Portsmouth Basketball 2009-10

[trojandave]

Winchell is correct........Portsmouth was undefeated vs. the SOC this year, and with the win over Minford in the tourney, ended up 5-0.........had we been in that conference, we would have probably won around 15 games and had a much better seed.........but in reality we had chances to win more games in the SEOAL and didn't.......that's our fault.

I support Shoemaker to return, but that doesn't mean that he will be back.......I think the decision is his, because from my understanding the adminstration is supporting him also.

If he decides not to return, then that decision should be made soon so that Portsmouth can begin to move on to a coaching search..........it is much more difficult to find a capable hire the farther the school year moves toward the summer.

[TARTAN/TITAN]

M DAN

NOT TRYING TO START ANYTHING, BUT HEARD HOPPY WAS ON HIS WAY OUT AT ND?

YOU HEARD ANYTHING?

[rockfish]

Portsmouth did more than play North Adams close.They had them beat and should have advanced but some outside sources made sure that didn't happen.

[ManitouDan]

not heard anything

[trojandave]

I believe the new enrollment figures come out this spring, and it will be interesting to see what Portsmouth's number is. The OHSAA does enrollment figures every 2 years now instead of yearly, and PHS's was 195. Hopefully our enrollment will show a little bit of an increase with the new schools now 3 years in place.

[Trojan_FB_Alum]

When coach Shoemaker was hired, he was not my choice for coach, however I think since he has been here he has done a respectable job with the basketball team. I think there are individuals out there that may have been more productive, but many that would have been far worse. He has successfully lead us through a pretty rough patch in our proud history. If he decides to leave or he is not renewed we should thank him for his time with us and wish him luck. I just hope that if we our again looking for a coach, that this time we look outside of the building, at who will give the kids the best chance to win.

[wemufans]

When do they leave the SEOAL?

[tagyourit]

If they didn't hire him back, would they look at Jeff Nickell the girls head coach for the job? He coached JV boys before this stint as girls coach at Portsmouth.

[Men of Troy]

If Shoemaker is indeed looking around, I sure hope that Portsmouth gives Jeff Lisath a good, long look. I know he isn't a teacher, but he is getting ready to go to the Final Four AGAIN!! He definitely understands the tradition of Trojan Basketball and already sports 2 State Championship rings from the real "PHS." I hope he gets another ring from his new "PHS" I hope that Portsmouth would be wise enough to hire the best basketball coach and not worry about if he is a teacher. I know Jeff's heart is in Portsmouth, but I wonder if he would even be interested in the job again?? Your take Trojan Dave??

[Interested In All]

If the job opens up then Lisath is really the guy they should be after.A home town guy that was agreat player and is doing a great job coaching also.They should make him an offer he can't refuse

[Men of Troy]

TTT

[Trojan_FB_Alum]

If the job opens up then Lisath is really the guy they should be after.A home town guy that was agreat player and is doing a great job coaching also.They should make him an offer he can't refuse

I can't agree more. Hopefully the teachers union will let a non teacher do what’s best for the kids.

[Trojan_FB_Alum]

wattsup

PHS has never been in the SOC before. Up until 15 years or so ago PHS was a much bigger school than the SOC schools, which would have made for a bad fit for all. Since the 70's however PHS along with the city of Portsmouth has been on a decline in enrollment, and population. It is now at a point where PHS is of similar size to the SOC 2 schools.
In the past I have heard rumors of bad blood between PHS and the SOC because years ago when PHS was much bigger they looked down at the SOC as a small school conference with not much to offer. Whether this is true or not doesn't matter. If people have grudges against things that schools did decades ago they should not hold it against the kids that are playing today and have nothing to do with it.

[trojandave]

After talking to Jeff Lisath at the Convo after Piketon's regional semifinal victory over North Adams, I think we can give a rest to the notion that he wants the Portsmouth job if Coach Shoemaker decides not to come back. He is happy at Piketon, and really doesn't want to coach that much longer anyway..........I am taking him at his word on this........

[art_vandelay]

The Lisath ship sailed a long time ago, even though some PHS fans still refuse to believe so. I wish him luck at Piketon though...would be quite an accomplishment to win a state championship as a player, assistant coach and head coach!*

[Men of Troy]

Don't be too quick to discount Lisath's interest in the Portsmouth job. Anyone who really knows Jeff, knows where his heart lies and what his "dream job" is. I am not saying that he would even apply for the job this time, but I do know that he has applied for the job the last three times it has been open. Here's to hoping that if the job does actually come open that the powers that be at Portsmouth finally do the right thing and bring home one of their very own. Don't underestimate the impact and influence he could bring to the program. If you know Jeff, you know that he loves to give back to his community. I in no way intend this to be a distraction to Coach Lisath as he has another state championship to tend to. Best of luck Coach!

[Trojan_FB_Alum]

I don't know if Jeff Lisath would apply for the position or not after being turned down so many times. For this reason I think if the position comes available we should seek him out. We need to go and tell him that we are committed to restoring our proud tradition, and we would like for him to be the cornerstone of it. As a proven winner both here (on the court and on the sideline) as well as at Piketon this makes you the most qualified candidate. Coach Lisath we invite you to write the next chapter in the book of Portsmouth High School basketball. We would like to give you the opportunity to return home and reestablish the tradition that you were such a large part of for a long time. If he is not sure if he is interested we then need to ask him what it would take to bring him home.

All this is of course if the job would come available, which as of right now it is not.


Does anyone know for a fact if Coach Shoe applied for the Minford job? If so I think this should be enough reason for not renewing him. I know he has strong ties to Minford but we have the richest history in all of South East Ohio and should not be willing to be anyone’s 2nd choice.

[JIMMY THE GREEK]

Hold on Portsmouth fans...I believe he has found his "Gold" in Piketon. They won the SVC on every level this year with the exception of Freshmen. The Varsity games he plays 4 Soph's and 2 Jr's to go along with his 3 Senior's. Returning will be one of the best PG's in the state. And Piketon is one of the highest paid Coaching Positions in Southeast Ohio from my understanding. It would be hard to offer anything to top that....especially for a non-teacher.

[Trojan_FB_Alum]

Jimmy

It may be hard to compete with the money, I do not know what Portsmouth or Piketon pay their coaches nor what they would be willing to pay them. I do know that the Trojans budget will already be tight. I hope there is something else that the Trojans can offer him that will sway him to return home. Hopefully the chance to rebuild the dynasty that Portsmouth basketball was, and can be again would be enough. For a long time he wanted this position and was past over for reasons that were not related to his ability to coach. I hope that if the job becomes available we go after what gives our kids the best chance to win.

If we can not get coach Lisath, we need to go on a large scale hunt for our next coach, and look outside the teacher’s union for qualified applicants. I would love to offer the job to another Portsmouth grad but at this time I don't think there are any qualified individuals that would be interested in the position if coach Lisath is not. This is not a shot at any of our current coaching staff or teachers, but I just don't think there is anyone down there that has the experience or proven track record to get the job down. (Obvious exception would be Tom Smith, but I know he would not want to return to coaching. Tom's son Aaron who is currently the JV coach maybe a good candidate in a few years but right now he needs to learn in the position he is in under the tutelage of an experienced head coach)