[Pinwheel]

In the Trojans 3 losses, they have given up 72, 73, and 72 points. It doesn’t matter who you are playing; if you give up 70 plus points in a high school game, you will LOSE every time. The Trojans have way too good of athletes to be giving up this many points. Defense used to be a staple for Portsmouth Basketball. Come on Trojans, sit down and guard someone!!!

..from the games I watch on YouTube it's not the talent on the court , Portsmouth plays the same vanilla Defense over and over and never seems to want to change anything

[trojandave]

MattyIce: You are spot on about the defense of the Trojans.......70+ points given up in 3 out of 5 games is the reason they're 2-3. Rebounding hasn't been good either.....for example, Coal Grove, a team that has no more size than Portsmouth, outrebounded the Trojans by 10.

Last night was the 16th STRAIGHT loss vs. Fairland dating back to 2015.......Chillicothe had won 14 in a row until the Trojans won 52-42 in the 2011 season which happened to be Portsmouth's Final 4 team. PHS split that year, then swept the Cavaliers in the 2012 season, when PHS went to the Final 4 again.

It seems as if the losses to Fairland all take on the same characteristic.......the Trojans die a slow death watching the Dragons run their efficient offense without really D'ing up FHS hard. After some 7-8 passes, the PHS defense breaks down and allows a layup or an easy jumper in the lane.

I've watched the Trojans for 50 years, and I can't recall any team that has beaten Portsmouth 16 times in a row......not Middletown, not Hamilton, not Springfield, not Lima (all those teams in the Greater Ohio League). Even though the current junior class is a good class of basketball players IMO, it doesn't look good to end this streak in Proctorville later this season.

What's even more alarming is what's coming up behind this junior class......the JV's are 0-4 with blowout losses, and the PJHS boys are 0-4 with all blowout losses (and I mean 40 point blowouts with running clocks). I've never seen it this bad at PHS under the varsity level. The JV team has a lot of freshmen, but a lot of JV teams have freshmen nowadays. That can't be used as an excuse for the JV results.

After this junior class graduates, I have to say with all sincerity that Portsmouth basketball is headed for 3 straight last place finishes in the OVC. There is a serious lack of ballhandling in grades 7-10. There are some good athletes, but that is not translating to winning basketball. Not uncommon to see these teams making 25-30 turnovers in a game.

Pinwheel: I don't think there's anybody that has watched the Trojans with regularity and come away saying that PHS doesn't have some good talent. That's what's so mystifying. As Matty Ice said, it relates more to the defensive end more so than the other end of the court. The D has just not been consistent from game to game, more often than not porous rather than stifling.

Long time Trojan fans I have talked to have said basically the same thing.....what stands out to them is the lack of suffocating D that made PHS so successful for so long. I talked to one long time fan who said he was turning in his season tickets after what happened in the Coal Grove game when Owen Johnson went off for 39 points. Last season the kid from Whiteoak went for 44 vs. PHS at the Buckeye Elite and he was averaging 19 PPG overall.

Hopefully things can turn around......but for right now unless the D gets much better, I just see this team struggling to get above .500 and fighting to stay out of last place in the OVC (where they are as of today). I will always be faithful no matter what, but our future looks like this..........

[trojandave]

PJHS boys basketball only has 1 team......there wasn't enough kids to field a separate 7th and 8th grade team. The current team is comprised mostly of 8th graders.

[trojandave]

Portsmouth has lost 7 of its last 10 OVC games at home, and are currently 1-2 at home in the 2022-23 season. PHS was 4-3 on the road last season, with wins at Gallia, South Point, Coal Grove, and Rock Hill.

[trojandave]

DeAndre Berry's 2 FT's in the last few seconds allowed PHS to escape with a 58-57 win over Wesley Christian at the Ironton Classic. The Trojans put 4 players in double figures......Tyler Duncan with 16 and 5 threes, DeAndre Berry with 13, Kenny Sanderlin with 11, and Donnovan Breech with 10. Breech's performance was a pleasant surprise and hopefully a sign of things to come.

Portsmouth now even at 3-3 and have 2 big games at home next week with Spring Valley (WV) next Wednesday and Wheelersburg on Friday.

[Hoopster98]

Is there any development with the younger trojans such as JV, Jhigh, or Biddy ball? JV is really struggling and I mean struggling. I am not seeing the Trojans being competitive for quite awhile.

[art_vandelay]

Is there any development with the younger trojans such as JV, Jhigh, or Biddy ball? JV is really struggling and I mean struggling. I am not seeing the Trojans being competitive for quite awhile.

Scroll up about 4 posts to trojandave's post. Sounds like a major talent drop on the horizon for Portsmouth, and it's just not limited to basketball (heard their junior high football numbers are way down as well). As far as development at biddy level, it's been lacking for years in all sports. Frustrating to see from an outsider when you see the individual talent/athletes Portsmouth still has.*

[Hoopster98]

What i was asking is why is there no development at the lower levels? Watching their JV was horrible. These kids had no fundamentals, completely lost on the offensive end and no defense at all. No reason why Portsmouth should only have 1 Junior High Team. Who is in charge of the biddy ball system?

