Pfloyd's Elite 8 of Southern/SouthEast Ohio- Preseason Edition has dropped 10/31 @ 8pm

[pfloyd]

... 9-15 ...



9 ... Fairfield Leesburg ... not sure there has been too many teams as good as the Coach Quentin Williams Lions teams of the last 3 seasons ... a 22-0 regular season in Coach Williams first year as a head coach ... a 40 game regular season win streak over his first 2 seasons ...64-12 ... a .84.7% win percentage over 3 seasons ...Coach Williams and his Fairfield Leesburg Lions get it done on the court ... year 4? coming off of his WORST season record wise as a HC at 16-6 reg season/18-7 overall ? down year coming up? I have the Lions sitting at #9 in the preseason so NO I think it's going to be more of the same - favorites to win the small division of the SHAC (the only teams they have lost to in Williams' 3 seasons are Fayetteville x2 and North Adams x2 ... 4 leagues losses in 3 years by a TOTAL of 17 points) ... Fairfield will be led on the court by 6-2 jr PG Griffin Friend - leader/scorer inside and on the perimeter/distributes the rock/ an incredible rebounder for his size - seemingly in the right place at the right time EVERYTIME ... Brody Smith jr 6-1 , Caleb Barrera jr. 6-0 with the big man in the post Quentin McIntosh 6-5 sr. ... rounding out the returnees Caleb Rice 5-10 jr ... not sure what supports are coming up from last seasons JV squad BUT it's guaranteed that the pipeline from JV to varsity is a good one based on recent experience ...

10 ... Lucasville Valley ... The Indians of Coach Tackett are another one of the top teams who return a lot of talent off of their 2024-25 team, a team that finished 3rd in the SOC3 behind Minford/South Webster (both going deep in the post season/combined reg season records of 39-4) ... the only starter not returning for Valley will be Chase Davis ... last season the Indians started 3 sophs, 1 junior and 1 senior - this years edition of the Indians will have 4 of the same starters ONLY with a full year of varsity experience under their belts which is BIG when the league is made up of 5 teams in my preseason top 25/4 in the top 15 ... the "old man" on the team will be 6-3 sr Christian Copen , joined by jr. Blake Lundy 5-11, 6-2 jr Braxton Conaway, 6-2 jr Jaxsyn Bender along with Malichi Keller 5-10 soph/6-2 sr Lex Logan ... last years Indians put up 54 ppg while holding opponents to 52 ppg ... virtually the same team from last season went 1-1 vs West/ took down the Burg twice/ splitting with Waverly while dropping both games against Minford and South Webster ... looking over the Indian game results they struggled vs teams with true post players in the middle - Minford/Webster although they knocked off Chesapeake on the road 66-63 ... in the 2 games I had eyes on from the cheap seats Braxton Conaway was the only player in the starting group knocking down the 3 ball ... Keller had 2 vs SW ... this is an area needing improvement ... Valley without a true post player in the paint STILL was able to get points in the paint - outstanding passing from the outside in in the 2 games I saw- the Copen to Lundy connection was excellent ... solid defense, quick on the perimeter ... 13-9 last year in the regular season ... more perimeter scoring and maybe some size coming up from the JV - I see the Indians improving on their record from a season ago ...

11 ... Portsmouth West ... Coach McClanahan's Senators actually played a split season last year - the first 11 games were played with "all hands on deck" so to speak as then transfer from Northwest 6-4 Logan Wolfenbarker was able to play in the opening 11 games before sitting out the final 11 plus post season ... in the opening 11 games with everyone having settled into their roles West put up an excellent 8-3 record ... Wolfenbarker sat the final 11 games - the Westsiders went 3-8 to close out the regular season... night and day - when the 6-4 Wolfenbarker was on the floor everyone was able to play within themselves/play their roles , when he sat - hard to make up the scoring/the 6-4 big with length and basketball sense ... filling out the lineup for WHS will be 6-3 with length sr Will Kegley , 6-4 jr Corbin Miller, 6-1 Cristian Quirasco, 5-9 jr Owen Richards, 5-8 jr Braden Adkins ... Coach McClanahan teams have the reputation for playing tough fullcourt D ... scoring in transition ... everyone can score from behind the 3 point line ... I like the Westsiders with good SE district size across the front line and on the wings ... size that when they pressure they can put 6-3/6-4 on point of that 1-3-1 pressure ... 6-3/6-4/6-4 in double teams again makes pressure on the ball very effective ... Kegley/Wolfenbarker both finish in transition ( vs a good Nelsonville team the Senators score 34 pts in transition led by Kegley's 35 pts /10 pts of which were in transition in a pressing D that forced 21 turnovers) ... last season West held opponents to 47 ppg - outstanding but losing 15-18 ppg when Wolfenbarker had to sit - hurt at the offensive end as it was a coin flip on wins and losses as West scored at a 47 ppg clip ...

12 ... Meigs ... Coach Ryan Davis settles into his 2nd season at the helm of the Meigs Marauders ... last season MHS put up an outstanding 21-1 regular season with size 6-8, 6-5, 6-5, 6-4 & 6-6 off the bench/inside outside scoring/ rebounding ... the total package ... the size graduated losing 6-5 Dustin Vance/6-4 Cayden Gheen/6-6 Aaron Tobin ... 6-5 Reed Brinager transferred to Southern ... Landen Dawees 6-2 deep threat to graduation leaving the only real size in 6-8 sr Carson Davis - All Ohio first team/District Player of the Year inside/outside scorer ... Carson has received multiple big school D1 college offers (Air Force/Mississippi State to name 2 that I know of) - Carson IS a player ... 6-0 jr PG Owen Tracy returns to run the show and added to the 2025-26 edition of the Marauders is 6-3 soph Oak Hill transfer Colben Beucler- D5 2nd Team All District player ... joining Tracy/Davis/Beucler will be 6-2 sr. Gunner Cleland ... after this group of 4 - I've got nothing ... the MHS JV struggled in the games I saw - BUT what I DO know is that Meigs ALWAYS seems to have athletes ... seemingly they also have athletes that get hurt before the season starts/in season BUT the athletes are there ... we will have to sit back and keep an eye on the Marauders ... I have them at #12 ... 6-8 Davis a true D1 basketball player in SEOhio - hard to come by ... we'll see if he can carry the team or more important help develop TEAM in Marauder Land ... Tracy/Davis/Beucler is that enough? or will there be help or will players have developed over the last 9 months ... all I know is Meigs opens the season on Saturday November 28th vs my preseason #2 the Miami Trace Panthers - it should be a dandy at 7:30p @ Meigs High School ...

