He really ran the how from behind the scenes when he was there. You can’t have a guy who was an almost Detroit lion and not him have a chance at being an almost champion.
1980-82.....the glory days of Southern basketball. We almost did it!
When we talk about one of the best coaches in the SE District Jeff Lisath (Portsmouth) has to be in the conversation. (28) years as a head coach with a Career record of 414-238 (63.5%); 7 Conference Titles; 15 Sectional Titles; 7 District Titles (D1, D2, D3); 1 Regional Title & Final-Four 2009 (Piketon) and Regional Runner-up 2019 (Dayton Northridge); Jeff has been named Conference Coach of the year seven times, and District Coach of the year six times; In 2015 he was named AP Ohio Division III Coach of the Year; He is a guest speaker at coaching clinics including the 2015 Nike Basketball Coaching Clinic which has over 100K views on YouTube; Coached Ohio in the 2015 Ohio/Indiana All-Star game; Jeff also coached the South in the North/South All-Star game in 2012 and recently received the 2023 OHSBCA/OHSAA Sportsmanship, Ethics, and Integrity Award at the State Tournament this past season. Won a State Championship as a player in 1978 and as an Assistant Coach in 1988 at Portsmouth.
He became a program builder after being a longtime assistant at Portsmouth in the late 80s and early to mid 90”s where he ran camps, clinics, summer leagues, and the Bannon Park Classic. In 1998 he leaves Portsmouth and jumped into the frying pan to get Unioto back to the Convo after a short hiatus, the school's only sectional title from 1997--2011. Then he goes to Chillicothe Girls who had gone 11 straight years without a winning record, and led them to the Regionals in his first season then back-to-back winning seasons, competing with D1 Columbus area schools. Then he takes over at Piketon and becomes the winningest coach in school history taking them to their first and only Final Four appearance, Piketon became a top-tier program in the SE. Jeff then goes to Dayton Northridge and becomes the winningest coach in school history at a school that had not won a district title in 70 years.
Prior to all of this, fresh out of college he became the Head Coach at Columbus State Community College for three years and led them to a 59-9 record, (1983-1986) moving them from a club sport to an NAIA member before leaving for Portsmouth. Jeff’s full-time position with the prison system was a big part of him moving around. He retired as Prison Warden in 2016. Jeff is the author of two books “In Jesus Name I Played” and “My Faith and Basketball” Released in March 2020. A Third book “Faith on the Court” is to be released in the fall of 2023.
Last edited by jgordon0315 on Wed Aug 02, 2023 3:12 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Anytime this kind of debate/discussion occurs, it is necessary to separate out these two questions: 1. Who is the best coach over a long period of time (career accomplishments, wins, championships, etc) and 2. Who is the best active coach today, regardless as to how long they have coached -- 1 year, 5 years, 20 years, etc). There is of course can be a major difference depending on the ground rules of the discussion.
Great info, jgordon0315, and I don't think there's any question that Jeff is indeed one of the top coaches not only in the SE district, but in the entire state of Ohio. He's won everywhere he's been, and he has coached in some situations where he had to build up the program almost from the ground up. I am very confident that he will win at Portsmouth because of his past accomplishments.
I understand hookshot's point.......the phrase "best coach" can be used to go in several different directions. Is the "best" coach the one who has the most wins? Is the "best" coach the one who wins with marginal talent? Is the "best" coach the one who has the greatest tournament resume? Is the "best" coach the one who took over programs that were floundering and brought them up to prominence?
I'll put Coach Lisath up against any coach in the SE district, and he will more than hold his own. We're very happy to have him coaching our Trojans.
Hookshot and trojandave bring up great points, I also can't pinpoint a singular coach because I simply don't have the knowledge of someone coaching 2+ hours away. What I will say is that coach Maddox has lead a Warren program to a 401-161 record with a final four appearance, 2 district titles, and 5 district runner-ups in his 24 year career. Prior to coach Maddox's arrival from Logan, the basketball program was 381-413 in 38 years under 10 different head coaches.
Whs95fan: Coach Maddox has done a great job at Warren bringing that program to prominence. I know I really enjoyed watching Portsmouth and Warren battle in the SEOAL. A lot of close games with a lot of intensity. There was a period of 4 years where PHS won 3 times at the old Warriordome. Not too many teams can say that. Overall, Warren had a winning record vs. Portsmouth in the SEOAL.
I’m sure all the other fellas mentioned are fine coaches. But Howie did it at all four schools he coached at. He rebuilt three of those from seller dweller to the top. He’s won at places no one ever had. He’s hands down the best.
trojandave wrote: Wed Aug 02, 2023 12:22 pm
Whs95fan: Coach Maddox has done a great job at Warren bringing that program to prominence. I know I really enjoyed watching Portsmouth and Warren battle in the SEOAL. A lot of close games with a lot of intensity. There was a period of 4 years where PHS won 3 times at the old Warriordome. Not too many teams can say that. Overall, Warren had a winning record vs. Portsmouth in the SEOAL.
Miss the rivalry, didn't matter the record of either team, you always knew it was going to be a battle whenever these two met.
Yeah, there’s a lot of debate about who the best coach is in SEO. But my question is who’s the worst? My vote goes to Reedsville’s coach. At a school where all other sports are flourishing he’s fighting for a double digit win total over five years combined. Now that’s excellence in losing at its best.
Hoping our coach hires someone qualified to call the offense.
DUNK1 wrote: Wed Aug 02, 2023 2:36 pm
I’m sure all the other fellas mentioned are fine coaches. But Howie did it at all four schools he coached at. He rebuilt three of those from seller dweller to the top. He’s won at places no one ever had. He’s hands down the best.
Over a career it's Norm Persin and Howie isn't close. Let me know when Howie builds two programs into two of the top programs in the state and wins a state title. Norm is third all-time in career win. Howie is a fine coach, but no, he's not close to being the best with Norm still on the sidelines.
