SoutheasternOhioPreps.com

Last year I predicted that Chesapeake would be the team to beat in SEO. Well, this year I am predicting that Chesapeake will once again be the hands down favorite team in the area. With the return of Nathan Coply (6'2"), Austin McMasters (6'4") and Colin Kennedy (6'7") the Peake will be solid in shooting, rebounding, defense and experience. Not withstanding, they have a transfer from Spring Valley, Eric Kennedy (approx 6'5") who supposedly can shoot the lights out. I am not sure about his other attributes but he has some experience with AAU team play. Finally, the Peake has numerous players that moved up from a team that has dominated play at the JV level the last two years. Particularly, the utilization of Brandon Noble (approx 6'1-6-2") will provide a serious and strong presence inside. Also the Panthers have two guards that have limited varisty playing experience but have the ability to fill in nicely as the season progresses. There are a number of players also that can/will contribute this year. Lastly, I think that it goes without saying that the Peake has one of the best coaches in the area.

Manxious2 wrote:Last year I predicted that Chesapeake would be the team to beat in SEO. Well, this year I am predicting that Chesapeake will once again be the hands down favorite team in the area. With the return of Nathan Coply (6'2"), Austin McMasters (6'4") and Colin Kennedy (6'7") the Peake will be solid in shooting, rebounding, defense and experience. Not withstanding, they have a transfer from Spring Valley, Eric Kennedy (approx 6'5") who supposedly can shoot the lights out. I am not sure about his other attributes but he has some experience with AAU team play. Finally, the Peake has numerous players that moved up from a team that has dominated play at the JV level the last two years. Particularly, the utilization of Brandon Noble (approx 6'1-6-2") will provide a serious and strong presence inside. Also the Panthers have two guards that have limited varisty playing experience but have the ability to fill in nicely as the season progresses. There are a number of players also that can/will contribute this year. Lastly, I think that it goes without saying that the Peake has one of the best coaches in the area.

Chesapeake is the favorite to advance out of our region. They are the defending regional champs, have their 3 best players returning, and have brung in a transfer who would be the best player on many teams in the area.....and I would say 6'4" is undercutting McMaster by about 2inchs.

I'll have to go with peake also, but portsmouth looks pretty strong without bendolph, even better with him

in d2 chillicothe will be loaded...

The District has a lot of very talented teams. Could we see a State Title come home this year?

Portsmouth will be loaded with Andrew Bendolph at PG......we will know of his eligiblity status in the next few days but it looks very good after what I heard yesterday........the starting 5 of 6-4 Tre Underwood, 6-5 Dion McKinley, 5-9 Lenny Collins, 6-1 Wayne Evans, and 5-11 Andrew Bendolph comprise as good a starting 5 as any in the SE District......the Trojans will probably rotate a total of 8-9 players.

Last year, the Trojans handed Chesapeake its last loss until the Panthers' state semifinal game.

Of course Chesapeake will be very tough, but it is difficult to repeat as regional champion.......with all the great Portsmouth teams through the years, the Trojans have never repeated as regional champions.......in 1991, PHS had 4 starters back from its state runnerup team but lost in the regional final to Columbus Briggs 70-69.

I said quite a while ago that in D3, Portsmouth, Ironton, Chesapeake, Piketon, and Peebles are my top 5 teams to challenge for the D3 regional title, with Sugarcreek Garaway being a strong contender from the East District as well.

It looks as if Chillicothe, Piketon, and Chesapeake have all upgraded their rosters with incoming transfers, making these already good teams even better......and Ironton has an incredible sophomore class that will begin to make an impact at varsity level this year.

I have to believe that Chillicothe will be the team to beat for the SE D2 district title.......the Malik London, Jalen Ragland, and sophomore Sam Johnston returning, in addition to the 6-5 Serbian transfer, the Cavaliers look to be the cream of the crop in an otherwise thin D2 field.......Logan Elm has a very good program, so Coach Stiverson can be counted on to field another good team despite significant losses, while Waverly could be very good with Harrison Martin and Jake Kretzer coming back. Warren has top scorers Grant Venham and Austin Cunningham coming back from a 16-4 team, so the Warriors could be the most serious challenger to Chillicothe.

Portsmouth and a transfer who had previously transfered and now has transfered back; Chesapeake with a transfer; Chillicothe with a foreign exchange student; Piketon with a transfer. This isn't Kansas anymore, Toto. The game has changed.