13 ... Wheelersburg ... Coach Prater of the Burg might have THE toughest basketball job in the Southeast district ... Wheelersburg is seemingly good in all sports - boys or girls - yearly the Wheelersburg football team makes a long run into the playoffs which has the basketball team practicing without starters for the first 2,3,4 weeks prior to the first game of the season which is USUALLY not played until the 2nd week in December ... once players get on the court it takes weeks to transition to basketball shape ... last season the Burg went 10-11 in the regular, made it to the Convo & district action losing to Chesapeake 45-49 ... 12-12 for the season 9 of the losses coming at the hands of teams with a combined 110-26 record on the season ... WHS returns 7 of their first 8 players from last season ... led by 6-0 sr. PG/SG Braylon Rucker, 5-8 sr PG Hunter Bivens, 6-1 sr Kenyon Evans, 6-2 sr. post/forward Landon McGraw, 5-11 jr Xavier Miller , 6-1 soph Jack Doerr, 6-2 jr. Bryson Montavon ... lots of varsity experience throughout the roster ... Rucker/Bivens/McGraw/Evans seeing the floor for the varsity for 3 years prior to this season ... physical team missing that true post player in the paint - McGraw is outstanding down low for his size but plays more comfortably on the perimeter then dropping down from outside in ... the numbers from last season show offensively WHS put up 56 ppg vs 60 ppg for their opponents ... without the real inside presence it makes the Burg a perimeter team, one that gets our in transition which at times has them playing more AAU ball vs team ball ... great athletes, who know how to win I look for an improved record over last seasons sub .500 regular season team but again not a team anyone wants to play in the post season ...

14 ... Eastern Brown ... I ALWAYS look at who is in the "coaches box" courtside when I'm looking at ranking teams in the preseason - some teams/programs are simply in the top 15-20 teams in the district EVERY year no matter the roster which tells me the system put in place not only by the HC but executed by the staff from middle school up thru freshmen/jv teams are doing it right - Eastern Brown under Coach Rob Beucler does it right - solid fundamentals are demanded, understanding the game demanded along with discipline/sportsmanship on & off the court ... in Coach Beucler's case he has done it to the tune of 473 wins through the end of the 2024-25 season - outstanding ... when I go to games where Coach Beucler's EB team is playing I try to get within ear shot of Coach Beucler - I WANT to hear what he says to the players as he coaches all 32 minutes win or lose - every teachable moment is used to improve players on the floor and the bench - my kind of coach ... last years Warriors finished 3rd in the SHAC big school division at 10-3 and an overall 17-4 regular season record ... EB scored at a 58 ppg clip while defending the rim holding teams to 45 ppg .. defense wins games that's you accumulate 473 W's in a coaching career ... I had Eastern Brown originally in my top 8 teams back in June until word spread that Grady Barber had transferred out taking with him his All District First Team 16ppg and 6-3 can play anywhere size - pg/sg/swing forward and even get down in the post around the rim at both ends of the floor ... the Warriors will still be good - the system works ... players will fill the void - younger players will have to make up the points - and they have players to just that ... last year's transfer from Warren 6-2 jr PG Chase Pinkerton will be called on to score more - which he did over the summer season ... he looked more comfortable running the show than he did during the regular season last year ... Braxton Vance sr will be back in the starting lineup ... 6-2 jr Jaiden Florence leads a talented group of juniors who can shoot the 3 ball, Kayne Dotson jr, Carter Claxton jr., Matthew Dick jr. along with sr. Sam Kirk ... Eastern Brown is favored along with Fairfield Leesburg in the SHAC even without Barber ... another 17+ win season is not out of the question down in Sardinia ... mark your calendars 12/9 Fairfield Leesburg @ Eastern Brown ...

15 ... Fairfield Union ... New coach courtside for the Falcons for the 2025-26 season, John Helber takes over for Travis Shaeffer ... Coach Helber was 5 years the head coach at Logan High School, has served successfully in the FU system as the freshmen coach, jv, varsity assistant since 2015 ... Helber takes over a team that finished 11-11 in the regular season, 4th in the MSL (7-5) ... under the Shaeffer/Helber regime last season the Falcons put up 55 ppg while giving up right on the magic 50 ppg number ... Fairfield Union should sport one of the best 1, 2 inside outside combinations in the Southeast district with 6-5 soph Asa Kline getting the starting nod inside to go with the outside shooting of 6-1 jr Trevor Utzinger ... with the graduation of key offensive players - Jaxson Iser/Hunter Clark/Keegan Arnett - Kline will be asked to be one of THE go to guys in the Falcon offense ... last season Kline scored 10 ppg coming off the bench while garnering all district honors ...solid 6-5 build, rebounds at both ends of the floor, can score in the paint/ hits the midrange jumper and has developed an excellent beyond the three point line jumper ... he should have a big sophomore season for FU ... 6-1 Trevor Utzinger is a threat with the ball in his hands either distributing the ball, penetrating & dishing or finishing at the rim but his biggest offensive threat is from behind the arc with his unlimited range ... add to the offense young players that picked up valuable PT last season at the varsity level - 6-2 jr Mason Ailes, jr 6-4 Kenton Webb , 5-11 jr Dean Clark , 6-1 jr Kaden Woltz ... no seniors returning ... young team for Coach Helber's first season as HC @ FU ... the Falcons might be a year away but the talent is there ... one of the first things I noticed this past summer was that the entire team looked like basketball players - length, could handle the ball, and shoot the rock ... Fairfield Union @ Circleville on 12/16 ... my preseason #15 vs #6 ...

