Portsmouth Trojans Next Year

[baseball4]

Thoughts?

[Black Panther]

What players return? Thought for sure they would win it this year.Congrats on a great year!

[frank-n-beans]

Only 1 Junior played on varsity, all the rest were seniors. Oliver will be fun to watch though!

[PTrojan59]

The Trojans return one player from varsity and that's Jayellen Carter. He will be the best player on the team. Others who should see the court Sky Oliver Cody Stapelton Levi Porter Austin Peano Alex Dickerson. Highly talented freshman Ky're Allison may play varsity. Have not seen him play but if he is as good as I hear and Portsmouth will need people to step up then he should be on varsity. Portsmouth also got a transfer not sure if he plays basketball I hear he does very tall kid maybe 6'5 name is javaughn I think. Regardless Portsmouth will be a young but exciting team to watch.

[trojandave]

Portsmouth does indeed graduate 12 seniors, but the cupboard is not bare:

1. Starter Jayllen Carter returns, sophomore Sky Oliver most likely will be the PG
2. JV team 17-3, freshmen team 8-6
3. Kyre Allison will be an impact freshman on the varsity
4. Eugene Collins is 57-15 in his first 3 years, with an outstanding staff surrounding him

The two major obstacles to overcome for the 2012-2013 Trojans will be in the post, as PHS has no one right now nearly on the level of Dion McKinley, and a roster that lacks varsity experience. PHS will have talent, but it will take time for this team to develop a chemistry.........the Trojans will seriously be challenged on rebounding, but on the plus side should have good quickness, good outside shooting, good ballhandling, and should be able to press when needed.

Obviously, there will be growing pains with this team........but I have a lot of confidence that by time the tournament comes, the Trojans could be a very formidable team.

[Hitchbone64]

No disrespect to any of the other kids in the program, but the backcourt will be in good hands for the next few years. With Carter's knock down shooting ability and Sky Olivers handle, quickness and vision, the Trojans will be ok. I have seen Kyre play at least 7 times and he has a chance to be special. Court vision is outstanding. Nice handle and can also hit the 3 ball and finish in the paint. May be a few growing pains for the Trojans, but you better get them early. Teams that get to State 2 consecutive years don't rebuild. They reload. These kids will work hard all summer A's the level of the bar has been raised high.

[LetsGoPSU]

hitchbone stole the thunder, it seems the staff has installed a great work ethic threw the ranks, which means that just as in our storied past, the Trojans dont rebuild they reload

[jgordon0315]

Great assessment on the prospects for next year by all the posters here!! Just to give an added rundown........Jayllen Carter = long range marksman....uber-athletic. Sky Oliver=dynamic court vision.....Ky're Allison=THE prospect....Cody Stapleton=combo guard...can play both the 1 & 2 guard......Khalil Lattimore=potentially the best on ball defender in the program......Isaiah Lisath=sleeper.........Connor Laswell=possibly the best shooter in the program.......Levi Porter=good size, solid footwork from the pivot........Austin Peano=good size/ gritty/ hardnosed.......Alex Dickerson=the prototype basketball player/ raw..........Alex Grashel=has the gearth to bang, nice handle for a post player........Jayvaughn White=(former PHS Trojan/ Dayton Colonel White hooper, Jay White's son)=the Trojan pedigree is already there....6'5 freshman...haven't seen him play yet, but he seemingly stays on the playground........Darion Robinson=one of the rawest athletes we have in the program........Tay-Tay Froe= good size...has the right mentors grooming him........we have other sleepers that could play a prominent role, so stay tuned....should be a fun summer!

[trojandave]

Definitely will be a very interesting summer for the Trojans........coming off back to back Final 4's, with a lot of new faces........there is some good talent, but a chemistry has to be developed........and with that process, the Trojans will have some inconsistencies in their game.........but at the same time will show that when the pieces fit together that they will be a pretty good basketball team.

One position that is wide open is the 5 spot.......there are probably 4-5 kids who could get the starting call, and it will come down to who wants it the most.

[JIMMY THE GREEK]

What? you have another Lisath?

[Eaglesnest]

I think the Trojans take a step back next season. They lose a ton to graduation. I am sure they will have some young talent, but McKinley and company have all contributed at the varsity level for 3 or 4 years. Hard to replace that kind of experience. I wish them luck and am glad to see them with back to back trips to the state. Great accomplishment.

[trojandave]

The Trojans will be playing in the county summer league, with the possibility of Piketon also playing........when I find out the full summer schedule, I will post it.

[CharlieHustle]

The Trojans may take some lumps this year, but the younger class is loaded with talent. The current freshman and sophomore class have loads of talent.......and coming in as freshman next year will be great basketball talent with Zach DeLotell , Ky'Re Allison and multiple others. Basketball looks bright in Portsmouth's future.

[ohbuckeye2]

I heard that Jayllen and Zac Carter are Cousins, anyone know for sure?

[jgordon0315]

I heard that Jayllen and Zac Carter are Cousins, anyone know for sure?

Yeah they're cousins.....I don't know if you noticed them or if you were even at the game or not, but at the Regional final game betweeen PHS and Ironton...they were jawing at each other......Jayllen's mom noticed it and was afraid the ref wouldn't know it was in good fun. They'll both be seniors next year....we all have an idea what Zac can do, I'm hoping for a big year for Jayllen's final season as well.

[trojandave]

Saw quite a few of next year's Trojans playing pickup games in Bannon Park last Sunday evening........Alex Dickerson, Sky Oliver, Connor Lasswell, Isaiah Lisath, Khalil Lattimore, Dee Smith, and Cody Stapleton all were honing their skills on the "Court of Champions".........and the games were very competitive.........good to see these Trojans hooping.

[trojandave]

A few notes about the upcoming summer and regular season:

The Trojans will be playing at the Raceland Shootout, date TBD, but most likely will not be playing in Columbus as they did last year.......also, Portsmouth will play in the regular season Ironton Classic........opponent TBD, but it will be exciting to see the Trojans play in this as IHS has some very good teams that participate each year.

Also, Jayllen Carter, Sky Oliver, Alex Dickerson, and Kyre Allison are all playing AAU basketball right now........all 4 figure to play prominent roles in the upcoming varsity season.

[trojandave]

Getting more and more excited about next year's Trojans after watching our kids playing this spring........if we can rebound the basketball, we just might be the surprise team in the SE District in 2012-2013 despite losing 12 seniors from this year's D3 state runnerup team.

[trojandave]

Portsmouth's all-time record now stands at 1,349--719 after this year's outstanding 24-3 team, which was only the 3rd Trojan team in history to record at least 24 wins.

[sportsfan_1959]

Is Portsmouth going to play in a summer league? If so, where? Thanks.