Better watch out for Ironton
Malcom Morton, Travis Elliot, Josh Murphy return for senior year
Along with 6 foot 6 sophmore Fletcher who averaged a double-double at the convo as a freshman last year
Zac Carter for his sophmore year who is nasty for the deep ball
Also, Dion Brown will be back, and Xiang(shawn) Lin wll be playing.
A 6 foot 4 Sophmore from China who is very athletic and strong on the boards

Seems like almost everyone has brung in a transfer or foreign exchange student this season.

iFootball27 wrote:Better watch out for Ironton
Malcom Morton, Travis Elliot, Josh Murphy return for senior year
Along with 6 foot 6 sophmore Fletcher who averaged a double-double at the convo as a freshman last year
Zac Carter for his sophmore year who is nasty for the deep ball
Also, Dion Brown will be back, and Xiang(shawn) Lin wll be playing.
A 6 foot 4 Sophmore from China who is very athletic and strong on the boards

So Fletcher did grow a couple more inchs? Does anyone know his age...whether he is young or old for his grade? He will be massive this season in determining how far Ironton makes it in the tourny.

Yes he did.
He is 15
Average for his grade

Maybe a thread should be started entitled "Team to beat in SEO in which all players come from that school district or at least the USA!"

It's getting tougher and tougher for schools who build thier programs with "homegrown" kids to be competitive.

I agree 100 % Im All in and it is very, very, very sad that it has come to this.

Im All In wrote:Maybe a thread should be started entitled "Team to beat in SEO in which all players come from that school district or at least the USA!"

It's getting tougher and tougher for schools who build thier programs with "homegrown" kids to be competitive.

Of all the top teams in D3 from last yr I think Peebles is the only one who dosent have any transfers or foreign exchange students this season. Portsmouth, Chessy, Ironton, and Piketon all have one or the other.

I for one admire Peebles for that and wish them the best of luck this season!

LetsGoPSU wrote:The District has a lot of very talented teams. Could we see a State Title come home this year?

Chessy in D3 I think is the best bet for a state championship as of right now. They have everything you need to win on that level; great coaching, great gaurd play, ton of height. Chilli is my second favorite as far as this topic goes. They will do well in D2 but im not convinced they can get by the powerhouses they could face at state yet....such as Dunbar or St.Vincent-St.Mary. I hope Chilli can prove me wrong though. I dont really have a horse in the race as far as D2 is concerned so bring home the gold Chilli!!

If people want to classify Andrew Bendolph/Wayne Evans/Tre Underwood as transfers, technically I guess they would be correct......however, Andrew was born and raised a Portsmouth kid that is coming back to the school where he started on the varsity for 2 seasons......in Wayne Evans' case, he didn't have a choice when he had to go to Ironton due to personal circumstances that had nothing to do with basketball........but he also is a Portsmouth kid who came back........and he did not come back for basketball. Tre Underwood is also a Portsmouth kid who left PHS for a short period of time due to circumstances which had nothing to do with sports......there are some kids who don't move back and forth to school districts because of sports......some simply don't have a choice because of personal situations.

It's just not realistic to think that every kid who is born and raised in a commmunity is going to stay in that community no matter what......kids are subject to their families' perogatives and in SOME CASES have no say whatsoever in where they live and go to school......so I think it's unfair just to throw a blanket over a kid moving out or moving in and classifying them as a "transfer".........just because they happen to play sports doesn't mean that's the reason they left or came back.

I like the Trojans' chances of making a big postseason run.........but the number #1 task for Portsmouth is to put it all together and get its tournament credibility back.......last year, we were touted as a dangerous team and were a big flop vs. Valley........yet we beat head to head the two schools that played for the regional championship.

Trojan Dave- I have always enjoyed and respect your posts. I agree that some kids have no say whatsoever where they may go to school due to parent situations, etc. Nonetheless, many do transfer for other reasons solely related to sports and the multitude of transfers and foreign exchange students has greatly altered the purity of the game-it just seems like high school basketball is now just merely an extension of the summer AAU season.

It really does put the teams that build their programs with "homegrown kids" at a disadvantage. It just seems like it always the same schools that get these transfers and foreign exchange students year after year. I am not saying that is wrong but it makes one wonder what do these schools offer that the local school they used to attend does not.

[quote="trojandave"]
Of course Chesapeake will be very tough, but it is difficult to repeat as regional champion.......with all the great Portsmouth teams through the years, the Trojans have never repeated as regional champions.......in 1991, PHS had 4 starters back from its state runnerup team but lost in the regional final to Columbus Briggs 70-69.

I said quite a while ago that in D3, Portsmouth, Ironton, Chesapeake, Piketon, and Peebles are my top 5 teams to challenge for the D3 regional title, with Sugarcreek Garaway being a strong contender from the East District as well.I agree Trojandave, my Piketon Redstreaks was looking good for a repeat to the Final 4 last year, but lost Southworth and the team seemed to crumble down the stretch. Although they had another good season, I believe Coach L. was thinking they could return to Columbus. Everything has to fall into place, to get to the big dance...the most talented teams doesnt always make it....Should be an exciting season!!!!!!!!

tribe,
how many foreign exchange kids has eastern brown had since 2002?