[The Ghost of Swanker]

Heard Carson Corriell was coming out for the Jeeps this season. The kid can ball I think he’s just had some health problems with concussions the past couple years. Definitely going to help fill the hole with Stephens out. Looking for the jeeps to run em out of the gym this season and welcome the return of a true post player in the freshman Easton Large.

[Ironman92]

Looks good as always old friend. Should be a great season of basketball.

I’ll see you a time or two in Jackson I’m sure.

Coach Morrow wants that #1 spot I’ve heard

[pfloyd]

... 16-20 ...

16 ... Symmes Valley ... the Vikings of Coach Alvin Carpenter check in at the 16th slot in the preseason rankings ... SV finished at 15-6 during the regular season in 2024-25 ... losses to the "big boys" in the SOC/OVC falling to Notre Dame/West during their 8-3 start with Wolfenbarker/Minford/Fairland and Eastern Pike - teams that together averaged 17 wins last regular season ... SV loses one of the best scorers of the ball in SEOhio in Ethan Smith (23.4 ppg )along with 6-3 Will Jones/6-0 Levi Owens ... Coach Carpenter returns an excellent nucleus of players led by PG/SG 5-11 soph (14.3 ppg) Bronx Carpenter - outstanding 3 point shooter/solid ball handler & defender with excellent court presence and BB sense ... I see Carpenter being able to help make up some of the 23.4 ppg void in scoring with the loss of Smith ... what I liked a lot about SV last season is their physicality of play - with just having SEOhio size to work with (6-3ish variety) SV got after it on both ends of the floor ... this season should be no different with strong senior/varsity experience coming from 6-3 Logan Simpkins, 6-3 sr. Tanner Corn ... throw one of the best freshman in the SEO from last season, now a solid soph with varsity games under his belt , 6-2 Asher Maynard ... rounding out the roster from last season 6-3 sr DJ Taylor and another 3 point scorer in 6-0 soph Gradee Holland / 6-3 jr Zayne Wilson /5-6 sr Noah Hutchison/5-10 soph Key Roberts/ 5-10 jr Andy Strow ... my expectations are high for a team that averaged 58 ppg while giving up 54 ppg ... the D imo will improve while the offense will be fine with Carpenter/Maynard both returning to have what I feel will be outstanding years for SV ...

17 ... Chillicothe...Coach Beard's 11-11 regular season Cavs have improved every year that Coach Beard has been courtside at CHS ... from the cheap seats the talent level has grown, the court discipline is there - both standing out to us hoops fans ... lots of upside from last season as CHS went on the road to the Warren Coliseum only losing by -3 to the 20-2 Warriors/ lost @ 21-0 Miami Trace by -2... took on OCC Central Crossing -2 in OT ... finished 3rd in the FAC ... lots of talent returning for Coach Beard & Co. to get over the hump in the close games ... when you look at the ppg averages you can see where it was the coin flip to get to 11-11 in the reg season ... offensively the Cavs were at 55 ppg and defensively 51 ppg ... returning for CHS outstanding 6-3 jr Cayden Cox/ 6-2 sr Cooper Stoneking / PG soph Cartae Ligon (yep, that guy - 2000+ yds on the gridiron this past season/25 TDs/over 300 yds in receptions - he's a dude) / the size & length side of the Cavs come from 6-6 jr Noah Netter/6-4 Andrew Hamman and 6-4 jr Ka Von Pleasant ... Chilli takes on Elite 8 Chesapeake on the 24th at the Hatton in Chillicothe (preseason Preview game) - should be a good one to get out and see!

18 ... Zane Trace ... the Pioneers of Coach Tyler Cassidy lost a lot off of last seasons 18-4 team, one of SEO's best backcourt tandems in Landen Jarell & Ezra Rippeth to go with solid front court players in Landon Robinson/Noah Houston & role players Coen Larson/Judah Hanks ... luckily for Coach Cassidy ZT returns their top 2 leading scorers from a year ago in Gunnar McCullough 6-3 sr 14.2 ppg/8 rbs per game & 49% shooting from the floor along with Grady Stewart 6-3 sr. 13 ppg/5 rbs per game 42% from 3 pt land and 62% fg% overall ... NOT a bad twosome to build around ... one thing I've learned over my 25 years covering SEOhio hoops - Zane Trace ALWAYS has athletes ... this season should be no different - returning from last years squad to fill roles will be 5-9 jr. Roman Berry/ 5-10 jr Lantz Stevens/ 6-1 sr Jordan Powell/ 5-9 sr Noah Kysor/ 6-0 sr Jamison Hill/6-2 sr Dillon Hoover and 6-4 sr Sebastian Ray ... last season the Pioneers finished behind Unioto for the SVC crown, this season it will again come down to the U vs ZT in league play ... ZT will again have a stingy D (last season giving up but 44 ppg) ... ZT opens at their own ZT Tip Off Classic vs Fairland out of the OVC on the 26th @ 7p followed by league play action vs Westfall on 12/2 ...

19 ... Eastern Pike ... not sure how you top last season by the Eastern Pike Eagles - Coach Ethan Leist guided his troops to the Elite 8 in D6 falling to the eventual D6 State Champions Monroe Central ... 19-3 regular season/24-4 overall - outstanding by any standard ... leaders from that team who moved on due to graduation include Tucker Leist/Declan Davis/Wyatt Richardson/ Dalton Southworth and Sherman Salisbury ... you would think that the cupboard would be bare down in Beaver BUT Coach Leist has an outstanding group returning , a group with a 27 game season under their belts, a group that has been in the post season wars and made that deep run in 2024-25 ... last years Eagles put up nearly 60 ppg @ 59 ppg while holding opponents to the magic defensive number of 50 ppg... the 1st place finishing Eagles of the SOC 2 will be led by PG /floor general 5-11 sr Aiden Werner, joining Werner will be returning jr. 6-1 Boston Webb (13.6 ppg), 6-1 jr. Cade Leist in the paint, 6-1 sr Isaac Weaver & 6-3 sr Carson Peters ... lots of returning varsity/post season experience / excellent coaching staff that preaches defense/kills/ getting up and down the court/sticky D - look for the Eagles to have another good season ...