[trojandave]

Portsmouth took a 35-34 3rd quarter lead on a good Spring Valley team, then completely fell apart afterward, being outscored the rest of the way 28-14 to lose 62-49 and drop to 3-4 on the season. It was the Trojans' 3rd loss at home in 4 games. Don't have the official scoring numbers, but DeAndre Berry led with around 15 points. PHS simply can't sustain any good play, but they have their moments as it showed last night. Portsmouth is good enough to upset a better team, but also inconsistent enough to lose to anyone. Rebounding, turnovers, and lack of hustle really hurt last night.

The Trojans entertain Wheelersburg on Friday. Maybe the Trojans can get a home win which has been elusive so far this season.

[trojandave]

Hoopster98: I had a long talk with several individuals after the SV game last night. I told them that after this junior class graduates, that the Trojan basketball program will be in real trouble. I have already predicted 3 straight last place finishes (8th) in the OVC from 2025-2027. The JV and PHJS are absolutely getting hammered on the scoreboard with games being 40 point blowouts even with a running clock.

Art Vandelay: You are spot on about the paltry numbers.....never in my 50 years have I seen just 1 junior high team. PHS used to always have a freshmen team also, but those days are long gone.

What has happened to this proud program? It starts with the kids not having a love of the game which precipitates a work ethic that produces good basketball skills. Portsmouth has athletes, but these kids coming up behind the varsity are just that......athletes who are not basketball players. I agree with your assessment of what you saw.......and I think the most glaring skill weakness is a severe lack of ball handling skills. Turnovers average 25-30 a game, and as a result the JV team barely can hit 20-25 points for the game. The PJHS has the same problem......I've seen them twice and it's the same problem. Defense and hustle are other problems, but lack of ball handling to me is the #1 deficiency. Simply put, if you can't dribble, you will have a hard time shooting, passing, and scoring. Ball handling sets up everything on the offensive end. How can a coach run plays when his team can't dribble and pass?

It all starts with loving the game.......we can talk about the biddy ball program ad nauseum, but if the kids don't love the game, they won't work on their skills and will try to get by with their athletic ability, which obviously isn't working at the JV and PJHS levels.

The best players, the winning players all share a love of the game.....and probably don't have to have a biddy program to facilitate this. Some kids may need it, but a love of the game must be present. Biddy ball keeps the kids occupied for those years, but did they love the game enough to workout on their own or just look forward to playing another biddy ball game?

I will take up for coaching staffs at PHS and PJHS.....they have made PHS gym available during the summer and have worked hard at trying to get kids to improve their basic skills. Coaches can only do so much. They've had open gyms, camps, summer shootouts, individual instruction.

I've seen enough basketball in the 50 years of watching the Trojans to know that when I see a kid who can't handle the basketball, then I'm seeing a kid who hasn't put the time in to improve that critical aspect of the sport. Great ball handling takes more than just basketball season to master.

It's discouraging to see what lies ahead for the next 3-4 years. I just don't see a miraculous turnaround, but I guess hope is all I have right now.

GO TROJANS!!

[Hoopster98]

I do agree with almost everything your saying Dave. If your team is not good at ball handling then that leads for a disaster. As a coach you can only do so much but when the kids who are on the jhigh basketball team or biddy ball team, are they being taught the correct things. Such as midline, deny, ripping through, triple threat, etc... things like that. Thats 1 thing that I have noticed is the fundamentals are not there. Looks like in the younger system the kids aren't being taught the basic things.

[Rza1]

I've posted p.c. /beat around the bush/read between the lines responses on this situation in the past... but jesus... it's the culture.. it's Collin's culture... I think he's a good guy.. but the fact is nearly every opposing coach that faces portsmouth watch enviously as they warm up.. usually a good show til tipoff... an then the culture rears its ugly head. For whatever reason he doesn't have the kids ear... or their respect. An this ain't something that's brand new. Time for a house cleaning...

[Bozo]

All sports are in the same situation with kids today in schools. Video games, laziness and cell phones are the major problem. Kids don't go outside to play any sport. The fundamental skills are awful. Participation is awful. Parents make excuses for all of them.

Do you think kids would go out and scrap ice off a basketball court today? Not a chance.

[Hoopster98]

My thing is, even the ones that play their fundamentals are terrible. So you can't blame the kids when they aren't being taught the proper fundamentals as a youth.

[Bozo]

Agree.
Coaching, especially at the lower levels, is lacking.
Kids just don't go out and play either.

[The Ghost of Swanker]

I've posted p.c. /beat around the bush/read between the lines responses on this situation in the past... but jesus... it's the culture.. it's Collin's culture... I think he's a good guy.. but the fact is nearly every opposing coach that faces portsmouth watch enviously as they warm up.. usually a good show til tipoff... an then the culture rears its ugly head. For whatever reason he doesn't have the kids ear... or their respect. An this ain't something that's brand new. Time for a house cleaning...

Careful the Portsmouth faithful will defend Collins before Jesus