20 ... New Lexington ... rounding out our preseason top 20 are the New Lex Panthers of Coach Jeremy Duerr ... when I think of the Panthers my mind goes straight to guard oriented, drive the lane - finish at the rim or dish outside for 3's which has been the NL MO for the last 3-4 years with their 2 outstanding guards - 6-1 Isaiah Stephens (17.3 ppg)and 5-11 Bentley Hanson (15 ppg) both now graduated, both were threats inside and outside, both were the napkin stat sheet stuffers for NL ... once again SEOhio never seems to disappoint in reloading teams with quality returning players - New Lex & Coach Duerr reloads with jr. 5-10 sharp shooting perimeter scorer from behind arc - Lane Ratliff , 6-2 sr Paul Stenson, 6-4 jr Eli Stephens all 3 will be called on to make up the bulk of the scoring left open by the graduation of Stephens and Hanson ... 6-7 sr Sam Rupe will be asked to handle the NL inside game along with 6-3 sr Paul Nealy ... the Panthers with the returning group from last years 15-11 team will still be in the MVL which happens to have them playing Maysville twice in league play, Maysville lost no one off of last seasons D4 State Championship Panther team ... NL will be battle tested all throughout the regular season taking on the likes of Maysville, John Glenn, Coshochton etc.

[Whs95fan]

Heading to the Coliseum Monday for our first scrimmage against Philo, ready for the season.

[pfloyd]

Heading to the Coliseum Monday for our first scrimmage against Philo, ready for the season.

Logan is scrimmaging Central Crossing in the morning at Logan ... going to try and take in a few quarters of the scrimmage to see "Where pfloyd was right ... where pfloyd was wrong" about this years Chieftains ... Logan will play Warren in both teams opener at the Clash at the Coliseum here in a few weeks ...

[pfloyd]

Looks good as always old friend. Should be a great season of basketball.

I’ll see you a time or two in Jackson I’m sure.

Coach Morrow wants that #1 spot I’ve heard

... Thanks I92 ! you will definitely see pfloyd in the cheap seats in the Apple City this winter for a number of games - I like to see my top 8 early in the season, then around Christmas, then in January 3-4 times anyway ... I for sure get out to see my top 1-35 multiple times ... as I compare them all to my Elite 8 to see where they stand ... but as you know I go see "good games" meaning the top teams playing top teams ... I'm ready! I've been working on rundowns for the next 5 in my preseason rankings 21-25 ... I'll get those posted then start getting some discussion started - I THOUGHT I would have some comment about the Preseason rankings! I EVEN HAVE QUESTIONS about my rankings for some teams! LOL ... next week I'm putting together my pfloyd tour calendar - I'll mark the multiple game classics first , then start looking at the schedules for my teams 1-35 or so to come up with my travel plans /see what matchups are out there that are MUST SEE games - the FAC, SOC3 will provide a lot of focus this winter ...

[pfloyd]

... 21-25 ...

21 ... Washington Court House ... Washington last season finished at 9-13 during the regular season ... Coach Bartruff has always put a good "product" on the court for WCH ... the Blue Lions put up 48 ppg offensively and gave up 49.5 ppg to their opponents ... key losses in personnel include Roman Chijevsky and Jacob Lindsey ... when I was writing down the returning group for the Blue Lions - I liked what Coach has coming back - they will be a senior loaded team with at least 6 seniors with varsity experience led by 6-5 sr Noah Haithcock and 6-1 sr. Jeston Everhart - both big minutes as starters, both excellent BB players - I watched Everhart knockdown 6 treys vs Waverly in a 1 pt loss and 5 triples vs Fairfield Union in a 7 pt W ... when he hits "the first one" the threes come in bunches - the key is don't let him make the first one - outstanding shooter with "cross center court/logo" range ... other seniors 5-9 sr Bryson Heath/5-8 sr Javin Baker/6-3 sr. Cooper Robertson/ 5-8 sr Jordan Lamb/ 6-3 sr Avery Wightman/ 5-11 jr Aden Osborne/6-3 jr Evan Wilson/ 5-7 sr Alberto Pignataro / 6-0 jr Austin Hughes ... lots of returning points from last season with probably more role players coming up from the JV squad ... Washington finished 4th in the FAC at 3-7 - they will look to improve on the record in 2025-26 ... with the battle at the top between Jackson & Miami Trace ... WCH will be a sleeper that can/will knock off one of the FAC favorites ...

22 ... Gallia Academy ... Coach Harrison's Blue Devils finished with a regular season record of 8-14 good enough for 5th in the OVC (4-10) ... GA was a young team last season playing 2 seniors along with 3 freshmen getting starting minutes and key roles off the bench , a pair of sophomores and a junior ... a year of varsity experience WILL BE A BIG equalizer ... ALWAYS a plus to have a returning PG ... in this case 6-1 soph Ty Reed returns for his 2nd tour of duty at PG , fellow soph 6-1 Tripp Sola had significant varsity minutes off the bench ... 5-8 soph Grant Owens played a starting role for Coach Harrison last season ... the "old" veterans coming back this season will be 6-5 jr Gabe Hammons in the post/wing ... 6-3 jr Macen Meadows ... 5-8 jr Ethan Rose with lots of PT as a starter last season ... 6-3 jr Reese Toler will play a big role in the paint as well for GAHS ... the Blue Devils might be a year away BUT I look for GA to improve on last season's record significantly while being a contender for the OVC behind Chesapeake ... Gallia Academy will open with 3 non-conference games at home vs a good Athens club then 2 road games vs 2 of my top 8 preseason picks @ Waverly on 12/5 and @ Jackson on 12/9 ... we will see where the Blue Devils stand early this season ...

23 ... South Webster ... the Jeeps had a storybook season last year 18-3 regular season/4-1 in the post season - D7 SE District 'ship / D7 SE regional 'ship losing to Cornerstone Christian in the D7 State Semi-final ... a great ride for all of us cheap seat guys in SE Ohio for sure ... Coach Persin returns (over 800 wins) with Coach Ryan Fenton to guide a new look Jeeps squad - we have gotten used to SW with size both inside and outside over the years, this year's team will have to do it with speed/defense/penetration from the perimeter / scoring in transition and perimeter shooting ... key players that need replaced include 66% of the Jeep offense from last season - Eli Roberts 21.3 ppg (Rio Grande), Dylan Shupert 12 ppg, Christian White 6ppg, & Owen Mault ... returnees to anchor SW will be Hunter Barnard 5-11 sr. 10 ppg/ shooting 50% from the field/ 4 rbspg & 6-1 sr. Brycin McClintic 6ppg/ 4 rbspg - between the 2 they shot 32% from 3 point land (32/100) ... others that will need to step up to fill roles include 5-1a1 soph Brayden Barnard & 5-11 sr Carson Corriell ... reading the summer rundowns I believe SW has a quality freshman with size coming in who will be a BIG body in the paint for the Jeeps this season ... the last name is Large - getting good reviews from the SW folks ... we'll see if anyone is reading my posts - hopefully someone from Jeep Nation can enlighten us on Mr. Large name/size/background ... SW with a good summer will more than likely be on the move this winter up the rankings - lots of opportunity with the likes of Wheelersburg,Symmes Valley, Waverly, West, Valley all in front of the Jeeps in the preseason rankings ...

24... Warren ...







(you know as much as I know)




Okay, for the first time in my 25 years of doing the Elite 8 rankings I was unable to write down the Warren Warrior roster from memory ... last years team went 20-2 in the regular season ... finished ranked number 1 at the end of the regular season in my Elite 8 rankings ... then the entire top 9 players decided to graduate ... taking with them 95% of the years offensive output ... the only 2 players returning are this years seniors 6-0 Hudson Elzey 2.5ppg/ 2 rbs/g and 6-1 sr Caleb Tullius 2ppg/1.1 rbs/g and .3 blks per game ... the cupboard is literally bare in Barlow this season HOWEVER I STILL have this seasons Warriors starting at the #24 spot AND I expect them to climb the rankings as the season progresses ... a team that one might not want to see as an opponent from January on ... Coach Maddox, Coach Duckworth, Coach Mitchem, Coach Coffman, Coach Elzey are all reasons why Warren is in the top 25 - IF your school had to start from scratch to build a TEAM - THIS would be the coaching group that I'd want to do it ... now the players they have to choose from are not without talent ... as a matter of fact they are choosing this years Warriors from freshmen and JV rosters that were a combined 39-0 last season ... they are winners, have been in the system ... I had to do some research! learn some names!! get some background - the roster for the varsity this season will include the 2 seniors - Elzey & Tullius ... jrs will be 6-2 Jayce Hilverding - strong body in the paint & on the boards ... 6-0 Jaxon Venham a tenacious defender/hardnosed basketball player (oh and by the way - yes - both of those names are familiar names from Warrior teams of the past - they know what Warren basketball is all about) ... 6-2 Shawn Adams swing forward with length , 6-1 Vance Rhodes plays off the wing, last years' freshmen class will contribute with 5-11 soph Jackson Perdue leading the group - all around scorer/high ceiling player who they look for big growth this season on varsity , 6-4 so. Ryder Gorham athletic post player , 5-9 so PG Liam Grosselin - shoots well from the perimeter and handles the rock ... role players, starters - they will ALL be getting their first varsity action, on the job training ... 8-9 man rotation ... I'm looking forward to seeing Warren take on a good Logan team to tip off the season for both teams at the Clash in Coliseum on Friday 11/28 ... this will be a group that will learn/adjust to the varsity game - the speed, the physicality of play, obviously a year or 2 away but it's going to be fun watching this group grow as players in the next 3 seasons ...

25 ... North Adams ... the Green Devils are coming off of back to back undefeated seasons in the SHAC going 20-6 overall (13-0 in the SHAC) in 2024-25 and having gone 14-0 in the SHAC & 21-5 in 2023-24 ... Coach McCormick will need to replace one of the best graduating classes in SEOhio hoops - Jayce Rothwell, Connor Young, Konnor Rogers, Carson Osborne, Brestin Schweickart and Caleb DeAtley ... Coach Mc will need to reload from an outstanding JV team to mesh with returning role players from last season - sr. Kaleb Eldridge, jr. Jesse Kennedy, soph Carson Davis, jr. Thaddeus Moore, sr. Colin Tolle, sr. Dalton Pence ... not sure how pertinent these napkin stats are as they were all on the graduating group - NA points per game average 69 ppg on offense while defensively giving up 53 ppg ... the SHAC just had their Pre-Season Coaches Poll released by C105 - North Adams came in tied with Lynchburg Clay in the #2 spot in the big school Division I in the SHAC both behind Eastern Brown ... Coach McCormick in his 2nd season as the Green Devil Head Coach knows the players from varsity returning but also the player pool from the freshmen/jv teams as he was the freshmen/JV coach prior to last season ...

[jcbigblue13]

... 21-25 ...

21 ... Washington Court House ... Washington last season finished at 9-13 during the regular season ... Coach Bartruff has always put a good "product" on the court for WCH ... the Blue Lions put up 48 ppg offensively and gave up 49.5 ppg to their opponents ... key losses in personnel include Roman Chijevsky and Jacob Lindsey ... when I was writing down the returning group for the Blue Lions - I liked what Coach has coming back - they will be a senior loaded team with at least 6 seniors with varsity experience led by 6-5 sr Noah Haithcock and 6-1 sr. Jeston Everhart - both big minutes as starters, both excellent BB players - I watched Everhart knockdown 6 treys vs Waverly in a 1 pt loss and 5 triples vs Fairfield Union in a 7 pt W ... when he hits "the first one" the threes come in bunches - the key is don't let him make the first one - outstanding shooter with "cross center court/logo" range ... other seniors 5-9 sr Bryson Heath/5-8 sr Javin Baker/6-3 sr. Cooper Robertson/ 5-8 sr Jordan Lamb/ 6-3 sr Avery Wightman/ 5-11 jr Aden Osborne/6-3 jr Evan Wilson/ 5-7 sr Alberto Pignataro / 6-0 jr Austin Hughes ... lots of returning points from last season with probably more role players coming up from the JV squad ... Washington finished 4th in the FAC at 3-7 - they will look to improve on the record in 2025-26 ... with the battle at the top between Jackson & Miami Trace ... WCH will be a sleeper that can/will knock off one of the FAC favorites ...

22 ... Gallia Academy ... Coach Harrison's Blue Devils finished with a regular season record of 8-14 good enough for 5th in the OVC (4-10) ... GA was a young team last season playing 2 seniors along with 3 freshmen getting starting minutes and key roles off the bench , a pair of sophomores and a junior ... a year of varsity experience WILL BE A BIG equalizer ... ALWAYS a plus to have a returning PG ... in this case 6-1 soph Ty Reed returns for his 2nd tour of duty at PG , fellow soph 6-1 Tripp Sola had significant varsity minutes off the bench ... 5-8 soph Grant Owens played a starting role for Coach Harrison last season ... the "old" veterans coming back this season will be 6-5 jr Gabe Hammons in the post/wing ... 6-3 jr Macen Meadows ... 5-8 jr Ethan Rose with lots of PT as a starter last season ... 6-3 jr Reese Toler will play a big role in the paint as well for GAHS ... the Blue Devils might be a year away BUT I look for GA to improve on last season's record significantly while being a contender for the OVC behind Chesapeake ... Gallia Academy will open with 3 non-conference games at home vs a good Athens club then 2 road games vs 2 of my top 8 preseason picks @ Waverly on 12/5 and @ Jackson on 12/9 ... we will see where the Blue Devils stand early this season ...

23 ... South Webster ... the Jeeps had a storybook season last year 18-3 regular season/4-1 in the post season - D7 SE District 'ship / D7 SE regional 'ship losing to Cornerstone Christian in the D7 State Semi-final ... a great ride for all of us cheap seat guys in SE Ohio for sure ... Coach Persin returns (over 800 wins) with Coach Ryan Fenton to guide a new look Jeeps squad - we have gotten used to SW with size both inside and outside over the years, this year's team will have to do it with speed/defense/penetration from the perimeter / scoring in transition and perimeter shooting ... key players that need replaced include 66% of the Jeep offense from last season - Eli Roberts 21.3 ppg (Rio Grande), Dylan Shupert 12 ppg, Christian White 6ppg, & Owen Mault ... returnees to anchor SW will be Hunter Barnard 5-11 sr. 10 ppg/ shooting 50% from the field/ 4 rbspg & 6-1 sr. Brycin McClintic 6ppg/ 4 rbspg - between the 2 they shot 32% from 3 point land (32/100) ... others that will need to step up to fill roles include 5-1a1 soph Brayden Barnard & 5-11 sr Carson Corriell ... reading the summer rundowns I believe SW has a quality freshman with size coming in who will be a BIG body in the paint for the Jeeps this season ... the last name is Large - getting good reviews from the SW folks ... we'll see if anyone is reading my posts - hopefully someone from Jeep Nation can enlighten us on Mr. Large name/size/background ... SW with a good summer will more than likely be on the move this winter up the rankings - lots of opportunity with the likes of Wheelersburg,Symmes Valley, Waverly, West, Valley all in front of the Jeeps in the preseason rankings ...

24... Warren ...







(you know as much as I know)




Okay, for the first time in my 25 years of doing the Elite 8 rankings I was unable to write down the Warren Warrior roster from memory ... last years team went 20-2 in the regular season ... finished ranked number 1 at the end of the regular season in my Elite 8 rankings ... then the entire top 9 players decided to graduate ... taking with them 95% of the years offensive output ... the only 2 players returning are this years seniors 6-0 Hudson Elzey 2.5ppg/ 2 rbs/g and 6-1 sr Caleb Tullius 2ppg/1.1 rbs/g and .3 blks per game ... the cupboard is literally bare in Barlow this season HOWEVER I STILL have this seasons Warriors starting at the #24 spot AND I expect them to climb the rankings as the season progresses ... a team that one might not want to see as an opponent from January on ... Coach Maddox, Coach Duckworth, Coach Mitchem, Coach Coffman, Coach Elzey are all reasons why Warren is in the top 25 - IF your school had to start from scratch to build a TEAM - THIS would be the coaching group that I'd want to do it ... now the players they have to choose from are not without talent ... as a matter of fact they are choosing this years Warriors from freshmen and JV rosters that were a combined 39-0 last season ... they are winners, have been in the system ... I had to do some research! learn some names!! get some background - the roster for the varsity this season will include the 2 seniors - Elzey & Tullius ... jrs will be 6-2 Jayce Hilverding - strong body in the paint & on the boards ... 6-0 Jaxon Venham a tenacious defender/hardnosed basketball player (oh and by the way - yes - both of those names are familiar names from Warrior teams of the past - they know what Warren basketball is all about) ... 6-2 Shawn Adams swing forward with length , 6-1 Vance Rhodes plays off the wing, last years' freshmen class will contribute with 5-11 soph Jackson Perdue leading the group - all around scorer/high ceiling player who they look for big growth this season on varsity , 6-4 so. Ryder Gorham athletic post player , 5-9 so PG Liam Grosselin - shoots well from the perimeter and handles the rock ... role players, starters - they will ALL be getting their first varsity action, on the job training ... 8-9 man rotation ... I'm looking forward to seeing Warren take on a good Logan team to tip off the season for both teams at the Clash in Coliseum on Friday 11/28 ... this will be a group that will learn/adjust to the varsity game - the speed, the physicality of play, obviously a year or 2 away but it's going to be fun watching this group grow as players in the next 3 seasons ...

25 ... North Adams ... the Green Devils are coming off of back to back undefeated seasons in the SHAC going 20-6 overall (13-0 in the SHAC) in 2024-25 and having gone 14-0 in the SHAC & 21-5 in 2023-24 ... Coach McCormick will need to replace one of the best graduating classes in SEOhio hoops - Jayce Rothwell, Connor Young, Konnor Rogers, Carson Osborne, Brestin Schweickart and Caleb DeAtley ... Coach Mc will need to reload from an outstanding JV team to mesh with returning role players from last season - sr. Kaleb Eldridge, jr. Jesse Kennedy, soph Carson Davis, jr. Thaddeus Moore, sr. Colin Tolle, sr. Dalton Pence ... not sure how pertinent these napkin stats are as they were all on the graduating group - NA points per game average 69 ppg on offense while defensively giving up 53 ppg ... the SHAC just had their Pre-Season Coaches Poll released by C105 - North Adams came in tied with Lynchburg Clay in the #2 spot in the big school Division I in the SHAC both behind Eastern Brown ... Coach McCormick in his 2nd season as the Green Devil Head Coach knows the players from varsity returning but also the player pool from the freshmen/jv teams as he was the freshmen/JV coach prior to last season ...

Life in Barlow has been good and everyone should expect a quality team to hit the floor for the Warriors..a lot of people sleeping on this edition of the Warriors but I have a sneaky feeling they will surprise aot of folks...Go Big Blue!!!

[TrueFan]

2. Miami Trace ... Coach Ackley has the Panthers entering this season with a 21-0 regular season winning streak ... MTHS will battle Jackson to repeat their FAC 'ship from last season ... returning lettermen : 6-7 sr Adam Guthrie , 6-0 sr Cade Whitaker, 6-1 sr Luke Armstrong, 6-3 jr Julian Baker, outstanding PG/SG 6-0 soph Gage Bowers , Connor Napier 6-3 sr ... key players lost to graduation - bookend 6-4 wings in Trey Robinette/Skye Salyers ( losing these 2 key players was my main reason to not have them at #1 - losing key offense on the perimeter/rebounding from the wings)... MT continues to grow 'em big west of Rt 23 joining 6-8 Adam Guthrie in the paint will be 6-5 soph Matt Barnard/6-7 soph Ty Huffman ... another athlete joins the Panther family in 6-2 soph transfer Baron Phipps ... last season MT put up 57 ppg while holding opponents to 45 ppg ... Big first game of the season for MT as Miami Trace travels to Meigs on Saturday 11/28 @ 7:30 p to take on D1 recruit (Air Force/Mississippi State so far) 6-8 sr. Carson Davis 18.9 ppg 1st team All Ohio/District D4 Player of the Year & 2nd Team D5 All Ohio Colben Beuchler 10.2 ppg ...

Not to nitpick, but I believe MT has a 24 game regular season win streak, dating back to the end of 23-24 season. Also hearing that Cade Whitaker may start the season on the IR due to a recent knee surgery, along with a brutal schedule to start the season: 11/28 @Meigs,12/2 @Western Brown, 12/5 @Harvest Prep, 12/12 Hillsboro, 12/16 Jackson, and 12/19 @Chillicothe in the first 3 weeks (first 6 games). Panthers going to find out quickly what they have or don't have.

[pfloyd]

2. Miami Trace ... Coach Ackley has the Panthers entering this season with a 21-0 regular season winning streak ... MTHS will battle Jackson to repeat their FAC 'ship from last season ... returning lettermen : 6-7 sr Adam Guthrie , 6-0 sr Cade Whitaker, 6-1 sr Luke Armstrong, 6-3 jr Julian Baker, outstanding PG/SG 6-0 soph Gage Bowers , Connor Napier 6-3 sr ... key players lost to graduation - bookend 6-4 wings in Trey Robinette/Skye Salyers ( losing these 2 key players was my main reason to not have them at #1 - losing key offense on the perimeter/rebounding from the wings)... MT continues to grow 'em big west of Rt 23 joining 6-8 Adam Guthrie in the paint will be 6-5 soph Matt Barnard/6-7 soph Ty Huffman ... another athlete joins the Panther family in 6-2 soph transfer Baron Phipps ... last season MT put up 57 ppg while holding opponents to 45 ppg ... Big first game of the season for MT as Miami Trace travels to Meigs on Saturday 11/28 @ 7:30 p to take on D1 recruit (Air Force/Mississippi State so far) 6-8 sr. Carson Davis 18.9 ppg 1st team All Ohio/District D4 Player of the Year & 2nd Team D5 All Ohio Colben Beuchler 10.2 ppg ...

Not to nitpick, but I believe MT has a 24 game regular season win streak, dating back to the end of 23-24 season. Also hearing that Cade Whitaker may start the season on the IR due to a recent knee surgery, along with a brutal schedule to start the season: 11/28 @Meigs, 12/5 @Harvest Prep, 12/12 Hillsboro, 12/16 Jackson, and 12/19 @Chillicothe in the first 3 weeks (first 5 games). Panthers going to find out quickly what they have or don't have.

... PLEASE NITPICK ! ... I didn't go back to the previous 2023-24 season to get my numbers - thanks for the correction ... 21 or 24 - darn good stuff by any team, in any division ... thank you TrueFan ! ... I'm used to being wrong! if I'm wrong then SOMEBODY is reading my posts!!! ... I don't think I have gone through a preseason having posted my preseason rankings AND NOT HAD ANYONE disagree with the rankings!!! ... I EVEN HAVE QUESTIONS about where I ranked a few teams ... so please nitpick! call me out!! give me some facts/information that I don't have or didn't have when I ranked my teams ... the Ouija Board MIGHT be WRONG! the COMMITTEE OF ONE - ME - might be wrong ... I have NO problem in being wrong, there's 71 teams out there! I do my best but I don't have access to all of the teams in the SE District to get information ... I count on ALL of the SEOPs folks to provide information that we ALL can learn about the teams, players in the SE District ... agreeing to disagree is the name of the game imo ... being wrong - I've got that area covered LOL ...

[Meech]

Heading to the Coliseum Monday for our first scrimmage against Philo, ready for the season.

How did Warren look?

[Tvcfanatic]

Not having meigs in the top 8 is very very BOLD! I almost guarantee they end the year in the top 5

[Ironman92]

Sounded like Whiteoak played well against Hillsboro in a scrimmage. I think Captain maybe missing for Hillsboro but Whiteoak looks to be improved.

[Dundas]

Not having meigs in the top 8 is very very BOLD! I almost guarantee they end the year in the top 5

What does the Mauraders non conference schedule look like this year?

[pfloyd]

Not having meigs in the top 8 is very very BOLD! I almost guarantee they end the year in the top 5

... I get it Tvcfanatic, Brinager going in the portal to Southern moved Meigs out of the Elite 8 ... Carson Davis IS THE REAL DEAL, he's a D1 college player ... 6-8 able to score on the perimeter with unlimited range ... 6-8 in SEOhio with his talent - doesn't happen ... Colben Beucler - darned good player at 6-3 soph. Owen Tracy at PG doesn't shoot the 3 much but can get to the rim ... after that ????????'s offensively ... the best offense for Meigs will be with the ball in Davis' hands as he will always be a threat to score and at that size he will get lots of attention ... I'm interested to see how many assists he has per game ... he has great vision, IF Beucler, Cleland, Tracy have good movement offensively - they will get looks inside - Beucler will get his inside for sure ... Tracy off the ball the same ... curious to see if Coach Davis has a bench that can contribute ... as I said YOU MIGHT BE right ... #12 for the Marauders ain't a bad start point after losing ALL of the offense, size, rebounding & bench power from last season along with the question marks - scoring besides Davis ?, bench?, perimeter offense again besides Davis ? ... Miami Trace @ Meigs on 11/28 - Big Game ... will tell us a bunch even as an early game ... on the positive side Carson Davis is more than ready , no getting into basketball shape as he's played all kinds of AAU ball from last March thru this past Fall ... also Meigs ALWAYS has athletes , I expect the same this season ...

[pfloyd]

Not having meigs in the top 8 is very very BOLD! I almost guarantee they end the year in the top 5

What does the Mauraders non conference schedule look like this year?

I've got Meigs non-conference schedule:

vs Miami Trace
vs Eastern Meigs (who do have 6-7 size)
@ Westfall
vs Warren (youngsters)
Padua Francisan (Parma ...19-7 last year, 2nd in the North Coast league ) - Columbus Holiday tourney
@ Gallia Academy
@ Marietta
vs Waverly
vs Fairfield Union
@ Jackson

... great non-conference menu

[Tvcfanatic]

Not having meigs in the top 8 is very very BOLD! I almost guarantee they end the year in the top 5

... I get it Tvcfanatic, Brinager going in the portal to Southern moved Meigs out of the Elite 8 ... Carson Davis IS THE REAL DEAL, he's a D1 college player ... 6-8 able to score on the perimeter with unlimited range ... 6-8 in SEOhio with his talent - doesn't happen ... Colben Beucler - darned good player at 6-3 soph. Owen Tracy at PG doesn't shoot the 3 much but can get to the rim ... after that ????????'s offensively ... the best offense for Meigs will be with the ball in Davis' hands as he will always be a threat to score and at that size he will get lots of attention ... I'm interested to see how many assists he has per game ... he has great vision, IF Beucler, Cleland, Tracy have good movement offensively - they will get looks inside - Beucler will get his inside for sure ... Tracy off the ball the same ... curious to see if Coach Davis has a bench that can contribute ... as I said YOU MIGHT BE right ... #12 for the Marauders ain't a bad start point after losing ALL of the offense, size, rebounding & bench power from last season along with the question marks - scoring besides Davis ?, bench?, perimeter offense again besides Davis ? ... Miami Trace @ Meigs on 11/28 - Big Game ... will tell us a bunch even as an early game ... on the positive side Carson Davis is more than ready , no getting into basketball shape as he's played all kinds of AAU ball from last March thru this past Fall ... also Meigs ALWAYS has athletes , I expect the same this season ...

Genuine question, do you know if nash yates is playing with them for his senior season?

[JeepNation26]

Webster boys handled theirselves well against the Mauraders in this past Saturday’s scrimmage. Carson Davis got his shots in and scored but the younger Bernard (Soph.) did a pretty good job on guarding him overall and the kid just flat out hustles non stop, had several steals. The Jeeps got out into transition well and were able to score. The freshman Easton Large played well was able to score but will have to learn to be more physical down low and be able to hold on to the ball, but that will come as the season goes on. Hunter Bernard (Senior) played well shot the ball well and led the Jeeps in scoring. Jeeps came out on top overall in the game.

[pfloyd]

Not having meigs in the top 8 is very very BOLD! I almost guarantee they end the year in the top 5

... I get it Tvcfanatic, Brinager going in the portal to Southern moved Meigs out of the Elite 8 ... Carson Davis IS THE REAL DEAL, he's a D1 college player ... 6-8 able to score on the perimeter with unlimited range ... 6-8 in SEOhio with his talent - doesn't happen ... Colben Beucler - darned good player at 6-3 soph. Owen Tracy at PG doesn't shoot the 3 much but can get to the rim ... after that ????????'s offensively ... the best offense for Meigs will be with the ball in Davis' hands as he will always be a threat to score and at that size he will get lots of attention ... I'm interested to see how many assists he has per game ... he has great vision, IF Beucler, Cleland, Tracy have good movement offensively - they will get looks inside - Beucler will get his inside for sure ... Tracy off the ball the same ... curious to see if Coach Davis has a bench that can contribute ... as I said YOU MIGHT BE right ... #12 for the Marauders ain't a bad start point after losing ALL of the offense, size, rebounding & bench power from last season along with the question marks - scoring besides Davis ?, bench?, perimeter offense again besides Davis ? ... Miami Trace @ Meigs on 11/28 - Big Game ... will tell us a bunch even as an early game ... on the positive side Carson Davis is more than ready , no getting into basketball shape as he's played all kinds of AAU ball from last March thru this past Fall ... also Meigs ALWAYS has athletes , I expect the same this season ...

Genuine question, do you know if nash yates is playing with them for his senior season?

Tvcfanatic ... I have not heard anything about him playing for Meigs ... usually something like that is posted somewhere on here ... Vinton County is the last stop I have for him, my guess is he is still at VC and a big part of Coach Kight's plans for this season ...